Algebraic and Geometric Topology 3 (2003), paper no. 30, pages 905-920.

On the slice genus of links

Vincent Florens, Patrick M. Gilmer


Abstract. We define Casson-Gordon sigma-invariants for links and give a lower bound of the slice genus of a link in terms of these invariants. We study as an example a family of two component links of genus h and show that their slice genus is h, whereas the Murasugi-Tristram inequality does not obstruct this link from bounding an annulus in the 4-ball.

Keywords. Casson-Gordon invariants, link signatures

AMS subject classification. Primary: 57M25. Secondary: 57M27.

DOI: 10.2140/agt.2003.3.905

E-print: arXiv:math.GT/0311136

Submitted: 23 October 2002. (Revised: 5 July 2003.) Accepted: 5 September 2003. Published: 29 September 2003.

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Vincent Florens, Patrick M. Gilmer
Laboratoire I.R.M.A. Universite Louis Pasteur
Strasbourg, France
and
Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA

Email: vincent.florens@irma.u-strasbg.fr, gilmer@math.lsu.edu

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