Geometry & Topology, Vol. 5 (2001) Paper no. 13, pages 369--398.

The size of triangulations supporting a given link

Simon A King


Abstract. Let T be a triangulation of S^3 containing a link L in its 1-skeleton. We give an explicit lower bound for the number of tetrahedra of T in terms of the bridge number of L. Our proof is based on the theory of almost normal surfaces.

Keywords. Link, triangulation, bridge number, Rubinstein-Thompson algorithm, normal surfaces

AMS subject classification. Primary: 57M25, 57Q15. Secondary: 68Q25.

DOI: 10.2140/gt.2001.5.369

E-print: arXiv:math.GT/0007032

Submitted to GT on 12 September 2000. Paper accepted 8 April 2001. Paper published 20 April 2001.

Notes on file formats

Simon A King
Institut de Recherche Mathematique Avancee
Strasbourg, France
Email: king@math.u-strasbg.fr

GT home page

EMIS/ELibM Electronic Journals

Outdated Archival Version

These pages are not updated anymore. They reflect the state of 21 Apr 2006. For the current production of this journal, please refer to http://msp.warwick.ac.uk/.