Kohn's unknotting-crossing conjecture for minimal diagrams

Let KK be a knot, and let u(K)u(K) denote its unknotting number. An unknotting crossing is a crossing whose change produces the unknot, and a minimal diagram is a diagram of KK with the minimum possible number of crossings.

Kohn's conjecture. If

u(K)=1,u(K)=1,

then KK has an unknotting crossing in a minimal diagram.

This conjecture has been resolved in a number of cases, as stated in the source; the supplied status evidence therefore records it as solved.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Duncan McCoy, “Alternating knots with unknotting number one”, arXiv:1312.1278 (2014).

Additional references

3 papers in this index state this conjecture (2006–2013). The statement above is taken from the most recent of them; the others are arXiv:0902.1573, arXiv:math/0601265.

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