Cabling conjecture for bridge spectra of knots

Let JJ be a knot with bridge spectrum

b(J)=(b0(J),,bg(J),0),{\mathbf b}(J)=(b_0(J),\ldots,b_g(J),0),

and let K=cable(Tm,n,J)K={\mathsf {cable}}(T_{m,n},J) be a cable of JJ. The bridge-spectrum cabling conjecture.

b(K)=(mb0(J),mb1(J),,mbg1(J),mbg(J),bg+1(K),0).{\mathbf b}(K)=\left(m\cdot b_0(J),m\cdot b_1(J),\ldots,m\cdot b_{g-1}(J),m\cdot b_g(J),b_{g+1}(K),0\right).

The conjecture expresses the observed regularity of cabling: all listed existing bridge numbers should be multiplied by mm, with only the final new term left unspecified. The source explicitly calls for either counterexamples or a proof, and gives no resolution.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Nicholas Owad, “Bridge spectra of cables of 2-bridge knots”, arXiv:1706.03653 (2017).

Additional references

5 papers in this index state this conjecture (2012–2017). The statement above is taken from the most recent of them; the others are arXiv:1507.01317, arXiv:1410.3442, arXiv:1409.6236, arXiv:1212.5928.

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