Asymptotic average genus conjecture for rational knots and links

Let KnK_n and LnL_n denote, respectively, the sets of oriented rational knots and oriented rational links with crossing number nn. For an object in either set, let gg be its genus, and let gKn\langle g\rangle_{K_n} and gLn\langle g\rangle_{L_n} denote the corresponding average genera.

Asymptotic average genus conjecture.

limngKnn=limngLnn=14.\lim_{n\to \infty}\frac{\langle g\rangle_{K_n}}{n}=\lim_{n\to \infty}\frac{\langle g\rangle_{L_n}}{n}=\frac{1}{4}.

The conjecture is proposed on the basis of strong numerical evidence, with the plotted averages appearing nearly linear in the crossing number. The preceding discussion establishes only the upper bounds gKn<n/2\langle g\rangle_{K_n}<n/2 and gLn<n/2\langle g\rangle_{L_n}<n/2; the asserted limiting value remains unresolved here.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Dawn Ray and Yuanan Diao, “The average genus of oriented rational links with a given crossing number”, arXiv:2204.12538 (2022).

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