Conjectural weights of incompressible surfaces in odd pretzel knot complements

Let KK be the (p,q,r)(p,q,r)-pretzel knot, where pp, qq, and rr are odd integers greater than 11. The incompressible surfaces in its complement are of Type III or Type II, and their weights are considered in the order corresponding to the trees in the cited figures.

Pretzel-surface weight conjecture. The nine incompressible surfaces have weights, in that order,

12(p1)(q1)(r1),12(r1),12(q1),12(p1),1,\frac{1}{2}(p-1)(q-1)(r-1),\quad \frac{1}{2}(r-1),\quad \frac{1}{2}(q-1),\quad \frac{1}{2}(p-1),\quad 1,

for the five Type III surfaces, followed by

12(pqr1),12(qr1),12(pr1),12(pq1),\frac{1}{2}(pqr-1),\quad \frac{1}{2}(qr-1),\quad \frac{1}{2}(pr-1),\quad \frac{1}{2}(pq-1),

for the four Type II surfaces.

These weights are conjectural because the paper does not provide a theoretical justification; in particular, it notes that one must verify that all angles can be realized and that conjugate and reducible actions are properly accounted for. The construction is presented as motivation for extending the tree methods from 2-bridge knots to Montesinos knots.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Cynthia L. Curtis, Kendra Ebke and Kate O'Connor, “Weights of essential surfaces in 2-bridge knot complements”, arXiv:2605.21639 (2026).

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