Splitting Numbers of Links

• Published in: Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 587 - 614
• Main Authors: Cha, Jae Choon, Friedl, Stefan, Powell, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.08.2017
• Subjects: Homology; Links; Lower bounds; Splitting; 57N70; Alexander polynomial; covering links; 57M27; Primary 57M25; splitting numbers of links

The splitting number of a link is the minimal number of crossing changes between different components required, on any diagram, to convert it to a split link. We introduce new techniques to compute the splitting number, involving covering links and Alexander invariants. As an application, we complet...