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Alternating knots are knotted
Student-Run Geometry/Topology Seminar| Speaker: | Chan-Ho Suh, UC Davis |
| Location: | 693 Kerr |
| Start time: | Thu, Sep 29 2005, 12:40PM |
Tait conjectured in 1876 that alternating knots were knotted (not equivalent to the standard unknot), but it was not proven until 1930. This proof and several later proofs use algebraic invariants such as the Alexander and Jones polynomials. I will discuss a more direct, geometric proof by Menasco and Thistlethwaite in 1991, which relies heavily on earlier work of Menasco. This talk is suitable for undergrads and adventurous high schoolers.
Note the room change from 593 to 693.