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Relationships Between Braid Length And The Number Of Braid Strands, Cornelia A. Van Cott
Relationships Between Braid Length And The Number Of Braid Strands, Cornelia A. Van Cott
Mathematics
For a knot K, let ℓ(K,n) be the minimum length of an n–stranded braid representative of K. Fixing a knot K, ℓ(K,n) can be viewed as a function of n, which we denote by ℓK(n). Examples of knots exist for which ℓK(n) is a nonincreasing function. We investigate the behavior of ℓK(n), developing bounds on the function in terms of the genus of K. The bounds lead to the conclusion that for any knot K the function ℓK(n) is eventually stable. We study the stable behavior of ℓK(n), with stronger results for homogeneous knots. For knots of nine or fewer …