Improved stick number upper bounds
| dc.contributor.author | Eddy, Thomas D., author | |
| dc.contributor.author | Shonkwiler, Clayton, advisor | |
| dc.contributor.author | Adams, Henry, committee member | |
| dc.contributor.author | Chitsaz, Hamid, committee member | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-06-14T17:06:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-06-14T17:06:56Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019 | |
| dc.description.abstract | A stick knot is a mathematical knot formed by a chain of straight line segments. For a knot K, define the stick number of K, denoted stick(K), to be the minimum number of straight edges necessary to form a stick knot which is equivalent to K. Stick number is a knot invariant whose precise value is unknown for the large majority of knots, although theoretical and observed bounds exist. There is a natural correspondence between stick knots and polygons in R3. Previous research has attempted to improve observed stick number upper bounds by computationally generating such polygons and identifying the knots that they form. This thesis presents a new variation on this method which generates equilateral polygons in tight confinement, thereby increasing the incidence of polygons forming complex knots. Our generation strategy is to sample from the space of confined polygons by leveraging the toric symplectic structure of this space. An efficient sampling algorithm based on this structure is described. This method was used to discover the precise stick number of knots 935, 939, 943, 945, and 948. In addition, the best-known stick number upper bounds were improved for 60 other knots with crossing number ten and below. | |
| dc.format.medium | born digital | |
| dc.format.medium | masters theses | |
| dc.identifier | Eddy_colostate_0053N_15459.pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10217/195411 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher | Colorado State University. Libraries | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | 2000-2019 | |
| dc.rights | Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright. | |
| dc.subject | knot theory | |
| dc.subject | stick number | |
| dc.subject | toric symplectic manifold | |
| dc.subject | polygon index | |
| dc.subject | edge number | |
| dc.subject | symplectic geometry | |
| dc.title | Improved stick number upper bounds | |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dcterms.rights.dpla | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Mathematics | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Colorado State University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.S.) |
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