A tree traversal algorithm for decision problems in knot theory and 3-manifold topology

In low-dimensional topology, many important decision algorithms are based on normal surface enumeration, which is a form of vertex enumeration over a high-dimensional and highly degenerate polytope. Because this enumeration is subject to extra combinatorial constraints, the only practical algorithms to date have been variants of the classical double description method. In this paper we present the first practical normal surface enumeration algorithm that breaks out of the double description paradigm. This new algorithm is based on a tree traversal with feasibility and domination tests, and it enjoys a number of advantages over the double description method: incremental output, significantly lower time and space complexity, and a natural suitability for parallelisation. Experimental comparisons of running times are included

Computational topology with Regina: Algorithms, heuristics and implementations

Regina is a software package for studying 3-manifold triangulations and normal surfaces. It includes a graphical user interface and Python bindings, and also supports angle structures, census enumeration, combinatorial recognition of triangulations, and high-level functions such as 3-sphere recognition, unknot recognition and connected sum decomposition. This paper brings 3-manifold topologists up-to-date with Regina as it appears today, and documents for the first time in the literature some of the key algorithms, heuristics and implementations that are central to Regina's performance. These include the all-important simplification heuristics, key choices of data structures and algorithms to alleviate bottlenecks in normal surface enumeration, modern implementations of 3-sphere recognition and connected sum decomposition, and more. We also give some historical background for the project, including the key role played by Rubinstein in its genesis 15 years ago, and discuss current directions for future development.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures; v2: minor revisions. To appear in "Geometry & Topology Down Under", Contemporary Mathematics, AM

Enumerating fundamental normal surfaces: Algorithms, experiments and invariants

Computational knot theory and 3-manifold topology have seen significant breakthroughs in recent years, despite the fact that many key algorithms have complexity bounds that are exponential or greater. In this setting, experimentation is essential for understanding the limits of practicality, as well as for gauging the relative merits of competing algorithms. In this paper we focus on normal surface theory, a key tool that appears throughout low-dimensional topology. Stepping beyond the well-studied problem of computing vertex normal surfaces (essentially extreme rays of a polyhedral cone), we turn our attention to the more complex task of computing fundamental normal surfaces (essentially an integral basis for such a cone). We develop, implement and experimentally compare a primal and a dual algorithm, both of which combine domain-specific techniques with classical Hilbert basis algorithms. Our experiments indicate that we can solve extremely large problems that were once though intractable. As a practical application of our techniques, we fill gaps from the KnotInfo database by computing 398 previously-unknown crosscap numbers of knots.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures; v2: Stronger experimental focus, restrict attention to primal & dual algorithms only, larger and more detailed experiments, more new crosscap number

The HOMFLY-PT Polynomial is Fixed-Parameter Tractable

Many polynomial invariants of knots and links, including the Jones and HOMFLY-PT polynomials, are widely used in practice but #P-hard to compute. It was shown by Makowsky in 2001 that computing the Jones polynomial is fixed-parameter tractable in the treewidth of the link diagram, but the parameterised complexity of the more powerful HOMFLY-PT polynomial remained an open problem. Here we show that computing HOMFLY-PT is fixed-parameter tractable in the treewidth, and we give the first sub-exponential time algorithm to compute it for arbitrary links

Computing the crosscap number of a knot using integer programming and normal surfaces

The crosscap number of a knot is an invariant describing the non-orientable surface of smallest genus that the knot bounds. Unlike knot genus (its orientable counterpart), crosscap numbers are difficult to compute and no general algorithm is known. We present three methods for computing crosscap number that offer varying trade-offs between precision and speed: (i) an algorithm based on Hilbert basis enumeration and (ii) an algorithm based on exact integer programming, both of which either compute the solution precisely or reduce it to two possible values, and (iii) a fast but limited precision integer programming algorithm that bounds the solution from above. The first two algorithms advance the theoretical state of the art, but remain intractable for practical use. The third algorithm is fast and effective, which we show in a practical setting by making significant improvements to the current knowledge of crosscap numbers in knot tables. Our integer programming framework is general, with the potential for further applications in computational geometry and topology.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; v2: minor revisions; to appear in ACM Transactions on Mathematical Softwar

Bounds for the genus of a normal surface

This paper gives sharp linear bounds on the genus of a normal surface in a triangulated compact, orientable 3--manifold in terms of the quadrilaterals in its cell decomposition---different bounds arise from varying hypotheses on the surface or triangulation. Two applications of these bounds are given. First, the minimal triangulations of the product of a closed surface and the closed interval are determined. Second, an alternative approach to the realisation problem using normal surface theory is shown to be less powerful than its dual method using subcomplexes of polytopes.Comment: 38 pages, 25 figure

Triangulations

The earliest work in topology was often based on explicit combinatorial models – usually triangulations – for the spaces being studied. Although algebraic methods in topology gradually replaced combinatorial ones in the mid-1900s, the emergence of computers later revitalized the study of triangulations. By now there are several distinct mathematical communities actively doing work on different aspects of triangulations. The goal of this workshop was to bring the researchers from these various communities together to stimulate interaction and to benefit from the exchange of ideas and methods

Glosarium Matematika

273 p.; 24 cm