The genus of curve, pants and flip graphs

This article is about the graph genus of certain well studied graphs in surface theory: the curve, pants and flip graphs. We study both the genus of these graphs and the genus of their quotients by the mapping class group. The full graphs, except for in some low complexity cases, all have infinite genus. The curve graph once quotiented by the mapping class group has the genus of a complete graph so its genus is well known by a theorem of Ringel and Youngs. For the other two graphs we are able to identify the precise growth rate of the graph genus in terms of the genus of the underlying surface. The lower bounds are shown using probabilistic methods.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Random super matrices with an external source

In the past we have considered Gaussian random matrix ensembles in the presence of an external matrix source. The reason was that it allowed, through an appropriate tuning of the eigenvalues of the source, to obtain results on non-trivial dual models, such as Kontsevich's Airy matrix models and generalizations. The techniques relied on explicit computations of the k-point functions for arbitrary N (the size of the matrices) and on an N-k duality. Numerous results on the intersection numbers of the moduli space of curves were obtained by this technique. In order to generalize these results to include surfaces with boundaries, we have extended these techniques to supermatrices. Again we have obtained quite remarkable explicit expressions for the k-point functions, as well as a duality. Although supermatrix models a priori lead to the same matrix models of 2d-gravity, the external source extensions considered in this article lead to new geometric results.Comment: 12 page

The Computational Complexity of Knot and Link Problems

We consider the problem of deciding whether a polygonal knot in 3-dimensional Euclidean space is unknotted, capable of being continuously deformed without self-intersection so that it lies in a plane. We show that this problem, {\sc unknotting problem} is in {\bf NP}. We also consider the problem, {\sc unknotting problem} of determining whether two or more such polygons can be split, or continuously deformed without self-intersection so that they occupy both sides of a plane without intersecting it. We show that it also is in NP. Finally, we show that the problem of determining the genus of a polygonal knot (a generalization of the problem of determining whether it is unknotted) is in {\bf PSPACE}. We also give exponential worst-case running time bounds for deterministic algorithms to solve each of these problems. These algorithms are based on the use of normal surfaces and decision procedures due to W. Haken, with recent extensions by W. Jaco and J. L. Tollefson.Comment: 32 pages, 1 figur