Handbook of Knot Theory

Collection of survey articles covering key aspects of modern knot theory, written by renowned researchers.

William Menasco (Edited by), Morwen Thistlethwaite (Edited by)

9780444514523, Elsevier Science

Hardback, published 2 August 2005

502 pages
24 x 16.5 x 3 cm, 1.05 kg

CHOICE – September 2006

Handbook of Knot Theory, ed. By William Menasco and Morwen Thistlethwaite. Elsevier, 2005. 492 p bibl indexes ISBN 044451452X, $138.00

"Another title, perhaps “Surveys of Recent Advances in Knot Theory? might better suit this book. “Handbook? suggests, say, tabulations of those knots with few crossings in various classes, listed with their properties and invariants, everything supplemented by specifications of useful algorithms and key theorems that capture such regularities as emerge from all the data. But the era of such a handbook has passed. Indeed, the chapter by J. Hoste describes the state of the art concerning know enumeration. Although we lack an efficient, general recognition algorithm, existing techniques will classify the billions of distinct knots up to 20 crossings, and the mere dissemination of the results requires digital means and ingenuity. Other chapters will also immediately invite undergraduates, especially chapters by J.S. Burman and T.E. Brendle on braids, and L.H. Kauffman on knot diagrammatics. Overall, the ten chapters represent distinct views of the subject by some of its leading experts. More advanced students may read chapters by C. Adams and J. Weeks about hyperbolic (complements of) knots for an excellent entrée into Thurston’s geometrization program, or chapters G. Friedman and C. Livingston about spheres knotting in four-dimensional space, an intriguing topic rarely treated outside the journal literature. SUMMING UP: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals." --D.V. Feldman, University of New Hampshire

This book is a survey of current topics in the mathematical theory of knots. For a mathematician, a knot is a closed loop in 3-dimensional space: imagine knotting an extension cord and then closing it up by inserting its plug into its outlet. Knot theory is of central importance in pure and applied mathematics, as it stands at a crossroads of topology, combinatorics, algebra, mathematical physics and biochemistry.

Hyperbolic Knots - Colin Adams
Braids: A Survey - Joan S. Birman and Tara E. Brendle
Legendrian and Transversal Knots - John B. Etnyre
Knot Spinning - Greg Friedman
The Enumeration and Classification of Knots and Links - Jim Hoste
Knot Diagrammatics - Louis H. Kauffman
A Survey of Classical Knot Concordance - Charles Livingston
Knot Theory of Complex Plane Curves - Lee Rudolph
Thin Position in the Theory of Classical Knots - Martin Scharlemann
Computation of Hyperbolic Structures in Knot Theory - Jeff Weeks

Subject Areas: Mathematical theory of computation [UYA], Algebraic topology [PBPD], Topology [PBP], Discrete mathematics [PBD]