Alex Zupan
Alex Zupan
Abstract
Knotted surfaces and cubic graphs
In 2016, Jeff Meier and I adapted the theory of 4-manifold trisections to the setting of embedded 2-dimensional surfaces in 4-dimensional space, producing a new type of decomposition called a bridge trisection. A bridge trisection of a surface S induces a graph G contained in S with the following properties: Every vertex of G has valence three, and there is a 3-coloring of the edges of G such that every vertex is incident to edges of each color. Such a graph is called a cubic Tait colored graph. A natural question is whether this process can be reversed; namely, for every cubic Tait colored graph, is there a bridge trisection of an embedded surface S inducing it? We answer this question affirmatively, proving further that the surface S can be chosen to be as simple as possible. This is joint work with Jeff Meier and Abby Thompson.