Danica Kosanović

We show that embedding calculus invariants $ev_n$ are surjective for long knots in an arbitrary 3-manifold. This solves some remaining open cases of Goodwillie–Klein–Weiss connectivity estimates, and at the same time confirms one half of the conjecture that for classical knots $ev_n$ are universal additive Vassiliev invariants over the integers. In addition, we give a sufficient condition for this conjecture to hold over a coefficient group, which is by recent results of Boavida de Brito and Horel fulfilled for the rationals and for the $p$-adic integers in a range. Therefore, embedding calculus invariants are strictly more powerful than the Kontsevich integral.

Furthermore, our work shows they are more computable as well. Namely, the main theorem computes the first possibly non-vanishing invariant $ev_n$ of a knot which is grope cobordant to the unknot to be precisely equal to the equivalence class of the underlying decorated tree of the grope in the associated graph complex. Actually, our techniques apply beyond dimension $3$, offering a description of the layers in embedding calculus for long knots in a manifold of any dimension, and suggesting that certain generalised gropes realise the corresponding graph complex classes.

Given a $d$-dimensional manifold $M$ and a knotted sphere $s\colon\mathbb{S}^{k-1}\hookrightarrow\partial M$ with $1\leq k\leq d$, for which there exists a framed dual sphere $G\colon\mathbb{S}^{d-k}\hookrightarrow\partial M$, we show that the space of neat embeddings $\mathbb{D}^k\hookrightarrow M$ with boundary $s$ can be delooped by the space of neatly embedded $(k-1)$-disks, with a normal vector field, in the $d$-manifold obtained from $M$ by attaching a handle to $G$. This increase in codimension significantly simplifies the homotopy type of such embedding spaces, and is of interest also in low-dimensional topology. In particular, we apply the work of Dax to describe the first interesting homotopy group of these embedding spaces, in degree $d-2k$. In a separate paper we use this to give a complete isotopy classification of 2-disks in a 4-manifold with such a boundary dual.

For a 4-manifold $M$ and a knot $k\colon\mathbb{S}^1\hookrightarrow\partial M$ with dual sphere $G\colon\mathbb{S}^2\hookrightarrow\partial M$, we compute the set $\mathbb{D}(M;k)$ of smooth isotopy classes of neat embeddings $\mathbb{D}^2\hookrightarrow M$ with boundary $k$, using an invariant going back to Dax. Moreover, we construct a group structure on $\mathbb{D}(M;k)$ and show that it is usually neither abelian nor finitely generated. We recover all previous results for isotopy classes of spheres with framed duals and relate the group $\mathbb{D}(M;k)$ to the mapping class group of $M$.

We compute in many classes of examples the first potentially interesting homotopy group of the space of embeddings of either an arc or a circle into a manifold M of dimension $d\geq 4$. In particular, if M is a simply connected 4-manifold the fundamental group of both of these embedding spaces is isomorphic to the second homology group of M, answering a question posed by Arone and Szymik. The case $d = 3$ gives isotopy invariants of knots in a 3-manifold, that are universal of Vassiliev type $\leq 1$, and reduce to Schneiderman’s concordance invariant.

For any smooth manifold $M$ of dimension $d\geq4$ we construct explicit classes in homotopy groups of spaces of embeddings of either an arc or a circle into $M$, in every degree that is a multiple of $d−3$, and show that they are detected in the Taylor tower of Goodwillie and Weiss.

In this note we give a complete obstruction for two homotopic embeddings of a 2-sphere into a 5-manifold to be isotopic. The results are new even though the methods are classical, the main tool being the elimination of double points via a level preserving Whitney move in codimension~3. Moreover, we discuss how this recovers a particular case of a result of Dax on metastable homotopy groups of embedding spaces. It follows that ``homotopy implies isotopy'' for 2-spheres in simply-connected 5-manifolds and for 2-spheres admitting algebraic dual 3-spheres.

Finite type invariants (often called Gusarov-Vassiliev, or just Vassiliev, invariants) give a certain filtration on the set of all invariants by their type. A dual point of view is, however, more geometric: there is a filtration on the monoid of knots itself, which arises by looking at a certain sequence of n-equivalence relations on knots. Then the n-th term of the filtration is comprised of knots which are n-equivalent to the unknot.

For example, two knots are 1-equivalent if they can be related by a sequence of crossing changes. This means that the first term in the filtration is equal to the whole monoid of knots! To get an idea about 2-equivalence, take a look at the operation on the left - grab some three strands of a knot and connect-sum them with the Borromean rings.

Embedding calculus of Goodwillie and Weiss is another homotopy-theoretic approach to spaces of embeddings. When applied to the embedding functor of long knots $\mathcal{K}$ in the 3-space it yields a tower of spaces $T_n$ together with evaluation maps $ev_n\colon K\to T_n$. These spaces turn out to be very interesting. For example, they can be shown to be double loop spaces of the mapping spaces between some (truncated) operads. Hence, their components form an abelian group and the evaluation map from knots gives a map on $\pi_0$ which turns out to be a finite type invariant! It is conjectured to be universal such, in other words, the group of knots modulo relation of n-equivalence is isomorphic to $\pi_0T_n$.

Therefore, the two stories should not be so separate after all. One unifying perspective is that of gropes. Namely, the trivalent vertices appearing in the diagrams for finite type theory (originating in quantum Chern-Simons theory) correspond to the Borromean rings, and the isotopy depicted below hints at how this in turn relates to gropes. In the very last picture we clearly see a genus one surface with one boundary component emerging. This will represent the bottom stage of a grope.