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What is the reason for p in p-colorability being required to be a prime number in knot theory?

asked 2021-07-19 11:00:00 +0000

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answered 2021-09-24 05:00:00 +0000

bukephalos gravatar image

The reason for p in p-colorability being required to be a prime number in knot theory is related to the fact that the fundamental group of a knot complement has a presentation in terms of p generators, where p is a prime number. This means that if a knot can be colored with p colors, then the group of all colorings has p generators, which is equivalent to saying that the fundamental group of the knot complement has p generators. If p is not a prime number, then the group of all colorings does not necessarily have p generators, and this can lead to complications in the analysis of the knot complement. Therefore, p is required to be a prime number in order to ensure that the coloring of the knot is related to the fundamental group of the knot complement.

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Asked: 2021-07-19 11:00:00 +0000

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Last updated: Sep 24 '21