Roll-spun knots

Abstract

In this paper we will study 2-knots in the 4-sphere S4 which are obtained by roll-spinning 1-knots in the 3-sphere S3. The process of spinning was introduced by Artin[2] and generalized to twist-spinning by Fox [7] and Zeeman [20]. In [7] Fox introduced another variation of the spinning process, called roll-spinning. He only showed that the roll-spun figure-eight knot cannot be obtained by twist-spinning the figure-eight knot. Finally Litherland [14] described the general process of deform-spinning, and he gave a precise definition of roll-spinning. We remark that Fox's roll-spinning is not the same as Litherland's: Fox's roll-spun figure-eight knot is the symmetry-spun figure-eight knot in terms of [14].