KNOT GROUPS

ALEXANDER WAUGH

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to examine the knot group. The first section
provides definitions for basic knot theory and provides motivation for the second
section. The second section applies the fundamental group to knot theory and
presents a few immediate consequences from algebraic topology. The third section
then provides an algorithm for computing knot groups called the Wirtinger Pre-
sentation. This paper assumes familiarity with basic algebraic topology, general
topology and group theory.

1. Introduction to Knots
To many, a knot is an object formed from "tangling" a piece of string. While this
definition may suffice for day to day conversations it leaves much to be desired in a
mathematical definition. For example, what does it mean to be "tangled" and how
do we tell if two "tangles" of string are the same. To begin analyzing these questions
we start with a definition:
Definition 1.1 (Knot). A knot is an embedding of S 1 in R3 .
Intuitively, a mathematical knot may be thought of as a knot formed from string
in the real world, except the string has no thickness, is fixed in space, and forms a
closed loop. With this in mind, the "knot" used for our shoes is not really a knot
because it does not form a closed loop. When it is convenient, we will call K ⊂ R3
a knot with the understanding that K is the image of some particular embedding
e : S 1 → R3 .

As this definition does not give any prescription as to how S 1 is embedded int R3 it
prompts the question of when two knots are equivalent. Using the physical world as
our guide, we would expect two knots to be equivalent if they may be "deformed"
into each other. To make this precise mathematically we must require that this de-
formation does not remove any of the "knottedness" by either removing crossings or
allowing the knot to move through itself. This then prompts the definition
Definition 1.2. Two knots f, g : S 1 → R3 are equivalent if there exists a continuous
function Ft : R3 → R3 where t ∈ [0, 1] such that
(1) F0 (x) = IdR3
(2) Ft (x) is a homeomorphism of R3 for all t ∈ [0, 1]
(3) F1 ◦ f = g
The function Ft is called an ambient isotopy from f to g.
It is easy to check that the relation is an equivalence relation. In light of this,
when we talk about "a knot" we will usually be considering an equivalence class of
knots under this relation. With this in mind, we define the unknot to be the equiva-
lence class of knots which contains the knot f (x, y) = (x, y, 0). That is, the unknot
is the equivalence class containing the embedding of S 1 into the xy-plane defined
1
2 ALEXANDER WAUGH

(x, y) 7→ (x, y, 0). In order to rule out certain pathologies we restrict our attention to
so called "tame" knots, which are knots whose image in R3 are equivalent to a closed
polygonal curve.

While this may seem to answer the question of when two specific knots are equiva-
lent, it does not present any way of determining whether such a function exists. In
this regard, the concept of determining whether two knots are equivalent is similar in
difficulty to determining whether two topological spaces are homeomorphic. In the
latter, we use topological invariants to determine when two topological spaces cannot
be homeomorphic. In a similar fashion, we turn our attention to the analogous "knot
invariants" which will be able to distinguish two non-equivalent knots.

2. The Knot Group

While a topological invariant is concerned with the structure of the topological
space in question, (i.e. is the space connected? is the space compact?, etc...) a knot
invariant need not only consider the image of S 1 in R3 . Many knot invariants, such
as the knot group, are concerned with the complement of the knot in R3 , a notion
which has no inherent meaning in an arbitrary topological space. In fact, it follows
directly from definition 1.2 that equivalent knots have homeomorphic complements
in R3 .
Proposition 2.1. Equivalent knots have homeomorphic knot complements
Proof. Let K1 and K2 be equivalent knots and Ft : R3 → R3 be an ambient isotopy
from K1 to K2 . Then F1 is a homeomorphism of R3 such that F1 (K1 ) = K2 implying
that F1 |R3 \K1 is a homeomorphism from R3 \ K1 to F1 (R3 \ K1 ) = R3 \ K2 . 
As such, if two knots K1 and K2 do not have homeomorphic complements in R3
then they are not equivalent knots. We may then utilize any topological invariants
to distinguish the complements of two knots. We proceed by examining fundamen-
tal groups of the knot complement. Note that we say fundamental groups rather
than fundamental group because a priori we do not know that the complement of
a knot in R3 is path connected. We will present a proof of this fact in section 3
and for now assume that the complement of a (tame) knot is path connected. So,
up to isomorphism, every knot is associated to a single group inspiring the following
definition.
Definition 2.2. The knot group of a knot K with base point p ∈ R3 \ K is the
fundamental group of the knot complement with base point p.
By the above discussion it is easy to see that the knot group is a knot invariant
but, just as in the case of path-connected topological spaces, the fundamental group
is not a complete invariant. For example, it can be shown using the Jones polynomial1
that the (right-handed) trefoil is not equivalent to its mirror image (the left-handed
trefoil). Later we will show that the knot group of the trefoil2 is isomorphic to the
knot group of its mirror image. Before doing so, we proceed by proving a few facts
about the knot group as well as compute the knot group of the unknot.
1See [Rol03]
2Note that all knots in a particular equivalence class have homeomorphic complements. So there
is a well defined notion, up to isomorphism, of the knot group for an equivalence class of knots.
 KNOT GROUPS 3

2.1. Properties of the Knot Group. While all of the properties we have discussed
so far have been defined in terms of R3 , it may be useful at times to consider a knot
as a subspace of a different topological space. For example, there is a natural embed-
ding of R3 into its one-point compactification X. Then by stereographic projection
from the north pole, it is easy to see that X is homeomorphic to S 3 where the point
at infinity is identified with the north pole in S 3 . With this in mind, any embedding
of S 1 in R3 can be considered as an embedding of S 1 into S 3 . Conversely, if e is an
embedding of S 1 into S 3 , there exists a point p ∈ S 3 such that p 6∈ e(S 1 ).3 Taking
the composition of e with stereographic projection at p we get a knot in R3 .

As we are concerned with the knot group, the next natural question is whether
the knot group, up to isomorphism, is preserved by embedding a knot in R3 into S 3 .
Unfortunately, the above discussion does not immediately imply that this should be
true but it can easily be seen that the injection R3 ,−
→ S 3 described above induces an
isomorphism of the fundamental groups. To see that this is true we begin by proving
a general result.
Proposition 2.3. Suppose M is a connected manifold of dimension at least 3, and
→ M induces an isomorphism π1 (M \ {p}) ∼
p ∈ M . Show that inclusion M \ {p} ,− =
π1 (M ).
Proof. Let M be a connected manifold of dimension n ≥ 3 and p ∈ M . For B a
coordinate ball containing p define U = B and V = M \ {p}. Observe that V is
path connected and because B is homeomorphic to an open ball in Rn , B is simply
connected. So the Seifert-Van Kampen theorem implies that for each q ∈ U ∩ V the
inclusion map i : M \ {p} → M induces an isomorphism
π1 (M, q) ∼
= π1 (M \ {p}, q)/j∗ π1 (U ∩ V, q),
where j∗ π1 (U ∩ V ), q is the normal closure of j∗ π1 (U ∩ V, q) in π1 (V, q) and j∗ is the
homomorphism induced by inclusion B \ {p} ,− → M \ p.

We now observe that U ∩ V = B \ {p} is homeomorphic to Rn \ {p̃} for some point

p̃. Since Rn \ {p̃} is homeomorphic to Rn \ {0} and n ≥ 3 it follows that B \ {0} is
simply connected. Thus j∗ π1 (U ∩ V, q) is trivial and consequently j∗ π1 (U ∩ V, q) is
trivial. Hence
π1 (M, q) ∼
= π1 (M \ {p}, q).

Corollary 2.4. If K is a knot in R3 and ι : R3 → S 3 is inclusion then
π1 (R3 \ K, q) ∼
= π1 (S 3 \ i(K), i(q)),
for any q ∈ R3 \ K.
Proof. Let X denote the one-point compactification of R3 and recall that S 3 is home-
omorphic to X. Considering R3 as a subspace of X, it suffices to show
(2.1) π1 (R3 \ K, q) ∼
= π1 (X \ K, q),
3If no such point p exists then e is surjective and therefore a homeomorphism. However S 1 is
easily seen to not be homeomorphic to S 3 as the latter is simply connected and the former is not.
4 ALEXANDER WAUGH

for q ∈ R3 \ K. Noting that X \ K is a connected 3-manifold and R3 \ K = (X \ K) \

{∞}, proposition 2.3 implies equation 2.1. As homeomorphic spaces have isomorphic
fundamental groups the desired result follows. 
We now may give a relatively simple argument for calculating the knot group of
the unknot.
Theorem 2.5. The knot group of the unknot is infinite cyclic.
Proof. We begin by defining
K = {(0, 0, z) : z ∈ R} ∪ {∞} ⊂ S 3
S = {(x, y, 0) : x2 + y 2 = 1}
Observing that K is an embedding of some unknot in S 3 we proceed by showing S
is a deformation retract of S 3 \ K.

Expressing S 3 \ K in cylindrical coordinates, consider for t ∈ [0, 1] the function

ft : [0, 2π] × (0, ∞) × R → S 3 \ K defined by
ft (θ, r, z) = (θ, r1−t , (1 − t)z).
This function is a homotopy from the identity on S 3 \ K to the function (θ, r, z) 7→
(θ, 1, 0). As the latter function is easily seen to be a retraction of S 3 \ K onto S, we
conclude that S is a deformation retract of S 3 \ K. Consequently, the fundamental
group of S 3 \ K is isomorphic to the fundamental group of S and because S is
homeomorphic to S 1 the desired result follows. 
3. The Wirtinger Presentation
While considering the unknot as a subspace of S 3 led to an obvious deformation
retract this is not always the case for arbitrary knots. To compute the knot group of
an arbitrary knot we must be a bit more creative. Recalling that we restricted our
attention to tame knots, from this point onward when we refer to a knot K ⊂ R3 we
mean a simple closed polygonal curve in R3 that is equivalent to K.
Definition 3.1. If K is a knot in R3 , its projection π(K) ⊂ R2 , where π is the
canonical projection onto the xy-plane. The projection is said to be regular if the
preimage of a point of π(K) consists of either one or two points of K and neither
points are vertices of K.
Definition 3.2. If K is a knot and π(K) a regular projection a point p ∈ K is said
to be a crossing point if π −1 (π(p)) contains two points. If q is the other point in this
fibre the point with the greatest z coordinate is said to be the over-crossing point and
the other point, the under-crossing point. The polygonal segment which contains the
over-crossing (resp. under-crossing) is call the over-strand (resp. under-strand).
With the information about over and under-crossings being preserved, it can be
shown that two knots with the same projection and crossings are equivalent. Further-
more, every knot we are considering is equivalent to a knot with a regular projection.
While the proof of these facts will take us to far afield from our study of knot groups
the interested reader is referred to [Rol03]
Theorem 3.3. Every knot is equivalent to a knot with a regular projection. Two
knots are equivalent if and only if they are equivalent to knots with the same regular
projection.
 KNOT GROUPS 5

With these results we give a sketch of the final preliminary result we need.
Lemma 3.4. For every knot K ⊂ R3 there is an equivalent knot K 0 contained in the
xy-plane such that K 0 consists of finitely many disjoint arcs in the xy-plane together
with finitely many disjoint arcs where K crosses over itself that lie above the xy-plane.
A knot K 0 is said to lie almost entirely in the xy-plane. See figure 1.
Proof sketch. Let K ⊂ R3 be a knot with a regular projection and embed the pro-
jection into the xy-plane in R3 . If x is an over crossing point of K we can take
ε > 0 sufficiently small such that B(π(x), ε) ⊂ R3 does not contain any other over
crossing points. By restricting ε further we may assume that the image of the over-
strand containing x intersects the boundary of this ball in precisely two points. As
∂B(π(x), ε) ∩ H3 ≈ S 1 ∩ H3 is path connected, we may find a path connecting the
points of the over-strand. Repeating this process for each of the over-crossing points
we construct a knot which is the union of finitely many disjoint arcs contained in the
plane and finitely many disjoint arcs above the plane. Moreover, this knot has the
same projection as K and is therefore equivalent to K. 

z
y
x

Figure 1

This result then enables us to give a relatively simple proof that the complement
of a (tame) knot in R3 is path connected.
Corollary 3.5. The complement of a (tame) knot in R3 is path connected
Proof. Since every (tame) knot is equivalent to a knot that lies almost entirely in the
xy-plane and the knot complement of equivalent knots are homeomorphic it suffices
to show that the complement of a knot lying almost entirely in the xy-plane is path
connected. Let K be such a knot and p, q ∈ R3 \ K. If p and q both lie below the
xy-plane then the straight line path between them is contained in K. In the case
that p = (x, y, 0) lies in the xy-plane then we may connect p to p0 = (x, y, −) via a
straight line and connect p0 to q via a straight line. The concatenation of these two
paths then yields a path from p to q. Note that q may also lie in the xy-plane as well
and we may connect both p and q to some arbitrary point lying below the xy-plane
to construct a path.

Now in the case that p = (x, y, z) lies above the xy-plane we proceed as follows:
if the ray {(x, y, t) : t > 0} does not intersect K then we may connect p to a point
with sufficiently large positive z coordinate via a straight line. Since K is compact
there exists r > 0 such that K ⊂ {(x, y, t) : t > 0, x2 + y 2 < r} = C. We connect
the end of the previous line segment to any point in the complement of C via a line
6 ALEXANDER WAUGH

segment. Then we connect the end of this line segment to the xy-plane via a straight
line parallel to the z-axis. The endpoint of this path is then in the xy-plane and can
be connected to q by the above argument. The concatenation of all of these line seg-
ments then forms a path from p to q. Now in the case that the ray {(x, y, t) : t > 0}
does intersect K we have that it can only do so at a single point (the knot lies entirely
in the plane and has a regular projection). Let a denote this point and let  > 0 be
sufficiently small such that the closure of B(a, ) is contained entirely above the xy-
plane. It then follows that K intersects the boundary of this ball at only two points
(where the strand of the knot "enters" the ball and where it "exits) neither of which
are the south or north poles of the closed ball. Since the twice punctured 2-sphere is
path connected it follows that B(a, ) is path connected. So by taking a straight line
path from p to the south pole of B(a, ) there exists a path along the boundary of
the closed ball to the north pole. From the end of this path we may proceed as in the
previous argument because there are no points of K in the ray {(x, y, t) : t > 0} with
z coordinate greater than or equal to the z-coordinate of the north pole. Finally if
both p and q lie above the xy-plane we observe that the above argument show that we
may connect both p and q to some arbitrary point y lying below the xy-plane. The
concatenation of these paths is then a path from p to q in the knot complement. 
The final piece of machinery we need to discuss knot groups is a common result
about the fundamental group of CW-complexes which can be found in introductory
algebraic topology texts. We present here the statement from proposition 10.13 in
[Lee10].
Theorem 3.6. Let X be a path-connected topological space, and let X̃ be the space
obtained by attaching a closed 2-cell D to X along an attaching map φ : ∂D → X.
Let v ∈ ∂D, ṽ = φ(v) ∈ X, and γ = φ∗ (α) ∈ π1 (X, ṽ, where α is a generator for
the infinite cyclic group π1 (∂D, v). Then the homomorphism π1 (X, v) → π1 (X̃, ṽ)
induced by inclusion X ,→ X̃ is surjective, and its kernel is the smallest normal
subgroup containing γ. If π1 (X, ṽ) has a finite presentation
π1 (X, ṽ) ∼
= hβ1 , . . . , βn | σ1 , . . . , σs i,
then π1 (X̃, ṽ) has the presentation
π1 (X̃, ṽ) ∼
= hβ1 , . . . , βn | σ1 , . . . , σs , τ i,
where τ is an expression for γ ∈ π1 (X, ṽ) in terms of {β1 , . . . , βn }.
We now may proceed with describing a generalized procedure for writing down a
presentation of the group of a knot K in R3 . As the knot group of equivalent knots are
isomorphic we may restrict our attention to considering K which lie almost entirely
in the xy-plane as described above. The following result is inspired by exercise 22 in
section 1.2 in [Hat01].
Theorem 3.7 (The Wirtinger Presentation). The knot group of every (tame) knot
is finitely presented.
Proof. The main idea of this proof is to construct a cell-cell complex that is a defor-
mation retract of the knot complement. Then using theorem 3.6 we will show that
this process results in a finitely presented group that is isomorphic to the knot group.

To begin, let K be a knot which lies almost entirely in the xy-plane and consider a
 KNOT GROUPS 7

crossing as in figure 1. In particular, restrict your attention to the darker "cross" re-
gion surrounding each of the strands in the knot. Let A denote this planar region and
observe that A is simply connected. The space A will form the base for constructing
our cellular complex. To begin constructing the cell complex, we attach six one-cells
to A and let p ∈ A be the point given in figure 2. From figure 2 it can clearly be seen

Figure 2

that Y deformation retracts onto a bouquet of six circles. More formally, let A0 be
the union of A a single attached 1-cell, e. Let U be the union of e and the portion
of the cross that e is attached to (i.e. one of the four rectangular regions connected
to the darker square in figure 1) and let V = A. Clearly, both U and V are path
connected open subsets of A0 and U ∩ V is a convex open subset of A. So by the
Seifert-Van Kampen theorem,
π1 (A0 , q) ∼
= π1 (U, q) ∗ π1 (V, q),
where q ∈ U ∩V is any point. Now V is simply connected and therefore π1 (V, q) = {1}.
Since the rectangular region of A contained in U has a strong deformation retract
onto a line segment connecting the two points of e attached to A, it follows that
U is homotopy equivalent to S 1 . Thus π1 (A0 , q) ∼ = Z and as A0 is path connected
π1 (A0 , p) ∼
= Z. Proceeding inductively for each of the attached one cells we have that
π1 (Y, p) ∼= hx, y, z, α, β, γi with explicit generators being given by
x = a1 a2 a02 a1 , y = c1 c05 c5 c1
z = b1 b2 b02 b1 , α = a04 a4
β = c1 c2 c3 c03 c2 c1 , γ = a04 b6 b05 b5 b6 a04
where the paths described above are given in figure 3. The 2-cells R1 , R2 , and R3 are
attached to Y to create a new space Z. Using the notation for polygonal presentations
we make the following identifications on the boundaries of these two-cells
R1 = ha1 , a2 , a3 , a4 | a1 a2 a3 a4 i
R2 = hc2 , c3 , c4 , c5 | c2 c3 c4 c5 i
R3 = hb1 , b2 , b3 , c05 , b4 , b5 , b6 , a04 | b1 b2 b3 c05 b4 b5 b6 a4 0 i
In particular, when attaching R3 we ensure that the the attached R3 lies entirely
beneath the over strand of the knot. Figure 4 depicts the resulting space after at-
taching these cells. We proceed by examining the result of attaching the two cells on
8 ALEXANDER WAUGH

Figure 3

Figure 4

the fundamental group. By proposition 10.13 in [Lee10] it follows that

π1 (Z, p) ∼
= π1 (Y, p)/N,

where N is the smallest normal subgroup containing {φ, c1 φ2 c1 , φ3 }, where4

φ1 = a1 a2 a3 a4 , φ 2 = c2 c3 c4 c5 , φ3 = b1 b2 b3 c05 b4 b5 b6 a04 .

Since π1 (Y, p) has a finite presentation it follows that π1 (Z, p) has a finite presenta-
tion by adding relators corresponding to each of the elements {φ, c1 φ2 c1 , φ3 } written
in terms of the generators x, y, z, α, β, γ.

To find such expressions consider the loops

r1 = a1 a02 a3 a04 , r2 = c1 c2 c03 c4 c05 c1 , r3 = b1 b02 b3 c05 b4 b05 b6 a04 .

4Note that φi is the topological circle that Ri is attached along in the construction of Z
 KNOT GROUPS 9

It then follows that

xr1 α = a1 a2 a02 a1 a1 a02 a3 a04 a04 a4
= a1 a2 a3 a4
= φ1
βr2 y = c1 c2 c3 c03 c2 c1 c1 c2 c03 c4 c05 c1 c1 c05 c5 c1
= c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c1
= c1 φ2 c1
zr3 γ = b1 b2 b02 b1 b1 b02 b3 c05 b4 b05 b6 a04 b6 b05 b5 b6 a04
= b1 b2 b3 c05 b4 b5 b6 a04
= φ3
Now noting that each ri is null-homotopic, it follows that φ1 ' xy, c1 φ2 c1 ' βα and
φ3 ' zγ. Consequently,
π1 (Z, p) ∼
= hx, y, z, α, β, γ | xα, βy, zγi.
Observe that xαN = N implies xN = αN where N is understood now to be the
normal closure of {xα, βy, zγ} in π1 (Y, p). Similarly, yN = βN and zN = γN . So if
we associate x, y and z with xN, yN and zN ,
π1 (Z, p) ∼
= hx, y, zi,
where examples of loops in xN , yN and zN are given in figure 4.

We now attach another two-cell, R4 , to Z to construct the desired cell complex.

As before we attach a rectangular region with boundary identifications
R4 = hh, k, l, m | hklmi,
where the paths h, k, l and m are as in figure 4. When attaching this cell we ensure
that the attached R4 lies entirely above the over crossing strand of the knot. Thus
the over crossing of the knot lies above the attached R3 and below the attached R4 .
The resulting topological space, X, is then pictured in figure 5. Since Z is path

Figure 5
10 ALEXANDER WAUGH

connected, we may proceed by the same method as before observing that

π1 (X, p) ∼
= π1 (Z, p)/M,
where M is the smallest normal subgroup in πq (Z, p) containing φ4 = hklm. More-
over, because the fundamental group of Z at p is finitely presented, the fundamental
group of X at p is finitely presented and has presentation
hx, y, z | τ i,
where τ is an expression for φ4 in terms of {x, y, z}. To find τ we observe that
ha ' b1 b2 b02 b1 = z
akba ' c1 c2 c3 c03 c2 c1 = β
dcld ' a04 b6 b05 b5 b6 a04 = γ
dm ' a04 a4 = α
However under the quotient by N we have that α ≡ x and β ≡ y. So
φ4 ' h(aa)k(badc)l(dd)m ' z ȳz̄ x̄.
Hence
π1 (X, p) ∼
= hx, y, z | z ȳz̄ x̄i.
Moreover, because z ȳz̄ x̄M = M we have that z ȳz̄M = xM where M is understood
to be the normal closure of {z ȳz̄ x̄} in π1 (Y, p). So if we relabel such that x1 = x,
x2 = y and x3 = z we have that
π1 (X, p) ∼
= hx1 , x2 , x3 | x1 = x3 x2 x−1 i. 3

Now because we have ensured that the over strand lies between R3 and R4 we ob-
serve that by translating the strands of this crossing along the positive z-axis by a
sufficiently small constant that X is a deformation retract of the complement of this
crossing.

To extend this argument to the entire knot we consider each crossing simultaneously5
and observe that some of the rectangles added in the first step (i.e. when constructing
Y ) are shared between crossings. By the exact same argument the resulting cellular
structure is a deformation retract of the knot complement and the knot group based
at p is therefore isomorphic to the fundamental group of this cellular structure based
at p. Moreover, as inclusion is a homotopy inverse for a deformation retraction it
follows that the inclusion of the generating loops of the cell complex into the knot
complement are generators for the knot group. Finally, as this cellular structure
has finitely many 2-cells its fundamental group is finitely presented completing the
proof. 
To conclude our introduction to knot groups we proceed by computing the knot
of the (left handed) trefoil. Before we proceed with our computation it is apparent
that the above algorithm for computing the knot group will not distinguish between
the left and right handed trefoils (considering either trefoil lying almost entirely in
the xy-plane reflection through the xy plane will result in the other trefoil but the
knot group will remain unchanged). So as claimed above, the knot group is not a
complete invariant as the left and right trefoils are not equivalent.
5Implicitly we have selected a single base point p for the entire knot relative to one of the crossings.
There is no need to specify which crossing as the knot complement is path connected.
 KNOT GROUPS 11

Proceeding now with the computation, we begin with the projection of the trefoil
given below6. If we "lift" each of the overstrands by a small amount we have a knot

Figure 6

in R3 which is equivalent to the trefoil and we proceed as in the algorithm above.

First, we consider a planar neighborhood around the strands of the knot which lie in
the plane of projection and attach 1-cells. Letting X denote the space in figure 7, it

Figure 7

follows that for some base point p on the planar region that π1 (X, p) ∼
= hx, y, z, α, β, γi
where the generators are loops from the base point around one of the six attached
one-cells. Now, as before, we attach three rectangles to the space yielding a cell
complex Y which satisfies
π1 (Y, p) ∼
= hx, y, zi
where x, y and z are equivalence classes of loops like in figure 4. Finally we need
to attach the rectangular region over each crossing. Since each of these rectangles
will be attached in a fashion analogous to figure 5 (up to permuting the colors of
which rectangle "covers" the undercrossing) it follows that we have for each crossing
a relation of the form x1 x2 x−1 −1 −1
1 = x3 , x2 x3 x2 = x1 and x3 x1 x3 = x2 where x1 , x2 ,
and x3 describe loops as in the proof of the Wirtinger presentation. So if Z denotes
6Figures 6 and 7 are given with rights to reuse and modification. Their original form can be
found at [Wikb] and [Wika]
12 ALEXANDER WAUGH

this final cell complex, it follows from the Wirtinger presentation algorithm that the
knot group of the trefoil is isomorphic to
π1 (Z, p) ∼
= hx1 , x2 , x3 | x1 x2 x−1 = x3 , x2 x3 x−1 = x1 , x3 x1 x−1 = x2 i.
1 2 3
Substituting the first relation into the third relation we get that
x2 = (x1 x2 x−1 −1 −1
1 )x1 (x1 x2 x1 )

= x1 x2 x1 x−1 −1
2 x1
Now by multiplying on the right by x1 x2 we have x2 x1 x2 = x1 x2 x1 Similarly, by
substituting the first relation into the second relation we get that
x1 = x2 x1 x2 x−1 −1
1 x2 .
By multiplying on the right by x2 x1 we again have that x1 x2 x1 = x2 x1 x2 . So the
above presentation can be simplified to
hx1 , x2 | x1 x2 x1 = x2 x1 x2 i.
Now by considering (x1 x2 x1 )(x2 x1 x2 ) = (x2 x1 x2 )(x1 x2 x1 ) = x2 x2 x1 x2 x2 x1 we observe
that (x1 x2 )3 = (x2 x2 x1 )2 . So defining p = x1 x2 and q = x2 x2 x1 we have a much
simpler relation p3 = q 2 and a presentation
hp, q | p3 = q 2 i.
So we have just proven
Theorem 3.8. The knot group of the left and right trefoil is isomorphic to
hp, q | p3 = q 2 i.
 REFERENCES 13

References
[Hat01] Allen Hatcher. Algebraic Topology. Cambridge University Press, 2001. isbn:
9780521795401.
[Rol03] Dale Rolfsen. Knots and Links. American Mathematics Society, 2003. isbn:
9780821834367.
[Man04] Vassily Manturov. Knot Theory. Chapman & Hall/CRC Press, 2004. isbn:
9780415310017.
[Lee10] John M. Lee. Introduction to Topological Manifolds. Springer, 2010. isbn:
9871441979391.
[Wika] Wikimedia Commons. Trefoil Knot Icon. url: https://commons.wikimedia.
org/wiki/File:Trefoil_knot_icon.svg.
[Wikb] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Trefoil Knot Left. url: https://en.m.
wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trefoil_knot_left.svg.