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RESEARCH PRODUCT

KNOTS WITH UNKNOTTING NUMBER ONE AND GENERALISED CASSON INVARIANT

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We extend the classical notion of unknotting operation to include operations on rational tangles. We recall the “classical” conditions (on the signature, linking form etc.) for a knot to have integral (respectively rational) unknotting number one. We show that the generalised Casson invariant of the twofold branched cover of the knot gives a further necessary condition. We apply these results to some Montesinos knots and to knots with less than nine crossings.