On the Alexander Theorem for the oriented Thompson group $\vec{F}$

Abstract

In [Jo14] and [Jo18] Vaughan Jones introduced a construction which yields oriented knots and links from elements of the oriented Thompson group $\vec{F}$. In this paper we prove, by analogy with Alexander's classical theorem establishing that every knot or link can be represented as a closed braid, that given an oriented knot/link $\vec{L}$, there exists an element $g$ in $\vec{F}$ whose closure $\vec{\mathcal{L}}(g)$ is $\vec{L}$.

To appear in Algebraic & Geometric Topology. Corrected definition