An Elementary Proof of the Signature of Satellite Knots

Abstract

We present a proof of Litherland's formula for the Tristram-Levine signature of a satellite knot in terms of its constituents. Litherland's original proof used more advanced algebraic techniques, while ours uses only linear algebra and some basic results in knot theory.

6 pages, 0 figures. Fixed some typos and added a section comparing our proof to a similar past proof