We consider the problem of deciding whether a polygonal knot in 3-dimensional Euclidean space is unknotted, capable of being continuously deformed without self-intersection so that it lies in a plane. We show that this problem, unknotting problem is in NP. We also consider the problem, unknotting problem of determining whether two or more such polygons can be split, or continuously deformed without self-intersection so that they occupy both sides of a plane without intersecting it. We show that it also is in NP. Finally, we show that the problem of determining the genus of a polygonal knot (a generalization of the problem of determining whether it is unknotted) is in PSPACE. We also give exponential worstcase running time bounds for deterministic algorithms to solve each of these problems. These algorithms are based on the use of normal surfaces and decision procedures due to W. Haken, with recent extensions by W. Jaco and J. L. Tollefson.

There is a positive constant c1 such that for any diagram D representing the unknot, there is a sequence of at most 2 c1n Reidemeister moves that will convert it to a trivial knot diagram, where n is the number of crossings in D. A similar result holds for elementary moves on a polygonal knot K embedded in the 1-skeleton of the interior of a compact, orientable, triangulated PL 3-manifold M. There is a positive constant c2 such that for each t ≥ 1, if M consists of t tetrahedra, and K is unknotted, then there is a sequence of at most 2 c2t elementary moves in M which transforms K to a triangle contained inside one tetrahedron of M. We obtain explicit values for c1 and c2.

For each integer n ≥ 1 we construct a closed unknotted Piecewise Linear curve Kn in R 3 having less than 11n edges with the property that any Piecewise Linear triangluated disk spanning the curve contains at least 2 n−1 triangles. 1 Introduction. We show the existence of a sequence of unknotted simple closed curves Kn in R 3 having the following properties: • The curve Kn is a polygon with at most 11n edges. • Any Piecewise Linear (PL) embedding of a triangulated disk into R 3 with