# Wirtinger systems of generators of knot groups

## TL;DR

This paper introduces the Wirtinger number, an invariant of links that equals the bridge number, providing a new combinatorial approach to bound bridge numbers and explore the Meridional Rank Conjecture in knot theory.

## Contribution

It defines the Wirtinger number, proves its equality with the bridge number, and applies this to improve bounds on bridge numbers for many knots and hyperbolic volume estimates.

## Key findings

- Wirtinger number equals bridge number for links
- New technique for bounding bridge numbers of knots
- Established a lower bound on hyperbolic volume based on bridge number

## Abstract

We define the {\it Wirtinger number} of a link, an invariant closely related to the meridional rank. The Wirtinger number is the minimum number of generators of the fundamental group of the link complement over all meridional presentations in which every relation is an iterated Wirtinger relation arising in a diagram. We prove that the Wirtinger number of a link equals its bridge number. This equality can be viewed as establishing a weak version of Cappell and Shaneson's Meridional Rank Conjecture, and suggests a new approach to this conjecture. Our result also leads to a combinatorial technique for obtaining strong upper bounds on bridge numbers. This technique has so far allowed us to add the bridge numbers of approximately 50,000 prime knots of up to 14 crossings to the knot table. As another application, we use the Wirtinger number to show there exists a universal constant $C$ with the property that the hyperbolic volume of a prime alternating link $L$ is bounded below by $C$ times the bridge number of $L$.