A LEFT-RIGHT CLASSIFICATION OF TOPOLOGICALLY CHIRAL KNOTS

A method for partitioning topologically chiral knots into mutually het erochiral classes has been developed, based on the principle that for such knots there exist no diagrams whose vertex-bicolored graphs are c omposed of equivalent black and white subgraphs. The method, which int roduces the concept of writhe profiles, is successfully applied to alt ernating as well as non-alternating prime and composite knots, and wor ks in cases where the Jones and Kauffman polynomials fail to recognize the knot's chirality. It is shown that writhe profiles are sensitive indicators of diagram similarity.