The 1361st cyclic resultant of the Alexander polynomial of the figure-eight knot is the square of a 285-digit prime. We explain why this fact would not have surprised the number theorist D.H. Lehmer. We discuss Lehmer's open question from 1933 about integral polynomials, and describe its connection with knots and surface automorphisms.
Geometry-Topology Seminar
Thursday, November 29, 2007 - 4:30pm
Dan Silver and Susan Williams
University of South Alabama