We show that given a trivalent graph in $S^3$, either the graph complement contains an essential almost meridional planar surface or thin position for the graph is also bridge position. This can be viewed as an extension of a theorem of Thompson to graphs. It follows that any graph complement always contains a useful planar surface.
We prove that the spectral gap of a finite planar graph $X$ is bounded by $lambda_1(X)le C(frac{log(diam X)}{diam X})^2$ where $C$ depends only on the degree of $X$. We then give a sequence of such graphs showing the the above estimate cannot be improved. This yields a negative answer to a question of Benjamini and Curien on the mixing times of the simple random walk on planar graphs.
We associate to triangulations of infinite type surface a type of flip graph where simultaneous flips are allowed. Our main focus is on understanding exactly when two triangulations can be related by a sequence of flips. A consequence of our results is that flip graphs for infinite type surfaces have uncountably many connected components.
Associated to every state surface for a knot or link is a state graph, which embeds as a spine of the state surface. A state graph can be decomposed along cut-vertices into graphs with induced planar embeddings. Associated with each such planar graph is a checkerboard surface, and each state surface is a fiber if and only if all of its associated checkerboard surfaces are fibers. We give an algebraic condition that characterizes which checkerboard surfaces are fibers directly from their state graphs. We use this to classify fibering of checkerboard surfaces for several families of planar graphs, including those associated with 2-bridge links. This characterizes fibering for many families of state surfaces.
We prove that the Koebe circle domain conjecture is equivalent to the Weyl type problem that every complete hyperbolic surface of genus zero is isometric to the boundary of the hyperbolic convex hull of the complement of a circle domain. It provides a new way to approach the Koebes conjecture using convex geometry. Combining our result with the work of He-Schramm on the Koebe conjecture, one establishes that every simply connected non-compact polyhedral surface is discrete conformal to the complex plane or the open unit disk. The main tool we use is Schramms transboundary extremal lengths.