On the Melvin–Morton–Rozansky conjecture

We prove a conjecture stated by Melvin and Morton (and elucidated further by Rozansky) saying that the Alexander–Conway polynomial of a knot can be read from some of the coefficients of the Jones polynomials of cables of that knot (i.e., coefficients of the “colored” Jones polynomial). We first reduce the problem to the level of weight systems using a general principle, which may be of some independent interest, and which sometimes allows to deduce equality of Vassiliev invariants from the equality of their weight systems. We then prove the conjecture combinatorially on the level of weight systems. Finally, we prove a generalization of the Melvin–Morton–Rozansky (MMR) conjecture to knot invariants coming from arbitrary semi-simple Lie algebras. As side benefits we discuss a relation between the Conway polynomial and immanants and a curious formula for the weight system of the colored Jones polynomial. Oblatum 28-VII-1994 & 5-XI-1995 & 22-XI-1995     

A non-commutative formula for the colored Jones function

The colored Jones function of a knot is a sequence of Laurent polynomials that encodes the Jones polynomial of a knot and its parallels. It has been understood in terms of representations of quantum groups and Witten gave an intrinsic quantum field theory interpretation of the colored Jones function as the expectation value of Wilson loops of a 3-dimensional gauge theory, the Chern–Simons theory. We present the colored Jones function as an evaluation of the inverse of a non-commutative fermionic partition function. This result is in the form familiar in quantum field theory, namely the inverse of a generalized determinant. Our formula also reveals a direct relation between the Alexander polynomial and the colored Jones function of a knot and immediately implies the extensively studied Melvin–Morton–Rozansky conjecture, first proved by Bar–Natan and the first author about 10 years ago. Our results complement recent work of Huynh and Le, who also give a non-commutative formulae for the colored Jones function of a knot, starting from a non-commutative formula for the R matrix of the quantum group ; see Huynh and Le (in math.GT/0503296).     

A version of the volume conjecture

We propose a version of the volume conjecture that would relate a certain limit of the colored Jones polynomials of a knot to the volume function defined by a representation of the fundamental group of the knot complement to the special linear group of degree two over complex numbers. We also confirm the conjecture for the figure-eight knot and torus knots. This version is different from S. Gukov's because of a choice of polarization.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">SU</Emphasis>(2)/<Emphasis Type="Italic">SL</Emphasis>(2) knot invariants and Kontsevich–Soibelman monodromies

We review the Reshetikhin–Turaev approach for constructing noncompact knot invariants involving Rmatrices associated with infinite-dimensional representations, primarily those constructed from the Faddeev quantum dilogarithm. The corresponding formulas can be obtained from modular transformations of conformal blocks as their Kontsevich–Soibelman monodromies and are presented in the form of transcendental integrals, where the main issue is working with the integration contours. We discuss possibilities for extracting more explicit and convenient expressions that can be compared with the ordinary (compact) knot polynomials coming from finite-dimensional representations of simple Lie algebras, with their limits and properties. In particular, the quantum A-polynomials and difference equations for colored Jones polynomials are the same as in the compact case, but the equations in the noncompact case are homogeneous and have a nontrivial right-hand side for ordinary Jones polynomials.     

The colored Jones polynomial and the A-polynomial of Knots

We study relationships between the colored Jones polynomial and the A-polynomial of a knot. The AJ conjecture (of Garoufalidis) that relates the colored Jones polynomial and the A-polynomial is established for a large class of two-bridge knots, including all twist knots. We formulate a weaker conjecture and prove that it holds for all two-bridge knots. Along the way we also calculate the Kauffman bracket skein module of the complements of two-bridge knots. Some properties of the colored Jones polynomial are established.     

纽结与多项式

In this paper, we deal with some corresponding relations between knots and polynomials by using the basic properties of knot polynomials （such as, some special values of knot polynomials, the Arf invariant and derivative of knot polynomials）. We give necessary and sufficient conditions that a Laurent polynomial with integer coefficients, whose breadth is less than five, is the Jones polynomial of a certain knot.     

Jones多项式的零点

利用数论理论证明了纽结的Jones多项式仅有可能的有理根是O,而链环的Jones多项式仅有可能的有理根是0和-1.给出了作为Jones多项式根的所有可能单位根,以及所有可能的具有平凡Mahler测度的Jones多项式.最后指出了交叉数不超过11的纽结中,只有4_1,8_9,9_(42),K11n19的Jones多项式具有平凡的Mahler测度,从而回答了林晓松提出的关于Mahler测度的一个问题.     

Random Walks And The Colored Jones Function

It can be conjectured that the colored Jones function of a knot can be computed in terms of counting paths on the graph of a planar projection of a knot. On the combinatorial level, the colored Jones function can be replaced by its weight system. We give two curious formulas for the weight system of a colored Jones function: one in terms of the permanent of a matrix associated to a chord diagram, and another in terms of counting paths of intersecting chords. Electronic supplementary material to this article is available at and is accessible to authorized users. * S. G. was partially supported by an NSF and by an Israel-US BSF grant. † M. L. was partly supported by GAUK 158 grant and by the Project LN00A056 of the Czech Ministry of Education.     

Jones Invariant,Cantorian Geometry and Quantum Spacetime

The relation between Jones knot polynominals and statistical mechanics is discussed in the light of Cantorian geometry. It is further shown that von Neumanns continuous geometry may be regarded as being a quantum spacetime akin to Cantorian space E ^(∞) and noncommutative geometry.     

Proof of the Volume Conjecture for Whitehead Doubles of a Family of Torus Knots

A technique to compute the colored Jones polynomials of satellite knots,illus- trated by the Whitehead doubles of knots,is presented.Then the author proves the volume conjecture for Whitehead doubles of a family of torus knots and shows some interesting observations.     

Skein modules and the noncommutative torus

We prove that the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of the cylinder over a torus is a canonical subalgebra of the noncommutative torus. The proof is based on Chebyshev polynomials. As an application, we describe the structure of the Kauffman bracket skein module of a solid torus as a module over the algebra of the cylinder over a torus, and recover a result of Hoste and Przytycki about the skein module of a lens space. We establish simple formulas for Jones-Wenzl idempotents in the skein algebra of a cylinder over a torus, and give a straightforward computation of the -th colored Kauffman bracket of a torus knot, evaluated in the plane or in an annulus.

     

The sl3 Jones polynomial of the trefoil: A case study of q-holonomic sequences

The ${\mathfrak{sl}}_3$ colored Jones polynomial of the trefoil knot is a q-holonomic sequence of two variables with natural origin, namely quantum topology. The paper presents an explicit set of generators for the annihilator ideal of this q-holonomic sequence as a case study. On the one hand, our results are new and useful to quantum topology: this is the first example of a rank 2 Lie algebra computation concerning the colored Jones polynomial of a knot. On the other hand, this work illustrates the applicability and computational power of the employed computer algebra methods.     

Kötter interpolation in skew polynomial rings

Skew polynomials are a noncommutative generalization of ordinary polynomials that, in recent years, have found applications in coding theory and cryptography. Viewed as functions, skew polynomials have a well-defined evaluation map; however, little is known about skew-polynomial interpolation. In this work, we apply Kötter’s interpolation framework to free modules over skew polynomial rings. As a special case, we introduce a simple interpolation algorithm akin to Newton interpolation for ordinary polynomials.     

Chromatic polynomial, q-binomial counting and colored Jones function

We define a q-chromatic function and q-dichromate on graphs and compare it with existing graph functions. Then we study in more detail the class of general chordal graphs. This is partly motivated by the graph isomorphism problem. Finally we relate the q-chromatic function to the colored Jones function of knots. This leads to a curious expression of the colored Jones function of a knot diagram K as a chromatic operator applied to a power series whose coefficients are linear combinations of long chord diagrams. Chromatic operators are directly related to weight systems by the work of Chmutov, Duzhin, Lando and Noble, Welsh.     

Intersection Alexander polynomials

By considering a (not necessarily locally-flat) PL knot as the singular locus of a PL stratified pseudomanifold, we can use intersection homology theory to define intersection Alexander polynomials, a generalization of the classical Alexander polynomial invariants for smooth or PL locally-flat knots. We show that the intersection Alexander polynomials satisfy certain duality and normalization conditions analogous to those of ordinary Alexander polynomials, and we explore the relationships between the intersection Alexander polynomials and certain generalizations of the classical Alexander polynomials that are defined for non-locally-flat knots. We also investigate the relations between the intersection Alexander polynomials of a knot and the intersection and classical Alexander polynomials of the link knots around the singular strata. To facilitate some of these investigations, we introduce spectral sequences for the computation of the intersection homology of certain stratified bundles.     

Invariants of Composite Networks Arising as a Tensor Product

We generalize Brylawski’s formula of the Tutte polynomial of a tensor product of matroids to colored connected graphs, matroids, and disconnected graphs. Unlike the non-colored tensor product where all edges have to be replaced by the same graph, our colored generalization of the tensor product operation allows individual edge replacement. The colored Tutte polynomials we compute exists by the results of Bollobás and Riordan. The proof depends on finding the correct generalization of the two components of the pointed Tutte polynomial, first studied by Brylawski and Oxley, and on careful enumeration of the connected components in a tensor product. Our results make the calculation of certain invariants of many composite networks easier, provided that the invariants are obtained from the colored Tutte polynomials via substitution and the composite networks are represented as tensor products of colored graphs. In particular, our method can be used to calculate (with relative ease) the expected number of connected components after an accident hits a composite network in which some major links are identical subnetworks in themselves.      

The Khovanov complex for virtual links

One of the most outstanding achievements of modern knot theory is Khovanov’s categorification of Jones polynomials. In the present paper, we construct the homology theory for virtual knots. An important obstruction to this theory (unlike the case of classical knots) is the nonorientability of “atoms”; an atom is a two-dimensional combinatorial object closely related with virtual link diagrams. The problem is solved directly for the field ℤ₂ and also by using some geometrical constructions applied to atoms. We discuss a generalization proposed by Khovanov; he modifies the initial homology theory by using the Frobenius extension. We construct analogs of these theories for virtual knots, both algebraically and geometrically (by using atoms). __________ Translated from Fundamentalnaya i Prikladnaya Matematika, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 127–152, 2005.     

The Thurston norm, fibered manifolds and twisted Alexander polynomials

Every element in the first cohomology group of a 3-manifold is dual to embedded surfaces. The Thurston norm measures the minimal ‘complexity’ of such surfaces. For instance the Thurston norm of a knot complement determines the genus of the knot in the 3-sphere. We show that the degrees of twisted Alexander polynomials give lower bounds on the Thurston norm, generalizing work of McMullen and Turaev. Our bounds attain their most concise form when interpreted as the degrees of the Reidemeister torsion of a certain twisted chain complex. We show that these lower bounds give the correct genus bounds for all knots with 12 crossings or less, including the Conway knot and the Kinoshita-Terasaka knot which have trivial Alexander polynomial.We also give obstructions to fibering 3-manifolds using twisted Alexander polynomials and detect all knots with 12 crossings or less that are not fibered. For some of these it was unknown whether or not they are fibered. Our work in particular extends the fibering obstructions of Cha to the case of closed manifolds.     

Four-weight spin models and Jones pairs

We introduce and discuss Jones pairs. These provide a generalization and a new approach to the four-weight spin models of Bannai and Bannai. We show that each four-weight spin model determines a ``dual' pair of association schemes.