English

$\mathfrak{sl}(2)$-weight system does not extend to a graph 4-invariant

Combinatorics 2026-07-27 v1 Geometric Topology

Abstract

A long-standing question by S. Lando asks whether the sl(2)\mathfrak{sl}(2)-weight system extends to a unique 4-invariant of graphs. We show that, in full generality, the answer to this question is negative. However, for certain specializations of the weight system, extensions do exist. Explicit formulae for computing two such specializations of the weight system are already known. We construct recurrence relations for one additional such extension and discuss the last remaining specialization, which conjecturally admits an extension. We also study the polynomial coefficients of the sl(2)\mathfrak{sl}(2)-weight system and resolve the questions concerning their extension.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.24217,
  title  = {$\mathfrak{sl}(2)$-weight system does not extend to a graph 4-invariant},
  author = {Daniil Fomichev and Maksim Karev and Fedor Pavutnitskiy and Sergey Usanov},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.24217},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

14 pages, 5 figures