On the Alexander polynomials of modular knots

Closed geodesics associated with indefinite binary quadratic forms, or equivalently with real quadratic irrationals, have long been studied as geometric $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z})$-invariants. Building on the Birman-Williams approach to Lorenz knots and following the notion of modular knots introduced by Ghys, this article investigates the topological $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z})$-invariants arising from modular knots. Our main focus is the Alexander polynomial of modular knots. Using the Burau representation, we highlight two contrasting features of this family. On the one hand, for each fixed degree, only finitely many Alexander polynomials of modular knots occur. On the other hand, any integer appears as a coefficient of the Alexander polynomial of some modular knot, and coefficients of the same sign can occur in runs of arbitrarily long length.