Related papers: The Alexander polynomial at prime powers

In 1928, Alexander defined a sequence of knot polynomials, D_i(K). The first, D_1(K), is the classical Alexander polynomial. These are easily defined in terms of the homology of the infinite cyclic cover of the knot. In theory they can be…

Let $p$ be a prime. Given a polynomial in $\F_{p^m}[x]$ of degree $d$ over the finite field $\F_{p^m}$, one can view it as a map from $\F_{p^m}$ to $\F_{p^m}$, and examine the image of this map, also known as the value set. In this paper,…

We introduce a version of the Alexander polynomial for singular knots and tangles and show how it can be strengthened considerably by introducing a perturbation. For singular long knots, we also prove that our Alexander polynomial agrees…

For a prime $p$ and an integer $x$, the $p$-adic valuation of $x$ is denoted by $\nu_{p}(x)$. For a polynomial $Q$ with integer coefficients, the sequence of valuations $\nu_{p}(Q(n))$ is shown to be either periodic or unbounded. The first…

A group of order $p^n$ ($p$ prime) has an indecomposable polynomial invariant of degree at least $p^{n-1}$ if and only if the group has a cyclic subgroup of index at most $p$ or it is isomorphic to one of two particular groups of small…

We give a new construction of the one-variable Alexander polynomial of an oriented knot or link, and show that it generalizes to a vector valued invariant of oriented tangles.

Let $\mathbf{A}$ be a finite nilpotent algebra in a congruence modular variety with finitely many fundamental operations. If $\mathbf{A}$ is of prime power order, then it is known that there is a polynomial $p$ such that for every $n \in…

We consider polynomials with integer coefficients and discuss their factorization properties in Z[[x]], the ring of formal power series over Z. We treat polynomials of arbitrary degree and give sufficient conditions for their reducibility…

We use the famous knot-theoretic consequence of Freedman's disc theorem---knots with trivial Alexander polynomial bound a locally-flat disc in the 4-ball---to prove the following generalization. The degree of the Alexander polynomial of a…

We consider almost-primes of the form $f(p)$ where $f$ is an irreducible polynomial over $\mathbb Z$ and $p$ runs over primes. We improve a result of Richert for polynomials of degree at least $3$. In particular we show that, when the…

Using a modified foam evaluation, we give a categorification of the Alexander polynomial of a knot. We also give a purely algebraic version of this knot homology which makes it appear as the infinite page of a spectral sequence starting at…

We show that if the fundamental group of the complement of a rationally homologically fibered knot in a rational homology 3-sphere is bi-orderable, then its Alexander polynomial has at least one positive real root. Our argument can be…

Let $H(p)$ be the set of 2-bridge knots $K$ whose group $G$ is mapped onto a non-trivial free product, $Z/2 * Z/p$, $p$ being odd. Then there is an algebraic integer $s_0$ such that for any $K$ in $H(p)$, $G$ has a parabolic representation…

In this paper, we discuss twisted Alexander polynomials of a knot for group extensions of a finite group in two directions. Firstly, we provide a mod $p$ formula for the twisted Alexander polynomial of a knot in the $3$-sphere associated…

We show that given n>0, there exists a hyperbolic knot K with trivial Alexander polynomial, trivial finite type invariants of order <=n, and such that the volume of the complement of K is larger than n. This contrasts with the known…

A polynomial f(t) with rational coefficients is strongly irreducible if f(t^k) is irreducible for all positive integers k. Likewise, two polynomials f and g are strongly coprime if f(t^k) and g(t^l) are relatively prime for all positive…

Cochran defined the nth-order integral Alexander module of a knot in the three sphere as the first homology group of the knot's (n+1)th-iterated abelian cover. The case n=0 gives the classical Alexander module (and polynomial). After a…

We give a new interpretation of the Alexander polynomial $\Delta_0$ for virtual knots due to Sawollek and Silver and Williams, and use it to show that, for any virtual knot, $\Delta_0$ determines the writhe polynomial of Cheng and Gao…

Suppose the knot group G(K) of a knot K has a non-abelian representation \rho on A_4 \subset GL(4,Z). We conjecture that the twisted Alexander polynomial of K associated to \rho is of the form: \Delta_K(t)/(1-t) \phi(t^3), where \Delta_K…

For knots in $S^3$, it is well-known that the Alexander polynomial of a ribbon knot factorizes as $f(t)f(t^{-1})$ for some polynomial $f(t)$. By contrast, the Alexander polynomial of a ribbon $2$-knot is not even symmetric in general. Via…