Related papers: Character varieties of even classical pretzel knot…

We determine the ${\rm SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$-character variety for each odd classical pretzel knot $P(2k_1+1,2k_2+1,2k_3+1)$, and present a method for computing its A-polynomial.

We show that the SL(2,C)-character variety of the (-2,3,n) pretzel knot consists of two (respectively three) algebraic curves when 3 does not divide n (respectively 3 divides n) and give an explicit calculation of the Culler-Shalen…

We compute the involutive knot invariants for pretzel knots of the form P(-2,m,n) for m and n odd and greater than or equal to 3.

We calculate the universal character ring of a class of two-generator, one-relator groups. As an application we give a less technical proof of a result in [LT] on the universal character ring of the (-2,3,2n+1)-pretzel knot. We also give an…

We prove that many pretzel knots of the form $P(2n,m,-2n\pm1,-m)$ are not topologically slice, even though their positive mutants $P(2n, -2n\pm1, m, -m)$ are ribbon. We use the sliceness obstruction of Kirk and Livingston related to the…

We study q-holonomic sequences that arise as the colored Jones polynomial of knots in 3-space. The minimal-order recurrence for such a sequence is called the (non-commutative) A-polynomial of a knot. Using the "method of guessing", we…

We describe a method to compute the Culler-Shalen seminorms of a knot, using the (-3,3,4) pretzel knot as an illustrative example. We deduce that the SL2(C)-character variety of this knot consists of three algebraic curves and that it…

We calculate the twisted Alexander polynomials of $(-2,3,2n+1)$-pretzel knots associated to their holonomy representations. As a corollary, we obtain new supporting evidences of Dunfield, Friedl and Jackson's conjecture, that is, the…

Given a knot complement X and its p-fold cyclic cover X_p, we identify twisted polynomials associated to 1-dimensional linear representations of the fundamental group of X_p with twisted polynomials associated to related p-dimensional…

For the Borromean link, we determine its irreducible ${\rm SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$-character variety, and find a formula for the twisted Alexander polynomial as a function on the character variety.

For each Montesinos knot $K$, we propose an efficient method to explicitly determine the irreducible ${\rm SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$-character variety, and show that it can be decomposed as…

We provide explicit formulas for the Alexander polynomial of pretzel knots and establish several immediate corollaries, including the characterization of pretzel knots with a trivial Alexander polynomial. As an application, we construct a…

We show that for any knot there exist only finitely many irreducible metabelian characters in the $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$-character variety of the knot group, and the number is given explicitly by using the determinant of the knot. Then it turns…

We show that the A-polynomial $A_n$ of the 1-parameter family of pretzel knots $K_n=(-2,3,3+2n)$ satisfies a linear recursion relation of order 4 with explicit constant coefficients and initial conditions. Our proof combines results of…

We compute the unknotting number of two infinite families of pretzel knots, $P(3,1,\dots,1,b)$ (with $b$ positive and odd and an odd number of 1s) and $P(3,3,3c)$ (with $c$ positive and odd). To do this, we extend a technique of Owens using…

We give explicit equations that describe the character variety of the figure eight knot for the groups SL(3,C), GL(3,C) and PGL(3,C). This has five components of dimension 2, one consisting of totally reducible representations, another one…

We observe the twisted Alexander polynomial for metabelian representations of knot groups into SL(2,C) and study relations to the characterizations of metabelian representations in the character varieties. We give a factorization of the…

In this note we exhibit concrete examples of characterizing slopes for the knot $12n242$, aka the $(-2,3,7)$-pretzel knot. Although it was shown by Lackenby that every knot admits infinitely many characterizing slopes, the non-constructive…

We look into computational aspects of two classical knot invariants. We look for ways of simplifying the computation of the coloring invariant and of the Alexander module. We support our ideas with explicit computations on pretzel knots.

In this paper we present some families of polynomials and use them to find, using the techniques in \cite{gma}, a defining polynomial for the $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$ character variety (as defined in \cite{cus}) of the torus knots of type $(m,2)$…