Related papers: Does the Jones polynomial detect the unknot?
The Jones and HOMFLY polynomials are link invariants with close connections to quantum computing. It was recently shown that finding a certain approximation to the Jones polynomial of the trace closure of a braid at the fifth root of unity…
We give sharp two-sided linear bounds of the crosscap number (non-orientable genus) of alternating links in terms of their Jones polynomial. Our estimates are often exact and we use them to calculate the crosscap numbers for several…
The AJ conjecture relates the A-polynomial and the colored Jones polynomial of a knot in the 3-sphere. It has been verified for some classes of knots, including all torus knots, most double twist knots, (-2,3,6n \pm 1)-pretzel knots, and…
The Burau representation of the braid group can be used to recover the Alexander polynomial of the closure of a braid. We define twisted Burau maps and use them to compute twisted Alexander polynomials.
Many structures in science, engineering, and art can be viewed as curves in 3-space. The entanglement of these curves plays a crucial role in determining the functionality and physical properties of materials. Many concepts in knot theory…
In this paper, we give a necessary condition for a diagram to represent the trivial knot.
This paper computes the Jones polynomial and the invariants obstructing cosmetic surgery which are derived from it for two infinite families of knots, proving they satisfy the Purely Cosmetic Surgery Conjecture. Both the method of…
A theorem of Kronheimer and Mrowka states that Khovanov homology is able to detect the unknot. That is, if a knot has the Khovanov homology of the unknot, then it is equivalent to it. Similar results hold for the trefoils and the…
In this paper we give the results of a computer search for biracks of small size and we give various interpretations of these findings. The list includes biquandles, racks and quandles together with new invariants of welded knots and…
The colored Jones function of a knot is a sequence of Laurent polynomials in one variable, whose n-th term is the Jones polynomial of the knot colored with the n-dimensional irreducible representation of SL(2). It was recently shown by TTQ…
We show for an alternating knot the minimal boundary slope of an essential spanning surface is given by the signature plus twice the minimum degree of the Jones polynomial and the maximal boundary slope of an essential spanning surface is…
Character expansion is introduced and explicitly constructed for the (non-colored) HOMFLY polynomials of the simplest knots. Expansion coefficients are not the knot invariants and can depend on the choice of the braid realization. However,…
We generalize the colored Jones polynomial to $4$-valent graphs. This generalization is given as a sequence of invariants in which the first term is a one variable specialization of the Kauffman-Vogel polynomial. We use the invariant we…
We show that for any nontrivial knot $K$ and any natural number $n$ there is a diagram $D$ of $K$ such that the unknotting number of $D$ is greater than or equal to $n$. It is well known that twice the unknotting number of $K$ is less than…
This paper is a memory of the work and influence of Vaughan Jones. It is an exposition of the remarkable breakthroughs in knot theory and low dimensional topology that were catalyzed by his work. The paper recalls the inception of the Jones…
In previous joint work with Frohman and Lofaro a noncommutative generalization of the A-polynomial of a knot was introduced, consisting of a finitely generated ideal of polynomials (the noncommutative A-ideal) in the quantum plane. The…
This paper is a self-contained development of an invariant of graphs embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space using the Jones polynomial and skein theory. Some examples of the invariant are computed. An unlinked embedded graph is one…
The unknotting number of a positive braid with n strands and k intersections is known to be equal to (k-n+1)/2. We consider Lorenz knots (which are positive braids) and, using a different method, find their unknotting numbers in terms of…
It is known that evaluating a certain approximation to the Jones polynomial for the plat closure of a braid is a BQP-complete problem. That is, this problem exactly captures the power of the quantum circuit model. The one clean qubit model…
Burau representation of the Artin braid group remains as one of the very important representations for the braid group. Partly, because of its connections to the Alexander polynomial which is one of the first and most useful invariants for…