Related papers: Matrix-tree theorems and the Alexander-Conway poly…
It is well known that any link can be represented by the closure of a braid. The minimum number of strings needed in a braid whose closure represents a given link is called the braid index of the link and the well known…
In this paper we introduce an algebraic structure known as meta-monoids which is particularly suited for the study of knot theory. We define a meta-monoid called $\Gamma$-calculus that gives an Alexander invariant of tangles. We believe…
We study the distribution of arithmetic invariants associated to Alexander polynomials for certain infinite families of links. The families of links we consider arise from braids on a fixed number of strings. We explore analogies with…
The classical matrix-tree theorem was discovered by G.~Kirchhoff in 1847. It relates the principal minor of the Laplace (nxn)-matrix to a particular sum of monomials indexed by the set of trees with n vertices. The aim of this paper is to…
One construction of the Alexander polynomial is as a quantum invariant associated with representations of restricted quantum $\mathfrak{sl}_2$ at a fourth root of unity. We generalize this construction to define a link invariant…
A half-tree is an edge configuration whose superimposition with a perfect matching is a tree. In this paper, we prove a half-tree theorem for the Pfaffian principal minors of a skew-symmetric matrix whose column sum is zero; introducing an…
Cayley's formula is a fundamental result in combinatorics that counts the number of labeled trees on n vertices. While existing proofs use approaches such as Prufer sequences and the Matrix-Tree Theorem, we give a combinatorial proof that…
The All Minors Matrix Tree Theorem states that the determinant of any submatrix of a matrix whose columns sum to zero can be computed as a sum over certain oriented forests. We offer a particularly short proof of this result, which amounts…
It has been conjectured that the algebraic crossing number of a link is uniquely determined in minimal braid representation. This conjecture is true for many classes of knots and links. The Morton-Franks-Williams inequality gives a lower…
We extend some classical results of Bankwitz, Crowell, and Murasugi to the setting of virtual links. For instance, we show that an alternating virtual link is split if and only if it is visibly split, and that the Alexander polynomial of…
By revisiting the Kirchhoff's Matrix-Tree Theorem, we give an exact formula for the number of spanning trees of a graph in terms of the quantum relative entropy between the maximally mixed state and another state specifically obtained from…
This paper is an introduction to the state sum model for the Alexander-Conway polynomial that was introduced in the the author's book "Formal Knot Theory" (Princeton University Press, 1983). The article outlines how Alexander's original…
In 2018, Kashaev introduced a square matrix indexed by the regions of a link diagram, and conjectured that it provides a novel way of computing the Levine-Tristram signature and Alexander polynomial of the corresponding oriented link. In…
We present a version of the matrix-tree theorem, which relates the determinant of a matrix to sums of weights of arborescences of its directed graph representation. Our treatment allows for non-zero column sums in the parent matrix by…
We study the {\em min-cost chain-constrained spanning-tree} (abbreviated \mcst) problem: find a min-cost spanning tree in a graph subject to degree constraints on a nested family of node sets. We devise the {\em first} polytime algorithm…
The paper concerns the tree invariants of string links, introduced by Kravchenko and Polyak and closely related to the classical Milnor linking numbers also known as $\bar{\mu}$--invariants. We prove that, analogously as for…
The classical matrix-tree theorem discovered by G.Kirchhoff in 1847 relates the principal minor of the nxn Laplace matrix to a particular sum of monomials of matrix elements indexed by directed trees with n vertices and a single sink. In…
This paper gives a connection between well chosen reductions of the Links-Gould invariants of oriented links and powers of the Alexander-Conway polynomial. We prove these formulas by showing the representations of the braid groups we derive…
Given a weighted, ordered query set $Q$ and a partition of $Q$ into classes, we study the problem of computing a minimum-cost decision tree that, given any query $q$ in $Q$, uses equality tests and less-than comparisons to determine the…
In this paper we introduce the tied links, i.e. ordinary links provided with some ties between strands. The motivation for introducing such objects originates from a diagrammatical interpretation of the defining generators of the so-called…