Related papers: 3-Manifolds, tangles and persistent invariants
Recent progress in string theory has led to a reformulation of quantum-group polynomial invariants for knots and links into new polynomial invariants whose coefficients can be understood in topological terms. We describe in detail how to…
The notion of a complex tangent arises for embeddings of real manifolds into complex spaces. It is of particular interest when studying embeddings of real $n$-dimensional manifolds into $\mathbb{C}^n$. The generic topological structure of…
Just as knots and links can be algebraically described as certain morphisms in the category of tangles in 3 dimensions, compact surfaces smoothly embedded in R^4 can be described as certain 2-morphisms in the 2-category of `2-tangles in 4…
Given an injective amalgam at the level of fundamental groups and a specific 3-manifold, is there a corresponding geometric-topological decomposition of a given 4-manifold, in a stable sense? We find an algebraic-topological splitting…
We study the concept of the fourth skein module of 3-manifolds, that is a skein module based on the skein relation b_0L_0 + b_1L_1 + b_2L_2 + b_3L_3 = 0 and a framing relation L^{(1)} = aL, where a, b_0, b_3 are invertible. We introdule the…
Seiberg-Witten (Floer) theory, Ozsvath-Szabo's Heegaard Floer theory, Hutchings's embedded contact homology, in different stages of development, define (or are expected to define) packages of invariants for 3- and 4-manifolds (including…
The twisted torsion of a 3-manifold is well-known to be zero whenever the corresponding twisted Alexander module is non-torsion. Under mild extra assumptions we introduce a new twisted torsion invariant which is always non-zero. We show how…
Relative self-linking and linking "numbers" for pairs of knots in oriented 3-manifolds are defined in terms of intersection invariants of immersed surfaces in 4-manifolds. The resulting concordance invariants generalize the usual…
We introduce stable equivalence classes of oriented links in orientable three-manifolds that are orientation $I$-bundles over closed but not necessarily orientable surfaces. We call these twisted links, and show that they subsume the…
The notion of a Bing cell is introduced, and it is used to define invariants, link groups, of 4-manifolds. Bing cells combine some features of both surfaces and 4-dimensional handlebodies, and the link group \lambda(M) measures certain…
The nth relative Kauffman bracket skein modules are defined and two theorems are given relating them to the Kauffman bracket skein module of a 3-manifold. The first theorem covers the case when the 3-manifold is split along a separating…
It is shown that every knot or link is the set of complex tangents of a 3-sphere smoothly embedded in the three-dimensional complex space. We show in fact that a one-dimensional submanifold of a closed orientable 3-manifold can be realised…
In this paper, we use skein-theoretic techniques to classify all virtual knot polynomials and trivalent graph invariants with certain smallness conditions. The first half of the paper classifies all virtual knot polynomials giving…
The Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant of classical link diagrams is generalized to virtual link diagrams. This invariant is unchanged by the framed Reidemeister moves and the Kirby calculus. As a result, it is also an invariant of the…
The polynomial invariants $q_d$ for a large class of smooth 4-manifolds are shown to satisfy universal relations. The relations reflect the possible genera of embedded surfaces in the 4-manifold and lead to a structure theorem for the…
Associated to an embedded surface in the $3$-sphere, we construct a diagram of fundamental groups, and prove that it is a complete invariant, wherefrom we deduce complete invariants of handlebody links, tunnels of handlebody links, and…
We find further evidence for the conjecture relating large N Chern-Simons theory on S^3 with topological string on the resolved conifold geometry by showing that the Wilson loop observable of a simple knot on S^3 (for any representation)…
We develop skein theory for 3-manifolds in the presence of codimension-one defects, focusing especially on defects arising from parabolic induction/restriction for quantum groups. We use these defects as a model for the quantum decorated…
We propose a way to define and compute invariants of general smooth 4-manifolds based on topological twists of non-Lagrangian 4d N=2 and N=3 theories in which the problem is reduced to a fairly standard computation in topological A-model,…
To study embeddings of tangles in knots, we use quandle cocycle invariants. Computations are carried out for the tables of knots and tangles, to investigate which tangles may or may not embed in knots in the tables.