arXiv research

Based on the analogies between knot theory and number theory, we study a deformation theory for SL_2-representations of knot groups, following after Mazur's deformation theory of Galois representations. Firstly, by employing the pseudo-SL_2-representations, we prove the existence of the universal deformation of a given…

New knot theory module shows torsion-ness in number theory.

Extends Heegaard Floer theory to surfaces of dimension one.

The paper connects knot representations and spherical quandle colorings.

Study irreducible SU(2) representations for knots in 3D.

Proves irreducible SU(2) representations for 3-surgery knots.

Graph manifolds with small homology have non-trivial SU(2) representations.

We show that Khovanov homology (and its sl(3) variant) can be understood in the context of higher representation theory. Specifically, we show that the combinatorially defined foam constructions of these theories arise as a family of 2-representations of categorified quantum sl(m) via categorical skew Howe duality. Uti…

Constructs 2-representations and 2-vector bundles for Lie 2-groups.

Proves SU(2) representations for certain 3-spheres with embedded tori.

We determine the characters of SL(2) representations of groups and surface groups.

Quantum theory constructs a group and skein module for knot complements.

New 2-representations link spectral enhancements in link homology.

A torus-covering $T^2$-knot is a surface-knot of genus one determined from a pair of commutative braids. For a torus-covering $T^2$-knot $F$, we determine the number of irreducible metabelian $SU(2)$-representations of the knot group of $F$ in terms of the knot determinant of $F$. It is similar to the result due to Lin…

Link groups can only have certain SU(2) representations.

Given an abelian group $A$ and a Lie group $G$, we construct a bilinear pairing from $A\timesπ_1({\mathcal R})$ to $π_1(G)$, where $\mathcal R$ is a subvariety of the variety of representations $A\to G$. In the case where $A$ is the peripheral subgroup of a torus or two-bridge knot group, $G=S^1$ and $\mathcal R$ is a …

The study examines dynamics on SU(2)-representation varieties for surfaces and non-orientable surfaces.

New knot classification based on SU(2) representations and instanton homology.

For a knot K in S^3 we construct according to Casson--or more precisely taking into account Lin and Heusener's further works--a volume form on the SU(2)-representation space of the group of K. We prove that this volume form is a topological knot invariant and explore some of its properties.

We investigate the rigidity and asymptotic properties of quantum SU(2) representations of mapping class groups. In the spherical braid group case the trivial representation is not isolated in the family of quantum SU(2) representations. In particular, they may be used to give an explicit check that spherical braid grou…

We introduce a multivariable Casson-Lin type invariant for links in $S^3$. This invariant is defined as a signed count of irreducible $\operatorname{SU}(2)$ representations of the link group with fixed meridional traces. For 2-component links with linking number one, the invariant is shown to be a sum of multivariable …

For a knot K in $S^3$ and a regular representation $ρ$ of its group $G_K$ into SU(2) we construct a non abelian Reidemeister torsion on the first twisted cohomology group of the knot exterior. This non abelian Reidemeister torsion provides a volume form on the SU(2)-representation space of $G_K$. In another way, we con…

Null-homotopic knots in certain 3-manifolds are uniquely identified by their complements.

Enhances knot Floer homology with algebraic representation theory.

We provide infinitely many rational homology 3-spheres with weight-one fundamental groups which do not arise from Dehn surgery on knots in $S^3$. In contrast with previously known examples, our proofs do not require any gauge theory or Floer homology. Instead, we make use of the $SU(2)$ character variety of the fundame…

We study two sorts of actions on the space of conjugacy classes of irreducible $SU_2$-representations of a knot group. One of them is an involution which comes from the algebraic structure of $SU_2$ and the other is the action by the outer automorphism group of the knot group. In particular, we consider them on an 1-di…

For each oriented surface $Σ$ of genus $g$ we study a limit of quantum representations of the mapping class group arising in TQFT derived from the Kauffman bracket. We determine that these representations converge in the Fell topology to the representation of the mapping class group on $\boH(Σ)$, the space of regular f…

Study of knot invariants using twisted Iwasawa theory.

We recently defined invariants of contact 3-manifolds using a version of instanton Floer homology for sutured manifolds. In this paper, we prove that if several contact structures on a 3-manifold are induced by Stein structures on a single 4-manifold with distinct Chern classes modulo torsion then their contact invaria…

For a given smooth $2$-knot in $S^4$, we relate the existence of a smooth Seifert hypersurface of a certain class to the existence of irreducible $SU(2)$-representations of its knot group. For example, we see that any smooth $2$-knot having the Poincaré homology $3$-sphere as a Seifert hypersurface has at least four i…

New proof shows certain 3D shapes can't be instanton L-spaces.

Extends Benard-Conway invariant to all two-component links.

Given a 2-stranded tangle in a $\ZZ/2$ homology ball, $T\subset Y$, we investigate the character variety $R(Y,T)$ of conjugacy classes of traceless SU(2) representations of $π_1(Y\setminus T)$. In particular we completely determine the subspace of binary dihedral representations, and identify all of $R(Y,T)$ for many t…

There are some similarities between cohomology of SU(2)-representation varieties of the fundamental group of some link complements and the Khovanov homology of the links. We start here a program to explain a possible source of these similarities. We introduce a symplectic manifold ${\mathscr M}$ with an action of the b…

Unknot recognition is one of the fundamental questions in low dimensional topology. In this work, we show that this problem can be encoded as a validity problem in the existential fragment of the first-order theory of real closed fields. This encoding is derived using a well-known result on SU(2) representations of kno…

The study explores SU(2) representations in 3-manifolds and knots with specific Heegaard genus constraints.

We prove that the fundamental group of any integer homology 3-sphere different from the 3-sphere admits irreducible representations of its fundamental group in SL(2,C). For hyperbolic integer homology spheres this comes with the definition, and for Seifert fibered integer homology spheres this is well known. We prove t…

Li-Bland's correspondence between linear Courant algebroids and Lie $2$-algebroids is explained and shown to be an equivalence of categories. Decomposed VB-Courant algebroids are shown to be equivalent to split Lie 2-algebroids in the same manner as decomposed VB-algebroids are equivalent to 2-term representations up t…

The Jones-Witten theory gives rise to representations of the (extended) mapping class group of any closed surface Y indexed by a semi-simple Lie group G and a level k. In the case G=SU(2) these representations (denoted V_A(Y)) have a particularly simple description in terms of the Kauffman skein modules with parameter …

This paper provides an alternative, much simpler, definition for Li-Bland's LA-Courant algebroids, or Poisson Lie 2-algebroids, in terms of split Lie 2-algebroids and self-dual 2-representations. This definition generalises in a precise sense the characterisation of (decomposed) double Lie algebroids via matched pairs …

This paper shows the equivalence of the categories of $N$-manifolds of degree $2$ with the category of double vector bundles endowed with a linear metric. Split Poisson $N$-manifolds of degree $2$ are shown to be equivalent to self-dual representations up to homotopy. As a consequence, the equivalence above induces an …

This paper approximates SU(2) Chern-Simons theory using finite group gauge theories.

We define and study the set ${\mathcal E}(ρ)$ of end invariants of a $\SL(2,C)$ character $ρ$ of the one-holed torus $T$. We show that the set ${\mathcal E}(ρ)$ is the entire projective lamination space $\mathscr{PL}$ of $T$ if and only if (i) $ρ$ corresponds to the dihedral representation, or (ii) $ρ$ is real and corr…

We define an integer valued invariant for two-component links in S^3 by counting projective SU(2) representations of the link group having non-trivial second Stiefel-Whitney class. We show that our invariant is, up to sign, the linking number of the link. Our construction generalizes that of X.-S. Lin who defined a sim…

A surgery on a knot in 3-sphere is called SU(2)-cyclic if it gives a manifold whose fundamental group has no non-cyclic SU(2) representations. Using holonomy perturbations on the Chern-Simons functional, we prove that the distance of two SU(2)-cyclic surgery coefficients is bounded by the sum of the absolute values of …

Study non-acyclic SL2-representations of twist knots and their L-functions.

We prove that Khovanov homology detects the trefoils. Our proof incorporates an array of ideas in Floer homology and contact geometry. It uses open books; the contact invariants we defined in the instanton Floer setting; a bypass exact triangle in sutured instanton homology, proven here; and Kronheimer and Mrowka's spe…

Proof that $SU(2)$ character variety of genus 2 surface is ${\mathbb C} P^3$.