arXiv research

Paper connects algebraic K-theory to foam geometry.

Develops invariants for webs and foams using Seiberg-Witten theory.

The paper extends foam theory to more complex trivalent graphs.

Lectures introduce evaluation of SL(3) foams and link homology.

Study of unoriented SL(4) foams in 3-manifolds.

We show how to use Bar-Natan's `divide and conquer' approach to computations to efficiently compute the universal sl(2) dotted foam cohomology groups, even for big knots and links. We also describe a purely topological version of the sl(2) foam theory, in the sense that no dots are needed on foams.

This paper proposes an axiomatic for Cyclic Foam Topological Field theories. That is Topological Field theories, corresponding to String theories, where particles are arbitrary graphs. World surfaces in this case are two-manifolds with one-dimensional singularities. We proved that Cyclic Foam Topological Field theories…

In this thesis we define and study a categorification of the sl(N)-link polynomial using foams, for N\geq 3. For N=3 we define the universal sl(3)-link homology, using foams, which depends on three parameters and show that it is functorial, up to scalars, with respect to link cobordisms. Our theory is integral. We show…

The paper constructs semistrict monoidal 2-categories from foam evaluations.

Foam cobordism groups linked to interval exchange automorphisms.

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…

Derives equilibrium law for Plateau borders in wet soap films and foams.

We construct a cohomology theory for oriented links using singular cobordisms and a special type of 2-dimensional Topological Quantum Field Theory (TQFT), categorifying the quantum sl(2) invariant. In particular, we give a description of the universal dot-free sl(2) foam cohomology for links via a TQFT.

SU(3) instanton homology counts Tait colorings for webs and foams.

We construct the universal sl(2)-tangle cohomology using an approach with webs and dotted foams. This theory depends on two parameters, and for the case of links it is a categorification of the unnormalized Jones polynomial of the link.

We give a purely combinatorial construction of colored $\mathfrak{sl}_n$ link homology. The invariant takes values in a 2-category where 2-morphisms are given by foams, singular cobordisms between $\mathfrak{sl}_n$ webs; applying a (TQFT-like) representable functor recovers (colored) Khovanov-Rozansky homology. Novel f…

Develops higher representation theory for odd Khovanov homology and rewriting theory.

We investigate the filtered theory corresponding to the universal sl(2) foam cohomology $H_{a,h}$ for links, where a and h are complex numbers. We show that there is a spectral sequence converging to $H_{a,h}$ which is invariant under the Reidemeister moves, and whose E1 term is isomorphic to Khovanov homology. This sp…

We introduce and study combinatorial equivariant analogues of the Kronheimer--Mrowka homology theory of planar trivalent graphs.

We use SO(3) gauge theory to define a functor from a category of unoriented webs and foams to the category of finite-dimensional vector spaces over the field of two elements. We prove a non-vanishing theorem for this SO(3) instanton homology of webs, using Gabai's sutured manifold theory. It is hoped that the non-vanis…

Generators and relations found for foam categories.

The paper evaluates homology for links in a solid torus with special boundary conditions.

Real foams can be viewed as a geometrically well-organized dispersion of more or less spherical bubbles in a liquid. When the foam is so drained that the liquid content significantly decreases, the bubbles become polyhedral-like and the foam can be viewed now as a network of thin liquid films intersecting each other at…

Foams have Lie algebra symmetries that simplify web state spaces.

We use foams to give a topological construction of a rational link homology categorifying the slN link invariant, for N>3. To evaluate closed foams we use the Kapustin-Li formula adapted to foams by Khovanov and Rozansky. We show that for any link our homology is isomorphic to Khovanov and Rozansky's.

We provide a finite dimensional categorification of the symmetric evaluation of $\mathfrak{sl}_N$-webs using foam technology. As an output we obtain a symmetric link homology theory categorifying the link invariant associated to symmetric powers of the standard representation of $\mathfrak{sl}_N$. In addition, the cons…

New homology for links in annulus discovered.

Using quantum skew-Howe duality, we study the category $\operatorname{Rep}(\mathfrak{gl}(m|n))$ of tensor products of exterior powers of the standard representation of $U_q(\mathfrak{gl}(m|n))$, and prove that it is equivalent to a category of ladder diagrams modulo one extra family of relations. We then construct a ca…

Constructs new topological theories in 2D not fitting standard axioms.

Foams 2-equivalent to singular Soergel bimodules.

The dual to a tetrahedron consists of a single vertex at which four edges and six faces are incident. Along each edge, three faces converge. A 2-foam is a compact topological space such that each point has a neighborhood homeomorphic to a neighborhood of that complex. Knotted foams in 4-dimensional space are to knotted…

We generalize the Khovanov-Rozansky cohomology for n=2 by means of a homogeneous potential that depends on two parameters, to obtain the universal Khovanov-Rozansky sl(2) link cohomology. This theory is equivalent to the universal foam sl(2) link cohomology, after tensoring both theories with appropriate rings.

Rewriting theory applied to diagrammatic algebras for categorification.

In this paper I define certain interesting 2-functors from the Khovanov-Lauda 2-category which categorifies quantum sl(k), for any k>1, to a 2-category of universal sl(3) foams with corners. For want of a better name I use the term "foamation" to indicate those 2-functors. I conjecture the existence of similar 2-functo…

By 2-twist-spinning the knotted graph that represents the knotted handlebody $5_2$, we obtain a knotted foam in 4-dimensional space with a non-trivial quandle cocycle invariant.

The paper extends graph signatures to Klein graphs and foams, linking signatures to knot properties.

We study a certain class of embedded two-foams that arise from gluing discs into ribbon torus knots along nonintersecting torus meridians. We exhibit several equivalent diagrammatic formalisms for these objects and identify several of their invariants, including a unique prime decomposition.

We define two functors from Elias and Khovanov's diagrammatic Soergel category, one targeting Clark-Morrison-Walker's category of disoriented sl(2) cobordisms and the other the category of (universal) sl(3) foams.

We prove that the foam and matrix factorization universal rational sl3 link homologies are naturally isomorphic as projective functors from the category of link and link cobordisms to the category of bigraded vector spaces.

We combinatorially describe the $2$-category of singular cobordisms, called (rank one) foams, which governs the functorial version of Khovanov homology. As an application we topologically realize the type $\mathrm{D}$ arc algebra using this singular cobordism construction.

We use 4-valent planar graphs and singular cobordisms (called foams) to construct an integral doubly-graded cohomology for tangles, and in particular for links, whose graded Euler characteristic yields the sl(n) link polynomial (for n > 3).

This paper characterizes Kashiwara-Vergne groups using algebraic structures of knotted tubes.

We show how networks of Wilson lines realize quantum groups U_q(sl(m)), for arbitrary m, in 3d SU(N) Chern-Simons theory. Lifting this construction to foams of surface operators in 4d theory we find that rich structure of junctions is encoded in combinatorics of planar diagrams. For a particular choice of surface opera…

Refines Khovanov homology using signed Burnside categories.

The aim of this note is to take benefit of the foam nature of the Khovanov-Kuperberg algebras to compute the Grothendieck groups of their categories of finitely generated projective modules. The computation relies on the Hattori-Stallings trace and some geometrical properties of foams in a solid torus.

Probability Density Estimation (PDE) is a multivariate discrimination technique based on sampling signal and background densities defined by event samples from data or Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations in a multi-dimensional phase space. In this paper, we present a modification of the PDE method that uses a self-adapting bi…

We give a purely combinatorial formula for evaluating closed decorated foams. Our evaluation gives an integral polynomial and is directly connected to an integral equivariant version of the $\mathfrak{sl}_N$ link homology categorifying the $\mathfrak{sl}_N$ link polynomial. We also provide connections to the equivarian…

Odd Khovanov homology gets a new algebraic action from super foams.