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Caltech

Geometry and Topology Seminar

Friday, October 22, 2021
3:00pm to 4:00pm
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Online Event
Coloured Jones and Alexander polynomials unified through Lagrangian intersections in configuration spaces
Cristina Anghel, Department of Mathematics, University of Geneva,

The theory of quantum invariants started with the Jones polynomial and continued with the Reshetikhin-Turaev algebraic construction of link invariants. In this context, the quantum group Uq(sl(2)) leads to the sequence of coloured Jones polynomials, which contains the original Jones polynomial. Dually, the quantum group at roots of unity gives the sequence of coloured Alexander polynomials. We construct a unified topological model for these two sequences of quantum invariants. More specifically, we define certain homology classes given by Lagrangian submanifolds in configuration spaces. Then, we prove that the Nth coloured Jones and Nth coloured Alexander invariants come as different specialisations of a state sum (defined over 3 variables) of Lagrangian intersections in configuration spaces. As a particular case, we see both Jones and Alexander polynomials from the same intersection pairing in a configuration space.

For more information, please contact Math Department by phone at 626-395-4335 or by email at [email protected] or visit https://sites.google.com/site/caltechgtseminar/home.