Ilya Kofman

Spanning trees and Khovanov homology

The Jones polynomial can be expressed in terms of spanning trees of the graph obtained by checkerboard coloring a knot diagram. We show that there exists a complex generated by these spanning trees whose homology is the reduced Khovanov homology. The spanning trees provide a filtration on the reduced Khovanov complex and a spectral sequence that converges to its homology. For alternating links, all differentials on the spanning tree complex are zero and the reduced Khovanov homology is determined by the Jones polynomial and signature. We prove some analogous theorems for (unreduced) Khovanov homology.

Graphs on surfaces and Khovanov homology

Oriented ribbon graphs (dessins d’enfant) are graphs embedded in oriented surfaces. A quasi-tree of a ribbon graph is a spanning subgraph with one face, which is described by an ordered chord diagram. We show that for any link diagram L, there is an associated ribbon graph whose quasi-trees correspond bijectively to spanning trees of the graph obtained by checkerboard coloring L. This correspondence preserves the bigrading used for the spanning tree model of Khovanov homology, whose Euler characteristic is the Jones polynomial of L. Thus, Khovanov homology can be expressed in terms of ribbon graphs, with generators given by ordered chord diagrams.

On the Mahler measure of Jones polynomials under twisting

We show that the Mahler measures of the Jones polynomial and of the colored Jones polynomials converge under twisting for any link. Moreover, almost all of the roots of these polynomials approach the unit circle under twisting. In terms of Mahler measure convergence, the Jones polynomial behaves like hyperbolic volume under Dehn surgery. For pretzel links P(a1,...,an), we show that the Mahler measure of the Jones polyno- mial converges if all ai ! 1, and approaches infinity for ai = constant if n ! 1, just as hyperbolic volume. We also show that after sufficiently many twists, the coefficient vector of the Jones polynomial and of any colored Jones polynomial decomposes into fixed blocks according to the number of strands twisted. AMS Classification 57M25; 26C10

Quasi-tree expansion for the Bollobás–Riordan–Tutte polynomial

Bollobas and Riordan introduced a three-variable polynomial extending the Tutte polynomial to oriented ribbon graphs, which are multi-graphs embedded in oriented surfaces, such that complementary regions (faces) are disks. A quasi-tree of a ribbon graph is a spanning subgraph with one face, which is described by an ordered chord diagram. By generalizing Tuttes concept of activity to quasi-trees, we prove a quasi-tree expansion of the Bollobas–Riordan–Tutte polynomial.

Volume bounds for weaving knots

Weaving knots are alternating knots with the same projection as torus knots, and were conjectured by X.-S. Lin to be among the maximum volume knots for fixed crossing number. We provide the first asymptotically correct volume bounds for weaving knots, and we prove that the infinite weave is their geometric limit.

Volume bounds for generalized twisted torus links

Twisted torus knots and links are given by twisting adjacent strands of a torus link. They are geometrically simple and contain many examples of the smallest volume hyperbolic knots. Many are also Lorenz links. We study the geometry of twisted torus links and related generalizations. We de- termine upper bounds on their hyperbolic volumes that depend only on the number of strands being twisted. We exhibit a family of twisted torus knots for which this upper bound is sharp, and another family with volumes approaching infinity. Consequently, we show there exist twisted torus knots with arbitrarily large braid index and yet bounded volume.

ON MUTATION AND KHOVANOV HOMOLOGY

It is conjectured that the Khovanov homology of a knot is invariant under mutation. In this paper, we review the spanning tree complex for Khovanov homology, and reformulate this conjecture using a matroid obtained from the Tait graph (checkerboard graph) G of a knot diagram K. The spanning trees of G provide a filtration and a spectral sequence that converges to the reduced Khovanov homology of K. We show that the E_2-term of this spectral sequence is a matroid invariant and hence invariant under mutation.

Density spectra for knots

We recently discovered a relationship between the volume density spectrum and the determinant density spectrum for infinite sequences of hyperbolic knots. Here, we extend this study to new quantum density spectra associated to quantum invariants, such as Jones polynomials, Kashaev invariants and knot homology. We also propose related conjectures motivated by geometrically and diagrammatically maximal sequences of knots.

APPROXIMATING JONES COEFFICIENTS AND OTHER LINK INVARIANTS BY VASSILIEV INVARIANTS

We find approximations by Vassiliev invariants for the coefficients of the Jones polynomial and all specializations of the HOMFLY and Kauffman polynomials. Consequently, we obtain approximations of some other link invariants arising from the homology of branched covers of links.

The 500 simplest hyperbolic knots

We identify all hyperbolic knots whose complements are in the census of orientable one-cusped hyperbolic manifolds with eight ideal tetrahedra. We also compute their Jones polynomials.