Stavros Garoufalidis

The colored Jones function is q-holonomic

A function of several variables is called holonomic if, roughly speaking, it is determined from finitely many of its values via finitely many linear recursion relations with polynomial coefficients. Zeilberger was the first to notice that the abstract notion of holonomicity can be applied to verify, in a systematic and computerized way, combinatorial identities among special functions. Using a general state sum definition of the colored Jones function of a link in 3-space, we prove from first principles that the colored Jones function is a multisum of a q-proper-hypergeometric function, and thus it is q-holonomic. We demonstrate our results by computer calculations.

Calculus of clovers and finite type invariants of 3–manifolds

A clover is a framed trivalent graph with some additional structure, embedded in a 3{manifold. We dene surgery on clovers, generalizing surgery on Y{graphs used earlier by the second author to dene a new theory of nite-type invariants of 3{manifolds. We give a systematic exposition of a topological calculus of clovers and use it to deduce some important results about the corresponding theory of nite type invariants. In particular, we give a description of the weight systems in terms of uni-trivalent graphs modulo the AS and IHX relations, reminiscent of the similar results for links. We then compare several denitions of nite type invariants of homology spheres (based on surgery on Y{graphs, blinks, algebraically split links, and boundary links) and prove in a self-contained way their equivalence.

Wheels, wheeling, and the Kontsevich integral of the Unknot

We conjecture an exact formula for the Kontsevich integral of the unknot, and also conjecture a formula (also conjectured independently by Deligne [De]) for the relation between the two natural products on the space of uni-trivalent diagrams. The two formulas use the related notions of “Wheels” and “Wheeing”. We prove these formulas ‘on the level of Lie algebras’ using standard techniques from the theory of Vassiliev invariants and the theory of Lie algebras. In a brief epilogue we report on recent proofs of our full conjectures, by Kontsevich [Ko2] and by DBN, DPT, and T. Q. T. Le, [BLT].

ON FINITE TYPE 3-MANIFOLD INVARIANTS I

Recently Ohtsuki [Oh2], motivated by the notion of finite type knot invariants, introduced the notion of finite type invariants for oriented, integral homology 3-spheres. In the present paper we propose another definition of finite type invariants of integral homology 3-spheres and give equivalent reformulations of our notion. We show that our invariants form a filtered commutative algebra. We compare the two induced filtrations on the vector space on the set of integral homology 3-spheres. As an observation, we discover a new set of restrictions that finite type invariants in the sense of Ohtsuki satisfy and give a set of axioms that characterize the Casson invariant. Finally, we pose a set of questions relating the finite type 3-manifold invariants with the (Vassiliev) knot invariants.

Nahm sums, stability and the colored Jones polynomial

Nahm sums are q-series of a special hypergeometric type that appear in character formulas in the conformal field theory, and give rise to elements of the Bloch group, and have interesting modularity properties. In our paper, we show how Nahm sums arise naturally in the quantum knot theory - we prove the stability of the coefficients of the colored Jones polynomial of an alternating link and present a Nahm sum formula for the resulting power series, defined in terms of a reduced diagram of the alternating link. The Nahm sum formula comes with a computer implementation, illustrated in numerous examples of proven or conjectural identities among q-series.MSCPrimary 57N10; Secondary 57M25.

The quantum MacMahon Master Theorem

We state and prove a quantum generalization of MacMahons celebrated Master Theorem and relate it to a quantum generalization of the boson–fermion correspondence of physics.

ASYMPTOTICS OF THE COLORED JONES FUNCTION OF A KNOT

To a knot in 3-space, one can associate a sequence of Laurent polynomials, whose nth term is the nth colored Jones polynomial. The paper is concerned with the asymptotic behavior of the value of the nth colored Jones polynomial at e�/n, whenis a fixed complex number and n tends to infinity. We analyze this asymptotic behavior to all orders in 1/n whenis a sufficiently small complex number. In addition, we give upper bounds for the coefficients and degree of thenth colored Jones polynomial, with applications to upper bounds in the Generalized Volume Conjecture. Work of Agol-Dunfield-Storm-W.Thurston implies that our bounds are asymptotically optimal. Moreover, we give results for the Generalized Volume Conjecture when � is near 2�i. Our proofs use crucially the cyclotomic expansion of the colored Jones function, due to Habiro.

Non-triviality of the

The A-polynomial of a knot in S^3 defines a complex plane curve associated to the set of representations of the fundamental group of the knot exterior into SL(2,C). Here, we show that a non-trivial knot in S^3 has a non-trivial A-polynomial. We deduce this from the gauge-theoretic work of Kronheimer and Mrowka on SU_2-representations of Dehn surgeries on knots in S^3. As a corollary, we show that if a conjecture connecting the colored Jones polynomials to the A-polynomial holds, then the colored Jones polynomials distinguish the unknot.

A

The paper introduces Slope Conjecture which relates the degree of the Jones polynomial of a knot and its parallels with the slopes of incompressible surfaces in the knot complement. More precisely, we introduce two knot invariants, the Jones slopes (a finite set of rational numbers) and the Jones period (a natural number) of a knot in 3-space. We formulate a number of conjectures for these invariants and verify them by explicit computations for the class of alternating knots, torus knots, the knots with at most 9 crossings, and the

-polynomial for knots in

(-2,3,n)