Annular Evaluation and Link Homology

Abstract

We use categorical annular evaluation to give a uniform construction of both $\mathfrak{sl}_n$ and HOMFLYPT Khovanov-Rozansky link homology, as well as annular versions of these theories. Variations on our construction yield $\mathfrak{gl}_{-n}$ link homology, i.e. a link homology theory associated to the Lie superalgebra $\mathfrak{gl}_{0|n}$, both for links in $S^3$ and in the thickened annulus. In the $n=2$ case, this produces a categorification of the Jones polynomial that we show is distinct from Khovanov homology, and gives a finite-dimensional categorification of the colored Jones polynomial. This behavior persists for general $n$. Our approach yields simple constructions of spectral sequences relating these theories, and emphasizes the roles of super vector spaces, categorical traces, and current algebras in link homology.