Spectral geometry of Khovanov Laplacians

Abstract

For an oriented link diagram $D$, the Khovanov cochain complex carries a canonical Hermitian inner product that defines a combinatorial Hodge Laplacian. Its kernel is naturally isomorphic to rational Khovanov cohomology, while its positive spectrum depends on the chosen diagram. Building on the numerical work of Jones and Wei, we develop a structural study of this diagram-dependent higher spectrum. In the minimal and maximal cube degrees, we identify the Khovanov Laplacian with signless Laplacians of explicit weighted graphs, up to diagonal sign conjugation in maximal degree. The graph model describes rational Khovanov classes and harmonic representatives through its bipartite components and gives inverse-polynomial gap bounds in fixed-width bands near the extremal $q$-degrees when the corresponding rational cohomology vanishes. It also yields exact $\Theta(N^{-2})$ bidegree gaps for twisted unknots, odd $(2,N)$-torus knots, and even twist knots. The exact gap calculations are motivated in part by the spectral-resolution requirement in a recent quantum algorithm for Khovanov homology. We also prove a finite-dimensional analytic--combinatorial torsion correspondence for the Khovanov complex showing that an alternating product of nonzero Laplacian pseudodeterminants recovers integral Khovanov torsion in rationally acyclic $q$-degrees and differs from it by an explicit regulator in general. Finally, we transfer Lee's deformation to a filtered differential on the harmonic Khovanov subspace, giving a canonical harmonic model for the Lee spectral sequence.