arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jozef H. Przytycki.
This paper is an extended version of two talks I gave during workshop ``Loops'13" in Bedlewo in June 2023. In the first talk I gave a historical introduction to Knot Theory. In the second, I traced my journey toward Yang-Baxter homology and this talk has a partially survey and a partially novel character.
We initiate (co)homology theory for quasigroups of Bol-Moufang type based on analysis of their extensions by affine quasigroups of the same type. We use these extensions to define second and third boundary operations, $\partial_2(x,y)$ and $\partial_3(x,y,z)$, respectively. We use these definitions to compute the second homology groups for several examples from the work of Phillips and Vojtechovsky. We speculate about the relation between these homology groups and those obtained from a small category with coefficients in a functor.
In this paper, we analyze the homology of the Yang-Baxter Operators $R_{(m)}$ yielding the HOMFLYPT polynomial, reducing the computation of the $n$-th homology of $R_{(m)}$ for arbitrary $m$ to the computation of $n+1$ initial conditions. We then produce the explicit formulas for the third and fourth homology.
In this paper we compute the Reduced Fox Coloring Group of the diagrams of Wheel Graphs which can also be represented at the closure of the braids $(σ_1 σ_2^{-1})^n$. In doing so, we utilize Fibonacci numbers and their properties. Following this, we generalize our result to compute the Alexander-Burau-Fox Module over the ring $\mathbb{Z}[t^{\pm 1}]$ for the same class of links. In our computation, Chebyshev polynomials function as a generalization of Fibonacci Numbers.
The plucking polynomial is an invariant of rooted trees with connections to knot theory. The polynomial was constructed in 2014 as a tool to analyze lattice crossings after taking the quotient by the Kauffman bracket skein relations. In this paper we study the plucking polynomial and the plucking polynomial with delay function. We present a formula for the plucking polynomial of hedgehog rooted trees and explore the unimodality of this polynomial. In particular, we consider an anti-unimodal delay function and a delay function with a specific image set. Furthermore, we present a number of interesting examples and make some speculations on the unimodality of plucking polynomials with delay functions of hedgehog rooted trees.
Unoriented SL(3) foams are two-dimensional CW complexes with generic singularities embedded in 3- and 4-manifolds. They naturally come up in the Kronheimer-Mrowka SO(3) gauge theory for 3-orbifolds and, in the oriented case, in a categorification of the Kuperberg bracket quantum invariant. The present paper studies the more technically complicated case of SL(4) foams. Combinatorial evaluation of unoriented SL(4) foams is defined and state spaces for it are studied. In particular, over a suitably localized ground ring, the state space of any web is free of the rank given by the number of its 4-colorings.
Our main result has topological, combinatorial and computational flavor. It is motivated by a fundamental conjecture stating that computing Khovanov homology of a closed braid of fixed number of strands has polynomial time complexity. We show that the independence simplicial complex $I(w)$ associated to the 4-braid diagram $w$ (and therefore its Khovanov spectrum at extreme quantum degree) is contractible or homotopy equivalent to either a sphere, or a wedge of 2 spheres (possibly of different dimensions), or a wedge of 3 spheres (at least two of them of the same dimension), or a wedge of 4 spheres (at least three of them of the same dimension). On the algorithmic side we prove that finding the homotopy type of $I(w)$ can be done in polynomial time with respect to the number of crossings in $w$. In particular, we prove the wedge of spheres conjecture for circle graphs obtained from 4-braid diagrams. We also introduce the concept of Khovanov adequate diagram and discuss criteria for a link to have a Khovanov adequate braid diagram with at most 4 strands.
In this article, we adjust the Yang-Baxter operators constructed by Jones for the HOMFLYPT polynomal. Then we compute the second homology for this family of Yang-Baxter operators. It has the potential to yield 2-cocycle invariant for links.
We classify incompressible, boundary-incompressible, nonorientable surfaces in punctured-torus bundles over $S^1$. We use the ideas of Floyd, Hatcher, and Thurston. The main tool is to put our surface in the "Morse position" with respect to the projection of the bundle into the basis S^1.
This paper is an extended account of my "Introductory Plenary talk at Knots in Hellas 2016" conference We start from the short introduction to Knot Theory from the historical perspective, starting from Heraclas text (the first century AD), mentioning R.Llull (1232-1315), A.Kircher (1602-1680), Leibniz idea of Geometria Situs (1679), and J.B.Listing (student of Gauss) work of 1847. We spend some space on Ralph H. Fox (1913-1973) elementary introduction to diagram colorings (1956). In the second section we describe how Fox work was generalized to distributive colorings (racks and quandles) and eventually in the work of Jones and Turaev to link invariants via Yang-Baxter operators, here the importance of statistical mechanics to topology will be mentioned. Finally we describe recent developments which started with Mikhail Khovanov work on categorification of the Jones polynomial. By analogy to Khovanov homology we build homology of distributive structures (including homology of Fox colorings) and generalize it to homology of Yang-Baxter operators. We speculate, with supporting evidence, on co-cycle invariants of knots coming from Yang-Baxter homology. Here the work of Fenn-Rourke-Sanderson (geometric realization of pre-cubic sets of link diagrams) and Carter-Kamada-Saito (co-cycle invariants of links) will be discussed and expanded. Dedicated to Lou Kauffman for his 70th birthday.
For a Catalan state $C$ of a lattice crossing $L\left( m,n\right) $ with no returns on one side, we find its coefficient $C\left( A\right) $ in the Relative Kauffman Bracket Skein Module expansion of $L\left( m,n\right) $. We show, in particular, that $C\left( A\right) $ can be found using the plucking polynomial of a rooted tree with a delay function associated to $C$. Furthermore, for $C$ with returns on one side only, we prove that $C\left( A\right) $ is a product of Gaussian polynomials, and its coefficients form a unimodal sequence.
We describe the polynomial time complexity algorithm for computing first coefficients of the skein (Homflypt) and Kauffman polynomial invariants of links, discovered by D.Vertigan in 1992 but never published.
We show that the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of any oriented surface F (possibly with marked points in its boundary) has no zero divisors and that its center is generated by knots parallel to the unmarked components of the boundary of F. Furthermore, we show that skein algebras are Noetherian and Ore. Our proofs rely on certain filtrations of skein algebras induced by pants decompositions of surfaces. We prove some basic algebraic properties of the associated graded algebras along the way.
In 2004, Carter, Elhamdadi and Saito defined a homology theory for set-theoretic Yang-Baxter operators(we will call it the "algebraic" version in this article). In 2012, Przytycki defined another homology theory for pre-Yang-Baxter operators which has a nice graphic visualization(we will call it the "graphic" version in this article). We show that they are equivalent. The "graphic" homology is also defined for pre-Yang-Baxter operators, and we give some examples of it's one-term and two-term homologies. In the two-term case, we have found torsion in homology of Yang-Baxter operator that yields the Jones polynomial.
The purpose of this paper is to present a certain combinatorial method of constructing invariants of isotopy classes of oriented tame links. This arises as a generalization of the known polynomial invariants of Conway and Jones. These invariants have one striking common feature. If L+, L- and L0 are diagrams of oriented links which are identical, except near one crossing point (as in Conway or Jones polynomials), then an invariant w(L) has the property: w(L+) is uniquely determined by w(L-) and w(L0), and also w(L-) is uniquely determined by w(L+) and w(L0). To formalize this property we introduce a concept of a Conway algebra and quasi Conway algebra. The paper is now almost 32 years old and it contains the PT contribution to HOMFLYPT polynomial. We believe it should be available in arXiv.
It was proven by González-Meneses, Manchón and Silvero that the extreme Khovanov homology of a link diagram is isomorphic to the reduced (co)homology of the independence simplicial complex obtained from a bipartite circle graph constructed from the diagram. In this paper we conjecture that this simplicial complex is always homotopy equivalent to a wedge of spheres. In particular, its homotopy type, if not contractible, would be a link invariant and it would imply that the extreme Khovanov homology of any link diagram does not contain torsion. We prove the conjecture in many special cases and find it convincing to generalize it to every circle graph (intersection graph of chords in a circle). In particular, we prove it for the families of cactus, outerplanar, permutation and non-nested graphs. Conversely, we also give a method for constructing a permutation graph whose independence simplicial complex is homotopy equivalent to any given finite wedge of spheres. We also present some combinatorial results on the homotopy type of finite simplicial complexes and a theorem generalizing previous results by Csorba, Nagel and Reiner, Jonsson and Barmak. We study the implications of our results to Knot Theory; more precisely, we compute the real-extreme Khovanov homology of torus links $T(3,q)$ and obtain examples of $H$-thick knots whose extreme Khovanov homology groups are separated either by one or two gaps as long as desired.
We prove that the degenerate part of the distributive homology of a multispindle is determined by the normalized homology. In particular, when the multispindle is a quandle $Q$, the degenerate homology of $Q$ is completely determined by the quandle homology of $Q$. For this case (and generally for two term homology of a spindle) we provide an explicit Künneth-type formula for the degenerate part. This solves the mystery in algebraic knot theory of the meaning of the degenerate quandle homology, brought over 15 years ago when the homology theories were defined, and the degenerate part was observed to be non trivial.
We classify rooted trees which have strictly unimodal q-polynomials (plucking polynomial). We also give criteria for a trapezoidal shape of a plucking polynomial. We generalize results of Pak and Panova on strict unimodality of q-binomial coefficients. We discuss which polynomials can be realized as plucking polynomials and whether or not different rooted trees can have the same plucking polynomial.