arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Thang T. Q. Lê.
We determine the structure of the Kauffman bracket skein module of the connected sum of two genus one handlebodies over the ring of Laurent polynomials $\mathbb Z[q^{\pm 1}]$, thereby proving a conjecture posed by the first and third authors. Our results lay the groundwork for computing the Kauffman bracket skein module of arbitrary connected sums over the ring $\mathbb Z[q^{\pm 1}]$.
We establish the existence of several quantum trace maps. The simplest one is an algebra map between two quantizations of the algebra of regular functions on the $SL_n$-character variety of a surface $\mathfrak{S}$ equipped with an ideal triangulation $λ$. The first is the (stated) $SL_n$-skein algebra $\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})$. The second $\overline{\mathcal{X}}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$ is the Fock and Goncharov's quantization of their $X$-moduli space. The quantum trace is an algebra homomorphism $\bar{tr}^X:\overline{\mathscr{S}}(\mathfrak{S})\to\overline{\mathcal{X}}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$ where the reduced skein algebra $\overline{\mathscr{S}}(\mathfrak{S})$ is a quotient of $\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})$. When the quantum parameter is 1, the quantum trace $\bar{tr}^X$ coincides with the classical Fock-Goncharov homomorphism. This is a generalization of the Bonahon-Wong quantum trace map for the case $n=2$. We then define the extended Fock-Goncharov algebra $\mathcal{X}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$ and show that $\bar{tr}^X$ can be lifted to $tr^X:\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})\to\mathcal{X}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$. We show that both $\bar{tr}^X$ and $tr^X$ are natural with respect to the change of triangulations. When each connected component of $\mathfrak{S}$ has non-empty boundary and no interior ideal point, we define a quantization of the Fock-Goncharov $A$-moduli space $\overline{\mathcal{A}}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$ and its extension $\mathcal{A}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$. We then show that there exist quantum traces $\bar{tr}^A:\overline{\mathscr{S}}(\mathfrak{S})\to\overline{\mathcal{A}}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$ and $tr^A:\mathscr{S}(\mathfrak{S})\hookrightarrow\mathcal{A}(\mathfrak{S},λ)$, where the second map is injective, while the first is injective at least when $\mathfrak{S}$ is a polygon. They are equivalent to the $X$-versions but have better algebraic properties.
The stated ${\rm SL}_n$-skein algebra $\mathscr{S}_{\hat{q}}(\mathfrak{S})$ of a surface $\mathfrak{S}$ is a quantization of the ${\rm SL}_n$-character variety, and is spanned over $\mathbb{Z}[\hat{q}^{\pm 1}]$ by framed tangles in $\mathfrak{S} \times (-1,1)$. If $\hat{q}$ is evaluated at a root of unity $\hatω$ with the order of $\hatω^{4n^2}$ being $N$, then for $\hatη = \hatω^{N^2}$, the Frobenius homomorphism $Φ: \mathscr{S}_{\hatη}(\mathfrak{S}) \to \mathscr{S}_{\hatω}(\mathfrak{S})$ is a surface generalization of the well-known Frobenius homomorphism between quantum groups. We show that the image under $Φ$ of a framed oriented knot $α$ is given by threading along $α$ of the reduced power elementary polynomial, which is an ${\rm SL}_n$-analog of the Chebyshev polynomial $T_N$. This generalizes Bonahon and Wong's result for $n=2$, and confirms a conjecture of Bonahon and Higgins. Our proof uses representation theory of quantum groups and its skein theoretic interpretation, and does not require heavy computations. We also extend our result to marked 3-manifolds.
We develop a theory of stated SL(n)-skein modules, $S_n(M,N),$ of 3-manifolds $M$ marked with intervals $N$ in their boundaries. They consist of linear combinations of $n$-webs with ends in $N$, considered up to skein relations inspired by the relations of the Reshetikhin-Turaev theory. We prove that cutting $M$ along a disk resulting in a $3$-manifold $M'$ yields a homomorphism $S_n(M)\to S_n(M')$. That result allows to analyze the skein modules of $3$-manifolds through the skein modules of their pieces. The theory of stated skein modules is particularly rich for thickened surfaces $M=Σ\times (-1,1),$ in whose case, $S_n(M)$ is an algebra, denoted by $S_n(Σ).$ We prove that the skein algebra of the ideal bigon is $O_q(SL(n))$ and that it provides simple geometric interpretations of the product, coproduct, counit, the antipode, and the cobraided structure on $O_q(SL(n)).$ Additionally, we show that a splitting of a thickened bigon near a marking defines a $O_q(SL(n))$-comodule structure on $S_n(M),$ or dually, an $U_q(sl_n)$-module structure. Furthermore, we show that the skein algebra of surfaces $Σ_1, Σ_2$ glued along two sides of a triangle is isomorphic with the braided tensor product $S_n(Σ_1)\underline{\otimes} S_n(Σ_2)$ of Majid. These results allow for a geometric interpretation of further concepts in the theory of quantum groups, for example, of the braided products and of Majid's transmutation operation. We prove that the factorization homology of surfaces with coefficients in $Rep\, U_q(sl_n)$ is equivalent to the category of left modules over $S_n(Σ)$. We also discuss the relation with the quantum moduli spaces of Alekseev-Schomerus. Finally, we show that for surfaces $Σ$ with boundary, $S_n(Σ)$ is a free module with a basis induced from the Kashiwara-Lusztig canonical bases.
Quantization of the Teichmüller space of a punctured Riemann surface $S$ is an approach to $3$-dimensional quantum gravity, and is a prototypical example of quantization of cluster varieties. Any simple loop $γ$ in $S$ gives rise to a natural trace-of-monodromy function $\mathbb{I}(γ)$ on the Teichmüller space. For any ideal triangulation $Δ$ of $S$, this function $\mathbb{I}(γ)$ is a Laurent polynomial in the square-roots of the exponentiated shear coordinates for the arcs of $Δ$. An important problem was to construct a quantization of this function $\mathbb{I}(γ)$, namely to replace it by a noncommutative Laurent polynomial in the quantum variables. This problem, which is closely related to the framed protected spin characters in physics, has been solved by Allegretti and Kim using Bonahon and Wong's ${\rm SL}_2$ quantum trace for skein algebras, and by Gabella using Gaiotto, Moore and Neitzke's Seiberg-Witten curves, spectral networks, and writhe of links. We show that these two solutions to the quantization problem coincide. We enhance Gabella's solution and show that it is a twist of the Bonahon-Wong quantum trace.
We prove that large classes of algebras in the framework of root of unity quantum cluster algebras have the structures of maximal orders in central simple algebras and Cayley-Hamilton algebras in the sense of Procesi. We show that every root of unity upper quantum cluster algebra is a maximal order and obtain an explicit formula for its reduced trace. Under mild assumptions, inside each such algebra we construct a canonical central subalgebra isomorphic to the underlying upper cluster algebra, such that the pair is a Cayley-Hamilton algebra; its fully Azumaya locus is shown to contain a copy of the underlying cluster $\mathcal{A}$-variety. Both results are proved in the wider generality of intersections of mixed quantum tori over subcollections of seeds. Furthermore, we prove that all monomial subalgebras of root of unity quantum tori are Cayley-Hamilton algebras and classify those ones that are maximal orders. Arbitrary intersections of those over subsets of seeds are also proved to be Cayley-Hamilton algebras. Previous approaches to constructing maximal orders relied on filtration and homological methods. We use new methods based on cluster algebras.
The stated skein algebra of a punctured bordered surface (or equivalently, a marked surface) is a generalization of the well-known Kauffman bracket skein algebra of unmarked surfaces and can be considered as an extension of the quantum special linear group $\mathcal{O}_{q^2}(SL_2)$ from a bigon to general surfaces. We show that the stated skein algebra of a punctured bordered surface with non-empty boundary can be embedded into quantum tori in two different ways. The first embedding can be considered as a quantization of the map expressing the trace of a closed curve in terms of the shear coordinates of the enhanced Teichmüller space, and is a lift of Bonahon-Wong's quantum trace map. The second embedding can be considered as a quantization of the map expresses the trace of a closed curve in terms of the lambda length coordinates of the decorated Teichmüller space, and is an extension of Muller's quantum trace map. We explain the relation between the two quantum trace maps. We also show that the quantum cluster algebra of Muller is equal to a reduced version of the stated skein algebra. As applications we show that the stated skein algebra is an orderly finitely generated Noetherian domain and calculate its Gelfand-Kirillov dimension.
We study the stated skein modules of marked 3-manifolds. We generalize the splitting homomorphism for stated skein algebras of surfaces to a splitting homomorphism for stated skein modules of 3-manifolds. We show that there exists a Chebyshev-Frobenius homomorphism for the stated skein modules of 3-manifolds which extends the Chebyshev homomorphism of the skein algebras of unmarked surfaces originally constructed by Bonahon and Wong. Additionally, we show that the Chebyshev-Frobenius map commutes with the splitting homomorphism. This is then used to show that in the case of the stated skein algebra of a surface, the Chebyshev-Frobenius map is the unique extension of the dual Frobenius map (in the sense of Lusztig) of $\mathcal{O}_{q^2}(SL(2))$ through the triangular decomposition afforded by an ideal triangulation of the surface. In particular, this gives a skein theoretic construction of the Hopf dual of Lusztig's Frobenius homomorphism. A second conceptual framework is given, which shows that the Chebyshev-Frobenius homomorphism for the stated skein algebra of a surface is the unique restriction of the Frobenius homomorphism of quantum tori through the quantum trace map.
We give a survey of some old and new results about the stated skein modules/algebras of 3-manifolds/surfaces. For generic quantum parameter, we discuss the splitting homomorphism for the 3-manifold case, general structures of the stated skein algebras of marked surfaces (or bordered punctured surfaces) and their embeddings into quantum tori. For roots of 1 quantum parameter, we discuss the Frobenius homomorphism (for both marked 3-manifolds and marked surfaces), describe the center of the skein algebra of marked surfaces, the dimension of the skein algebra over the center, and the representation theory of the skein algebra. In particular, we show that the skein algebra of non-closed marked surface at any root of 1 is a maximal order. We give a full description of the Azumaya locus of the skein algebra of the puncture torus and give partial results for closed surfaces.
We show that the if a sequence of normalized polynomials gives rise to a positive basis of the skein algebra of a surface, then it is sandwiched between the two types of Chebyshev polynomials. For the closed torus, we show that the normalized sequence of Chebyshev polynomials of type one $(\hat{T}_n)$ is the only one which gives a positive basis.
We prove that the HOMFLYPT polynomial of a link, colored by partitions with a fixed number of rows is a $q$-holonomic function. Specializing to the case of knots colored by a partition with a single row, it proves the existence of an $(a,q)$ super-polynomial of knots in 3-space, as was conjectured by string theorists. Our proof uses skew Howe duality that reduces the evaluation of web diagrams and their ladders to a Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt computation of an auxiliary quantum group of rank the number of strings of the ladder diagram.
We show that the Chebyshev polynomials form a basic block of any positive basis of the Kauffman bracket skein algebras of surfaces.
We show how the quantum trace map of Bonahon and Wong can be constructed in a natural way using the skein algebra of Muller, which is an extension of the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of surfaces. We also show that the quantum Teichmüller space of a marked surface, defined by Chekhov-Fock (and Kashaev) in an abstract way, can be realized as a concrete subalgebra of the skew field of the skein algebra.
For each finite dimensional, simple, complex Lie algebra $\mathfrak g$ and each root of unity $ξ$ (with some mild restriction on the order) one can define the Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev (WRT) quantum invariant $τ_M^{\mathfrak g}(ξ)\in \mathbb C$ of oriented 3-manifolds $M$. In the present paper we construct an invariant $J_M$ of integral homology spheres $M$ with values in the cyclotomic completion $\widehat {\mathbb Z [q]}$ of the polynomial ring $\mathbb Z [q]$, such that the evaluation of $J_M$ at each root of unity gives the WRT quantum invariant of $M$ at that root of unity. This result generalizes the case ${\mathfrak g}=sl_2$ proved by the first author. It follows that $J_M$ unifies all the quantum invariants of $M$ associated with $\mathfrak g$, and represents the quantum invariants as a kind of "analytic function" defined on the set of roots of unity. For example, $τ_M(ξ)$ for all roots of unity are determined by a "Taylor expansion" at any root of unity, and also by the values at infinitely many roots of unity of prime power orders. It follows that WRT quantum invariants $τ_M(ξ)$ for all roots of unity are determined by the Ohtsuki series, which can be regarded as the Taylor expansion at $q=1$, and hence by the Le-Murakami-Ohtsuki invariant. Another consequence is that the WRT quantum invariants $τ_M^{ \mathfrak g}(ξ)$ are algebraic integers. The construction of the invariant $J_M$ is done on the level of quantum group, and does not involve any finite dimensional representation, unlike the definition of the WRT quantum invariant. Thus, our construction gives a unified, "representation-free" definition of the quantum invariants of integral homology spheres.