Quasi-alternating links are a natural generalization of alternating links. In this paper, we show that quasi-alternating links are "homologically thin" for both Khovanov homology and knot Floer homology. In particular, their bigraded homology groups are determined by the signature of the link, together with the Euler characteristic of the respective homology (i.e. the Jones or the Alexander polynomial). The proofs use the exact triangles relating the homology of a link with the homologies of its two resolutions at a crossing.
Let L be a null homologous link in $\mathbb{RP}^3$. We define Khovanov-type homologies of L which depend on an extra input $α= (V_0,V_1,f,g)$ consisting of two graded vectors spaces and two maps between them. With some specific choice of $α= α_{APS}$, we recover the categorification of the Kauffman bracket due to Asaeda-Przytycki-Sikora. With another choice of $α= α_{HF}$, we construct a spectral sequence from our theory converging to the Heegaard Floer homology of the even branched double cover of $\mathbb{RP}^3$.
We show that monopole Floer homology (as defined by Kronheimer and Mrowka) is isomorphic to the S^1-equivariant homology of the Seiberg-Witten Floer spectrum constructed by the second author.
These are lecture notes from a series of lectures at the SMF summer school on "Geometric and Quantum Topology in Dimension 3", June 2014. The focus is on Heegaard Floer homology from the perspective of sutured Floer homology.
This paper realises the Khovanov homology of a link in the 3-sphere as a Lagrangian Floer cohomology group, establishing a conjecture of Seidel and the second author. The starting point is the previously established formality theorem for the symplectic arc algebra over a field k of characteristic zero. Here we prove the symplectic cup and cap bimodules which relate different symplectic arc algebras are themselves formal over k, and construct a long exact triangle for symplectic Khovanov cohomology. We then prove the symplectic and combinatorial arc algebras are isomorphic over the integers in …
In this paper, we generalize the work of the second author and prove a grading shifting property, in sutured monopole and instanton Floer theories, for general balanced sutured manifolds. This result has a few consequences. First, we offer an algorithm that computes the Floer homologies of a family of sutured handle-bodies. Second, we obtain a canonical decomposition of sutured monopole and instanton Floer homologies and build polytopes for these two theories, which was initially achieved by Juhász for sutured (Heegaard) Floer homology. Third, we establish a Thurston-norm detection result for …
Khovanov-Floer theories are a class of homological link invariants which admit spectral sequences from Khovanov homology. They include Khovanov homology, Szab{ó}'s geometric link homology, singular instanton homology, and various Floer theories applied to branched double covers. In this short note we show that certain strong Khovanov-Floer theories, including Szab{ó} homology and singular instanton homology, are invariant under Conway mutation. This confirms conjectures of Seed and Lambert-Cole. Along the way we prove two other conjectures about the structure of Szab{ó} homology.
This is an expanded version of the lecture course the second author gave at Winterbraids VI in Lille in February 2016. Version 2: revision incorporating referee remarks.
We provide a finite dimensional categorification of the symmetric evaluation of $\mathfrak{sl}_N$-webs using foam technology. As an output we obtain a symmetric link homology theory categorifying the link invariant associated to symmetric powers of the standard representation of $\mathfrak{sl}_N$. In addition, the construction is actually made in an equivariant setting. We prove also that there is a spectral sequence from the Khovanov-Rozansky triply graded link homology to the symmetric one and provide along the way a foam interpretation of Soergel bimodules.
A well-known conjecture of Rasmussen states that for any knot $K$ in $S^{3}$, the rank of the reduced Khovanov homology of $K$ is greater than or equal to the rank of the reduced knot Floer homology of $K$. This rank inequality is supposed to arise as the result of a spectral sequence from Khovanov homology to knot Floer homology. Using an oriented cube of resolutions construction for a homology theory related to knot Floer homology, we prove this conjecture.
We explain how Queffelec-Sartori's construction of the HOMFLY-PT link polynomial can be interpreted in terms of parabolic Verma modules for $\mathfrak{gl}_{2n}$. Lifting the construction to the world of categorification, we use parabolic 2-Verma modules to give a higher representation theory construction of Khovanov-Rozansky's triply graded link homology.
We compute the Heegaard-Floer link homology of algebraic links in terms of the multivariate Hilbert function of the corresponding plane curve singularities. The main result of the paper identifies four homologies: (a) the Heegaard-Floer link homology of the local embedded link of the germ, (b) the lattice homology associated with the Hilbert function, (c) the homologies of the projectivized complements of local hyperplane arrangements cut out from the local algebra, and (d) a certain variant of the Orlik-Solomon algebra of these local arrangements. In particular, the Poincaré polynomials of al…
We prove that Khovanov homology detects the trefoils. Our proof incorporates an array of ideas in Floer homology and contact geometry. It uses open books; the contact invariants we defined in the instanton Floer setting; a bypass exact triangle in sutured instanton homology, proven here; and Kronheimer and Mrowka's spectral sequence relating Khovanov homology with singular instanton knot homology. As a byproduct, we also strengthen a result of Kronheimer and Mrowka on $SU(2)$ representations of the knot group.
In this article we introduce a family of transverse invariants arising from the deformations of Khovanov homology. This family includes the invariants introduced by Plamenevskaya and by Lipshitz, Ng, and Sarkar. Then, we investigate the invariants arising from Bar-Natan's deformation. These invariants, called $β$-invariants, are essentially equivalent to Lipshitz, Ng, and Sarkar's invariants $ψ^\pm$. From the $β$-invariants we extract two non-negative integers which are transverse invariants (the $c$-invariants). Finally, we give several conditions which imply the non-effectiveness of the $c$-…
A well-known conjecture states that for any $l$-component link $L$ in $S^3$, the rank of the knot Floer homology of $L$ (over any field) is less than or equal to $2^{l-1}$ times the rank of the reduced Khovanov homology of $L$. In this paper, we describe a framework that might be used to prove this conjecture. We construct a modified version of Khovanov homology for links with multiple basepoints and show that it mimics the behavior of knot Floer homology. We also introduce a new spectral sequence converging to knot Floer homology whose $E_1$ page is conjecturally isomorphic to our new version…
We provide a unified framework for proving Reidemeister-invariance and functoriality for a wide range of link homology theories. These include Lee homology, Heegaard Floer homology of branched double covers, singular instanton homology, and \Szabo's geometric link homology theory. We follow Baldwin, Hedden, and Lobb (arXiv:1509.04691) in leveraging the relationships between these theories and Khovanov homology. We obtain stronger functoriality results by avoiding spectral sequences and instead showing that each theory factors through Bar-Natan's cobordism-theoretic link homology theory.
We consider colored operads and their actions on categories. As a special example we construct a cobordism category with a colored operad action arising from oriented planar arc diagrams. This is used to construct an invariant of oriented tangle diagrams with values in the homotopy category attached to the cobordism category. Motivated by Bar-Natan's categorification of the Jones polynomial, it categorifies the quantum $sl_n$ quantum invariants and is adapted to the categorification of the $sl_n$ quantum invariants by Khovanov and Rozansky using matrix factorizations. We conjecture to exist th…
In this paper, we give a systematic study of Seiberg-Witten theory on closed oriented manifold $M$ with codimension-$3$ oriented Riemannian foliation $F$. Under a certain topological condition, we construct the basic Seiberg-Witten invariant and the monopole Floer homologies $\bar{HM}(M,F,\mfs;Γ),~\hat{HM}(M,F,\mfs;Γ), ~\widecheck{HM}(M,F,\mfs;Γ)$, for each transverse \spinc structure $\mfs$, where $Γ$ is a complete local system. We will show that these homologies are independent of the bundle-like metric and generic perturbation. The major difference between the basic monopole Floer homologie…
We introduce the notion of a Khovanov-Floer theory. Roughly, such a theory assigns a filtered chain complex over Z/2 to a link diagram such that (1) the E_2 page of the resulting spectral sequence is naturally isomorphic to the Khovanov homology of the link; (2) this filtered complex behaves nicely under planar isotopy, disjoint union, and 1-handle addition; and (3) the spectral sequence collapses at the E_2 page for any diagram of the unlink. We prove that a Khovanov-Floer theory naturally yields a functor from the link cobordism category to the category of spectral sequences. In particular, …
Ozsvath and Szabo recently constructed an algebraically defined invariant of tangles which takes the form of a DA bimodule. This invariant is expected to compute knot Floer homology. The authors have a similar construction for open braids and their plat closures which can be viewed as a filtered DA bimodule over the same algebras. For a closed diagram, this invariant computes the Khovanov homology of the knot or link. We show that forgetting the filtration, our DA bimodules are homotopy equivalent to a suitable version of the Ozsvath- Szabo bimodules. In addition to giving a relationship betwe…
Generalizing our ideas in [arXiv:1006.3313], we explain how topologically-twisted N=2 gauge theory on a four-manifold with boundary, will allow us to furnish purely physical proofs of (i) the Atiyah-Floer conjecture, (ii) Munoz's theorem relating quantum and instanton Floer cohomology, (iii) their monopole counterparts, and (iv) their higher rank generalizations. In the case where the boundary is a Seifert manifold, one can also relate its instanton Floer homology to modules of an affine algebra via a 2d A-model with target the based loop group. As an offshoot, we will be able to demonstrate a…
We show a spectral sequence for the rational Khovanov homology of an oriented link in terms of the rational Khovanov complexes and homologies of the link surgeries along an admissible cut. As a non trivial corollary, we give an explicit splitting formula for the Jones polynomial.
In this paper we introduce a chain complex $C_{1 \pm 1}(D)$ where D is a plat braid diagram for a knot K. This complex is inspired by knot Floer homology, but it the construction is purely algebraic. It is constructed as an oriented cube of resolutions with differential d=d_0+d_1. We show that the E_2 page of the associated spectral sequence is isomorphic to the Khovanov homology of K, and that the total homology is a link invariant which we conjecture is isomorphic to δ-graded knot Floer homology. The complex can be refined to a tangle invariant for braids on 2n strands, where the associated …
