We construct an equivariant version of annular Khovanov homology via the Frobenius algebra associated with $U(1) \times U(1)$-equivariant cohomology of $\mathbb{CP}^1$. Motivated by the relationship between the Temperley-Lieb algebra and annular Khovanov homology, we also introduce an equivariant analogue of the Temperley-Lieb algebra.
We define a third grading on Khovanov homology, which is an invariant of annular links but changes by $\pm 1$ under stabilization. We illustrate the use of our computer implementation, and give some example calculations.
Let $\widetilde{K}$ be a two-periodic braid and let $K$ be its quotient. In this paper we show there is a spectral sequence from the next-to-top winding number grading of the sutured annular Khovanov homology of the closure of $\widetilde{K}$ to the next-to-top winding number grading of the sutured annular Khovanov homology of the closure of $K$.
We exhibit infinite families of annular links for which the maximum non-zero annular Khovanov grading grows infinitely large but the maximum non-zero annular Floer-theoretic gradings are bounded. We also show this phenomenon exists at the decategorified level for some of the infinite families. Our computations provide further evidence for the wrapping conjecture of Hoste-Przytycki and its categorified analogue. Additionally, we show that certain satellite operations cannot be used to construct counterexamples to the categorified wrapping conjecture. We also extend the Batson-Seed link splittin…
We define an annular version of odd Khovanov homology and prove that it carries an action of the Lie superalgebra $\mathfrak{gl}(1|1)$ which is preserved under annular Reidemeister moves.
We introduce an sl(n) homology theory for knots and links in the thickened annulus. To do so, we first give a fresh perspective on sutured annular Khovanov homology, showing that its definition follows naturally from trace decategorifications of enhanced sl(2) foams and categorified quantum gl(m), via classical skew Howe duality. This framework then extends to give our annular sl(n) link homology theory, which we call sutured annular Khovanov-Rozansky homology. We show that the sl(n) sutured annular Khovanov-Rozansky homology of an annular link carries an action of the Lie algebra sl(n), which…
Let L be a link in a thickened annulus. We show that its sutured annular Khovanov homology carries an action of the exterior current algebra of the Lie algebra sl_2. When L is an m-framed n-cable of a knot K in the three-sphere, its sutured annular Khovanov homology carries a commuting action of the symmetric group S_n. One therefore obtains a "knotted" Schur-Weyl representation that agrees with classical sl_2 Schur-Weyl duality when K is the Seifert-framed unknot.
We prove that the Khovanov-Lee complex of an oriented link, L, in a thickened annulus, A x I, has the structure of a bifiltered complex whose filtered chain homotopy type is an invariant of the isotopy class of L in A x I. Using ideas of Ozsvath-Stipsicz-Szabo as reinterpreted by Livingston, we use this structure to define a family of annular Rasmussen invariants that yield information about annular and non-annular cobordisms. Focusing on the special case of annular links obtained as braid closures, we use the behavior of the annular Rasmussen invariants to obtain a necessary condition for bra…
Let $L$ be a link in a thickened annulus. Grigsby-Licata-Wehrli showed that the annular Khovanov homology of $L$ is equipped with an action of $sl_2(\wedge)$, the exterior current algebra of the Lie algebra $sl_2$. In this paper, we upgrade this result to the setting of $L_\infty$-algebras and modules. That is, we show that $sl_2(\wedge)$ is an $L_\infty$-algebra and that the annular Khovanov homology of $L$ is an $L_\infty$-module over $sl_2(\wedge)$. Up to $L_\infty$-quasi-isomorphism, this structure is invariant under Reidemeister moves. Finally, we include explicit formulas to compute the …
For a 2-periodic link $\tilde L$ in the thickened annulus and its quotient link $L$, we exhibit a spectral sequence with $E^1 \cong AKh(\tilde L) \otimes_{\mathbb{F}_2} \mathbb{F}_2[θ, θ^{-1}] \rightrightarrows E^\infty \cong AKh(L) \otimes_{\mathbb{F}_2} \mathbb{F}_2[θ, θ^{-1}].$ This spectral sequence splits along quantum and $sl_2$ weight space gradings, proving a rank inequality $rank\ AKh^{j,k}(L) \leq rank\ AKh^{2j-k,k} (\tilde L)$ for every pair of quantum and $sl_2$ weight space gradings $(j,k)$. We also present a few decategorified consequences and discuss partial results toward a sim…
We study Khovanov homology over the Frobenius algebra $\mathbb{F}[U,V,X]/((X-U)(X-V))$, or $U(1) \times U(1)$-equivariant Khovanov homology, and extract two families of concordance invariants using the algebraic $U$-power and $V$-power filtrations on the chain complex. We also further develop the reduced version of the theory and study its behavior under mirroring.
We define a variant of Khovanov homology for links in thickened disks with multiple punctures. This theory is distinct from the one previously defined by Asaeda, Przytycki, and Sikora, but is related to it by a spectral sequence. Additionally, we show that there are spectral sequences induced by embeddings of thickened surfaces, which recover the spectral sequence from annular Khovanov homology to Khovanov homology as a special case.
Lawrence Roberts, extending the work of Ozsvath-Szabo, showed how to associate to a link, L, in the complement of a fixed unknot, B, in S^3, a spectral sequence from the Khovanov homology of a link in a thickened annulus to the knot Floer homology of the preimage of B inside the double-branched cover of L. In a previous paper, we extended Ozsvath-Szabo's spectral sequence in a different direction, constructing for each knot K in S^3 and each positive integer n, a spectral sequence from Khovanov's categorification of the reduced, n-colored Jones polynomial to the sutured Floer homology of a red…
Beliakova-Putyra-Wehrli studied various kinds of traces, in relation to annular Khovanov homology. In particular, to a graded algebra and a graded bimodule over it, they associate a quantum Hochschild homology of the algebra with coefficients in the bimodule, and use this to obtain a deformation of the annular Khovanov homology of a link. A spectral refinement of the resulting invariant was recently given by Akhmechet-Krushkal-Willis. In this short note we observe that quantum Hochschild homology is a composition of two familiar operations, and give a short proof that it gives an invariant of …
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 polyn…
In 2001, Khovanov and Seidel constructed a faithful action of the (m+1)-strand braid group on the derived category of left modules over a quiver algebra, A_m. We interpret the Hochschild homology of the Khovanov-Seidel braid invariant as a direct summand of the sutured Khovanov homology of the annular braid closure.
For every positive integer $n$ we construct a bigraded homology theory for links, such that the corresponding invariant of the unknot is closely related to the U(n)-equivariant cohomology ring of $\mathbb{CP}^{n-1}$; our construction specializes to the Khovanov-Rozansky $sl_n$-homology. We are motivated by the "universal" rank two Frobenius extension studied by M. Khovanov in \cite{Kh3} for $sl_2$-homology.
We construct a Kirby color in the setting of Khovanov homology: an ind-object of the annular Bar-Natan category that is equipped with a natural handle slide isomorphism. Using functoriality and cabling properties of Khovanov homology, we define a Kirby-colored Khovanov homology that is invariant under the handle slide Kirby move, up to isomorphism. Via the Manolescu--Neithalath 2-handle formula, Kirby-colored Khovanov homology agrees with the $\mathfrak{gl}_{2}$ skein lasagna module, hence is an invariant of $4$-dimensional $2$-handlebodies.
We construct a stable homotopy refinement of quantum annular homology, a link homology theory introduced by Beliakova, Putyra and Wehrli. For each $r\geq 2$ we associate to an annular link $L$ a naive $\mathbb{Z}/r\mathbb{Z}$-equivariant spectrum whose cohomology is isomorphic to the quantum annular homology of $L$ as modules over $\mathbb{Z}[\mathbb{Z}/r\mathbb{Z}]$. The construction relies on an equivariant version of the Burnside category approach of Lawson, Lipshitz and Sarkar. The quotient under the cyclic group action is shown to recover the stable homotopy refinement of annular Khovanov…
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.
We introduce two monoidal supercategories: the odd dotted Temperley-Lieb category $\mathcal{T\!L}_{o,\bullet}(δ)$, which is a generalization of the odd Temperley-Lieb category studied by Brundan and Ellis, and the odd annular Bar-Natan category $\mathcal{BN}_{\!o}(\mathbb{A})$, which generalizes the odd Bar-Natan category studied by Putyra. We then show there is an equivalence of categories between them if $δ=0$. We use this equivalence to better understand the action of the Lie superalgebra $\mathfrak{gl}(1|1)$ on the odd Khovanov homology of a knot in a thickened annulus found by Grigsby and…
This thesis studies the Bar-Natan skein module of the solid torus with a particular boundary curve system, and in particular a diagrammatic presentation of it due to Russell. This module has deep connections to topology and categorification: it is isomorphic to both the total homology of the (n,n)-Springer variety and the 0th Hochschild homology of the Khovanov arc ring H^n. We can also view the Bar-Natan--Russell skein module from a representation-theoretic viewpoint as an extension of the Frenkel--Khovanov graphical description of the Lusztig dual canonical basis of the nth tensor power of t…
Motivated by topology, we develop a general theory of traces and shadows for an endobicategory, which is a~pair: bicategory $\mathbf{C}$ and endobifunctor $Σ\colon \mathbf C \to\mathbf C$. For a graded linear bicategory and a fixed invertible parameter $q$, we quantize this theory by using the endofunctor $Σ_q$ such that $Σ_q α:=q^{-°α}Σα$ for any 2-morphism $α$ and coincides with $Σ$ otherwise. Applying the quantized trace to the~bicategory of Chen-Khovanov bimodules we get a new triply graded link homology theory called quantum annular link homology. If $q=1$ we reproduce Asaeda-Przytycki-Si…
Using derived categories of equivariant coherent sheaves, we construct a categorification of the tangle calculus associated to sl(2) and its standard representation. Our construction is related to that of Seidel-Smith by homological mirror symmetry. We show that the resulting doubly graded knot homology agrees with Khovanov homology.
Using derived categories of equivariant coherent sheaves we construct a knot homology theory which categorifies the quantum sl(m) knot polynomial. Our knot homology naturally satisfies the categorified MOY relations and is conjecturally isomorphic to Khovanov-Rozansky homology. Our construction is motivated by the geometric Satake correspondence and is related to Manolescu's by homological mirror symmetry.
Let $\mathcal{U}$ be the unipotent variety of a complex reductive group $G$. Fix opposed Borel subgroups $B_\pm \subseteq G$ with unipotent radicals $U_\pm$. The map that sends $x_+x_- \mapsto x_+x_-x_+^{-1}$ for all $x_\pm \in U_\pm$ restricts to a map from $U_+U_- \cap gB_+$ into $\mathcal{U} \cap gB_+$, for any $g$. We conjecture that the restricted map forms half of a homotopy equivalence between these varieties, and thus, induces a weight-preserving isomorphism between their compactly-supported cohomologies. Noting that the map is equivariant with respect to certain actions of $B_+ \cap g…