We define a new family of commuting operators $F_k$ in Khovanov-Rozansky link homology, similar to the action of tautological classes in cohomology of character varieties. We prove that $F_2$ satisfies ``hard Lefshetz property" and hence exhibits the symmetry in Khovanov-Rozansky homology conjectured by Dunfield, Gukov and Rasmussen.
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…
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 give a purely combinatorial construction of colored $\mathfrak{sl}_n$ link homology. The invariant takes values in a 2-category where 2-morphisms are given by foams, singular cobordisms between $\mathfrak{sl}_n$ webs; applying a (TQFT-like) representable functor recovers (colored) Khovanov-Rozansky homology. Novel features of the theory include the introduction of `enhanced' foam facets which fix sign issues associated with the original matrix factorization formulation and the use of skew Howe duality to show that (enhanced) closed foams can be evaluated in a completely combinatorial manner…
We prove that the full twist is a Serre functor in the homotopy category of type A Soergel bimodules. As a consequence, we relate the top and bottom Hochschild degrees in Khovanov-Rozansky homology, categorifying a theorem of Kálmán.
We introduce a multi-parameter deformation of the triply-graded Khovanov--Rozansky homology of links colored by one-column Young diagrams, generalizing the "$y$-ified" link homology of Gorsky--Hogancamp and work of Cautis--Lauda--Sussan. For each link component, the natural set of deformation parameters corresponds to interpolation coordinates on the Hilbert scheme of the plane. We extend our deformed link homology theory to braids by introducing a monoidal dg 2-category of curved complexes of type $A$ singular Soergel bimodules. Using this framework, we promote to the curved setting the categ…
We give a detailed proof of the fact that for any Coxeter group the Euler characteristic of the corresponding Khovanov-Rozansky homology provides a Markov trace.
We give a simple recursion which computes the triply graded Khovanov-Rozansky homology of several infinite families of knots and links, including the $(n,nm\pm 1)$ and $(n,nm)$ torus links for $n,m\geq 1$. We interpret our results in terms of Catalan combinatorics, proving a conjecture of Gorsky's. Our computations agree with predictions coming from Hilbert schemes and rational DAHA, which also proves the Gorsky-Oblomkov-Rasmussen-Shende conjectures in these cases. Additionally, our results suggest a topological interpretation of the symmetric functions which appear in the context of the $m$-s…
Khovanov has given a construction of the Khovanov-Rozansky link invariants (categorifying the HOMFLYPT invariant) using Hochschild cohomology of 2-braid groups. We give a direct proof that his construction does give link invariants. We show more generally that, for any finite Coxeter group, his construction provides a Markov "2-trace", and we actually show that the invariant takes value in suitable derived categories. This makes more precise a result of Trafim Lasy who has shown that, after taking the class in K_0, this provides a Markov trace.
We define a deformation of the triply graded Khovanov-Rozansky homology of a link $L$ depending on a choice of parameters $y_c$ for each component of $L$, which satisfies link-splitting properties similar to the Batson-Seed invariant. Keeping the $y_c$ as formal variables yields a link homology valued in triply graded modules over $\mathbb{Q}[x_c,y_c]_{c\in π_0(L)}$. We conjecture that this invariant restores the missing $Q\leftrightarrow TQ^{-1}$ symmetry of the triply graded Khovanov-Rozansky homology, and in addition satisfies a number of predictions coming from a conjectural connection wit…
We describe a new geometric model for the Hochschild cohomology of Soergel bimodules based on the monodromic Hecke category studied earlier by the first author and Yun. Moreover, we identify the objects representing individual Hochschild cohomology groups (for the zero and the top degree cohomology this reduces to an earlier result of Gorsky, Hogancamp, Mellit and Nakagane). These objects turn out to be closely related to explicit character sheaves corresponding to exterior powers of the reflection representation of the Weyl group. Applying the described functors to the images of braids in the…
We construct a categorification of the maximal commutative subalgebra of the type $A$ Hecke algebra. Specifically, we propose a monoidal functor from the (symmetric) monoidal category of coherent sheaves on the flag Hilbert scheme to the (non-symmetric) monoidal category of Soergel bimodules. The adjoint of this functor allows one to match the Hochschild homology of any braid with the Euler characteristic of a sheaf on the flag Hilbert scheme. The categorified Jones-Wenzl projectors studied by Abel, Elias and Hogancamp are idempotents in the category of Soergel bimodules, and they correspond t…
This is the author's diploma thesis. We describe a simplification in the construction of Khovanov-Rozansky's categorification of quantum sl(n) link homology using the theory of maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules over hypersurface singularities and the combinatorics of Soergel bimodules. More precisely, we show that the matrix factorizations associated to basic MOY-graphs equal Cohen-Macaulay approximations of certain Soergel bimodules, and prove that taking Cohen-Macaulay approximation commutes with tensor products as long as the MOY-graph under consideration does not possess oriented cycles. It f…
We show that Khovanov homology (and its sl(3) variant) can be understood in the context of higher representation theory. Specifically, we show that the combinatorially defined foam constructions of these theories arise as a family of 2-representations of categorified quantum sl(m) via categorical skew Howe duality. Utilizing Cautis-Rozansky categorified clasps we also obtain a unified construction of foam-based categorifications of Jones-Wenzl projectors and their sl(3) analogs purely from the higher representation theory of categorified quantum groups. In the sl(2) case, this work reveals the…
We extend the construction of the DAHA-Jones polynomials for any reduced root systems and DAHA-superpolynomials in type A from the iterated torus knots (our previous paper) to links, including arbitrary algebraic links. Such a passage essentially corresponds to the usage of the products of Macdonald polynomials and is directly connected to the so-called splice diagrams. The specialization t=q of our superpolynomials conjecturally results in the HOMFLY-PT polynomials. The relation of our construction to the stable Khovanov-Rozansky polynomials and the so-called ORS-polynomials of the correspond…
We conjecturally extract the triply graded Khovanov-Rozansky homology of the (m, n) torus knot from the unique finite dimensional simple representation of the rational DAHA of type A, rank n - 1, and central character m/n. The conjectural differentials of Gukov, Dunfield and the third author receive an explicit algebraic expression in this picture, yielding a prescription for the doubly graded Khovanov-Rozansky homologies. We match our conjecture to previous conjectures of the first author relating knot homology to q, t-Catalan numbers, and of the last three authors relating knot homology to H…
In this note we make an attempt to compare a cohomological theory of Hilbert spaces of ground states in the ${\cal N}=(2,2)$ 2d Landau-Ginzburg theory in models describing link embeddings in ${\mathbb{R}}^3$ to Khovanov and Khovanov-Rozansky homologies. To confirm the equivalence we exploit the invariance of Hilbert spaces of ground states for interfaces with respect to homotopy. In this attempt to study solitons and instantons in the Landau-Giznburg theory we apply asymptotic analysis also known in the literature as exact WKB method, spectral networks method, or resurgence. In particular, we …
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…
There is a $p$-differential on the triply-graded Khovanov--Rozansky homology of knots and links over a field of positive characteristic $p$ that gives rise to an invariant in the homotopy category finite-dimensional $p$-complexes. A differential on triply-graded homology discovered by Cautis is compatible with the $p$-differential structure. As a consequence we get a categorification of the colored Jones polynomial evaluated at a $2p$th root of unity.
The stable Khovanov-Rozansky homology of torus knots has been conjecturally described as the Koszul homology of an explicit non-regular sequence of polynomials. We verify this conjecture against newly available computational data for sl(3)-homology. Special attention is paid to torsion. In addition, explicit conjectural formulae are given for the sl(N)-homology of (3,m)-torus knots for all N and m, which are motivated by higher categorified Jones-Wenzl projectors. Structurally similar formulae are proven for Heegard-Floer homology.
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…
We conjecture an expression for the dimensions of the Khovanov-Rozansky HOMFLY homology groups of the link of a plane curve singularity in terms of the weight polynomials of Hilbert schemes of points scheme-theoretically supported on the singularity. The conjecture specializes to our previous conjecture relating the HOMFLY polynomial to the Euler numbers of the same spaces upon setting t = -1. By generalizing results of Piontkowski on the structure of compactified Jacobians to the case of Hilbert schemes of points, we give an explicit prediction of the HOMFLY homology of a (k, n) torus knot as…
