nLab Vassiliev invariant

Vassiliev knot invariants

Vassiliev knot invariants

Idea

The space of knots in the Euclidean space 3\mathbb{R}^3 (or in the 3-sphere S 3S^3) is an open submanifold of the smooth loop space. Knot invariants are locally constant functions on this manifold. The complement of the space of knots is called the discriminant and consists of all singular knots.

If we consider those singular knots with only a finite number of double points, we can build a cubical complex? from this data. The vertices in the complex are labelled by the isotopy classes of knots, and more generally the nn-cubes by the isotopy classes of singular knots with nn double points (and a few other technical pieces of information). The boundary operator resolves a double crossing either upwards or downwards according to the orientation at the crossing.

A Vassiliev invariant is simply a cubical morphism from this complex to an abelian group that vanishes above a certain degree.

Definition

One does not need the language of cubical complexes to define Vassiliev invariants. Rather, there is a general method whereby a knot invariant can be extended to all singular knots with only finitely many double points (and no other singularities) using the Vassiliev skein relations.

Definition

A Vassiliev invariant of degree (or order) n\le n is a knot invariant whose extension to singular knots (with double points) vanishes on all singular knots with more than nn double points.

As is standard, it is of degree nn if it is of degree n\le n but not n1\le n - 1. Vassiliev invariants are also called finite type invariants.

Remark

The degree of Vassiliev invariants defines a filtration on the space of knots (and more particularly, on the algebra of knots?). Two knots are nn-equivalent if all the Vassiliev invariants of degree n\le n agree on them. In particular, a knot that is nn-equivalent to the unknot is said to be nn-trivial.

Properties

Relation to Chord diagrams and weight systems

A function which is constant on nonsingular knots may be extended to a Vassiliev invariant of degree 0 by applying the Vassiliev skein relations, and conversely, any Vassiliev invariant of degree 0 must be constant on nonsingular knots. Likewise, any Vassiliev invariant of degree 1 must be constant on nonsingular knots.

Any singular knot f:S 1 3f : S^1 \to \mathbb{R}^3 with nn distinct double points x 1,,x n 3x_1,\dots,x_n \in \mathbb{R}^3 gives rise to a chord diagram of order nn, consisting of the circle S 1S^1 with a chord connecting each pair of points f 1(x 1),,f 1(x n)f^{-1}(x_1), \dots, f^{-1}(x_n).

The importance of this construction for singular knots comes from the fact that any finite type invariant determines a function on chord diagrams:

Theorem

Let vv be a Vassiliev invariant of degree n\le n. Then the value of vv on a singular knot with nn distinct double points depends only on the chord diagram of the singular knot, and not on the knot itself.

Conversely, one can ask which functions on chord diagrams come from finite type invariants. The answer is that Vassiliev invariants (of degree n\le n) can essentially be identified with weight systems (of order nn), which are functions on chord diagrams (of order nn) satisfying two properties called the “1T relation” (or “framing independence”) and the “4T relation”: see Theorem 1 of Bar-Natan 95 (or Theorem 6.2.13 of Lando & Zvonkin):

Proposition

(weight systems are associated graded of Vassiliev invariants)

For ground field k=,k = \mathbb{R}, \mathbb{C} the real numbers or complex numbers, there is for each natural number nn \in \mathbb{N} a canonical linear isomorphism

𝒱 n/𝒱 n1AAAA(𝒜 n u) * \mathcal{V}_n/\mathcal{V}_{n-1} \underoverset{\simeq}{\phantom{AAAA}}{\longrightarrow} \big( \mathcal{A}_n^u \big)^\ast

from

  1. the quotient vector space of order-nn Vassiliev invariants of knots by those of order n1n-1

  2. to the space of unframed weight systems of order nn.

In other words, in characteristic zero, the graded vector space of unframed weight systems is the associated graded vector space of the filtered vector space of Vassiliev invariants.

(Bar-Natan 95, Theorem 1, following Kontsevich 93)

Relation to homology of loop spaces of configuration spaces of points

We discuss the relation between Vassiliev invariants and the Euler characteristic of the ordinary homology of loop spaces of configuration spaces of points:

For n,qn, q \in \mathbb{N} and q1q \geq 1, write

  1. Conf {1,,n}( q+2)\underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots, n\}}}{Conf}\big( \mathbb{R}^{q+2} \big) for the configuration space of n ordered points in Euclidean space q+2\mathbb{R}^{q+2};

  2. ΩConf {1,,n}( q+2)\Omega \underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots, n\}}}{Conf}\big( \mathbb{R}^{q+2} \big) for the corresponding based loop space (for any choice of base point);

  3. H (ΩConf {1,,n}( q+2),)H_\bullet\Big(\Omega \underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots, n\}}}{Conf}\big( \mathbb{R}^{q+2} \big), \mathbb{C} \Big) for the ordinary homology of this loop space, with coefficients in the complex numbers;

  4. χH (ΩConf {1,,n}( q+2),)\chi H_\bullet\Big(\Omega \underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots, n\}}}{Conf}\big( \mathbb{R}^{q+2} \big), \mathbb{C} \Big) for the Euler characteristic-series of the homology

Write also

  1. V k nV^n_k for the complex vector space of Vassiliev invariants of order kk for pure braids with nn strands;;

  2. A k nA^n_k for the complex vector space spanned by the horizontal chord diagrams with nn vertical strands modulo the “horizontal 4T relation”

such that there is an linear isomorphism

V k n/V k1 n(A k n) * V^n_k/V^n_{k-1} \simeq (A^n_k)^\ast

between the quotient vector space of Vassiliev invariants and the dual vector space of chord diagrams.

Then:

The Euler characteristic-series (…) of the homology of the loop spaces of configuration spaces

χH (ΩConf {1,,n}( q+2),)=[(1t q)(12t q)(1(n1)t q)] 1 \chi H_\bullet\Big(\Omega \underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots, n\}}}{Conf}\big( \mathbb{R}^{q+2} \big), \mathbb{C} \Big) \;=\; \Big[ \big( 1 - t^q \big) \cdot \big( 1 - 2 t^q \big) \cdots \big( 1 - (n-1) t^q \big) \Big]^{-1}

and is related to the complex dimensions of spaces of Vassiliev invariants according to

(1)χH (ΩConf {1,,n}( 3),)=kdim (A k n)t k \chi H_\bullet \Big( \Omega \underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots, n\}}}{Conf}\big( \mathbb{R}^{3} \big), \mathbb{C} \Big) \;=\; \underset{k \in \mathbb{N}}{\sum} dim_{\mathbb{C}}\big( A^n_k \big) t^k

(Cohen-Gitler 01, Prop. 9.1, based on Cohen 76 and Kohno 94)


Alternatively, we have the combination of the following two facts, via weight systems:

Proposition

(weight systems are cohomology of loop space of configuration space)

For ground field k=k = \mathbb{R} the real numbers, there is a canonical injection of the real vector space 𝒲\mathcal{W} of framed weight systems (?) into the real cohomology of the based loop spaces of the ordered configuration spaces of points in 3-dimensional Euclidean space:

𝒲H (ΩConf {1,,n}( 3)) \mathcal{W} \;\overset{\;\;\;\;}{\hookrightarrow}\; H^\bullet \Big( \Omega \underset{{}^{\{1,\cdots,n\}}}{Conf} \big( \mathbb{R}^3 \big) \Big)

This is stated as Kohno 02, Theorem 4.2.

Proposition

(weight systems are associated graded of Vassiliev invariants)

For ground field k=,k = \mathbb{R}, \mathbb{C} the real numbers or complex numbers, there is for each natural number nn \in \mathbb{N} a canonical linear isomorphism

𝒱 n/𝒱 n1AAAA(𝒜 n u) * \mathcal{V}_n/\mathcal{V}_{n-1} \underoverset{\simeq}{\phantom{AAAA}}{\longrightarrow} \big( \mathcal{A}_n^u \big)^\ast

from

  1. the quotient vector space of order-nn Vassiliev invariants of knots by those of order n1n-1

  2. to the space of unframed weight systems of order nn.

In other words, in characteristic zero, the graded vector space of unframed weight systems is the associated graded vector space of the filtered vector space of Vassiliev invariants.

(Bar-Natan 95, Theorem 1, following Kontsevich 93)

Examples

  1. The nnth coefficient of the Conway polynomial is a Vassiliev invariant of order n\le n.

(…)

chord diagramsweight systems
linear chord diagrams,
round chord diagrams
Jacobi diagrams,
Sullivan chord diagrams
Lie algebra weight systems,
stringy weight system,
Rozansky-Witten weight systems


knotsbraids
chord diagram,
Jacobi diagram
horizontal chord diagram
1T&4T relation2T&4T relation/
infinitesimal braid relations
weight systemhorizontal weight system
Vassiliev knot invariantVassiliev braid invariant
weight systems are associated graded of Vassiliev invariantshorizontal weight systems are cohomology of loop space of configuration space

References

General

The original articles are

Lecture notes:

Textbook accounts:

Further review:

  • Simon Willerton, On the Vassiliev invariants for knots and for pure braids, 1997 (hdl:1842/11581, ethos.663801, pdf)

  • Dror Bar-Natan, Finite Type Invariants, in: J.-P. Francoise, G.L. Naber and Tsou S.T. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, Oxford: Elsevier, 2006, volume 2 page 340

    (arXiv:math/0408182)

  • Sergei K. Lando and Alexander K. Zvonkin, Chapter 6 of: Graphs on Surfaces and Their Applications, Springer, 2004.

More literature is listed at

See also

Concrete computations:

  • Jan Kneissler, On spaces of connected graphs I: Properties of Ladders, Proc. Internat. Conf. “Knots in Hellas ‘98”, Series on Knots and Everything, vol. 24 (2000), 252-273 (arXiv:math/0301018)

  • Jan Kneissler, On spaces of connected graphs II: Relations in the algebra Lambda, Jour. of Knot Theory and its Ramif. vol. 10, no. 5 (2001), 667-674 (arXiv:math/0301019)

  • Jan Kneissler, On spaces of connected graphs III: The Ladder Filtration, Jour. of Knot Theory and its Ramif. vol. 10, no. 5 (2001), 675-686 (arXiv:math/0301020)

  • Pierre Vogel, Algebraic structures on modules of diagrams, Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra Volume 215, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 1292-1339 (pdf)

Relation to Jones polynomial:

Relation to the Jones polynomial:

  • Joan S. Birman; Xiao-Song Lin, Knot polynomials and Vassiliev’s invariants, Inventiones mathematicae (1993) Volume: 111, Issue: 2, page 225-270 (https://dml:144077)

Relation to other polynomial knot invariants:

  • Myeong-Ju Jeong, Chan-Young Park, Polynomial invariants and Vassiliev invariants, Geom. Topol. Monogr. 4 (2002) 89-101 (arxiv:math/0211045)

Relation to homology of loop spaces of configuration spaces

Relation to the Euler characteristic of the ordinary homology of loop spaces of configuration spaces of points

based on

  • Toshitake Kohno, Vassiliev invariants and de Rham complex on the space of knots, In: Yoshiaki Maeda, Hideki Omori and Alan Weinstein (eds.), Symplectic Geometry and Quantization, Contemporary Mathematics 179 (1994): 123-123 (doi:10.1090/conm/179)

  • Fred Cohen, The homology of 𝒞 n+1\mathcal{C}_{n+1}-Spaces, n0n \geq 0. In: The Homology of Iterated Loop Spaces. Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol 533. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 1976 (doi:10.1007/BFb0080467)

See also

  • Toshitake Kohno, Loop spaces of configuration spaces and finite type invariants, Geom. Topol. Monogr. 4 (2002) 143-160 (arXiv:math/0211056)

  • Toshitake Kohno, Section 3.1 in: Conformal field theory and topology, transl. from the 1998 Japanese original by the author. Translations of Mathematical Monographs 210. Iwanami Series in Modern Mathematics. Amer. Math. Soc. 2002 [[AMS:mmono-210]]

As Chern-Simons amplitudes

Discussion of higher order Vassiliev invariants as Chern-Simons theory-correlators, hence as configuration space-integrals of wedge products of Chern-Simons propagators assigned to edges of Feynman diagrams in the graph complex:

Reviewed in:

See also

  • J. de-la-Cruz-Moreno, H. García-Compeán, E. López, Vassiliev Invariants for Flows Via Chern-Simons Perturbation Theory (arXiv:2004.13893)

As observables on fuzzy spheres

Relation of Dp-D(p+2)-brane bound states (hence Yang-Mills monopoles) to Vassiliev braid invariants via chord diagrams computing radii of fuzzy spheres:

Vassiliev invariants of braids

Vassiliev invariants of braids via horizontal chord diagrams:

category: geometry, topology

Last revised on August 21, 2023 at 10:57:47. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.