The Geometry And Physics Of Knots

These notes deal with an area that lies at the crossroads of mathematics and physics and rest primarily on the pioneering work of Vaughan Jones and Edward Witten, who related polynomial invariants of knots to a topological quantum field theory in 2+1 dimensions.

An introduction to knot and link invariants as generalised amplitudes for a quasi-physical process. The demands of knot theory, coupled with a quantum-statistical framework, create a context that naturally and powerfully includes an extraordinary range of interrelated topics in topology and mathematical physics.

In this second edition, the following recent papers have been added: “Gauss Codes, Quantum Groups and Ribbon Hopf Algebras”, “Spin Networks, Topology and Discrete Physics”, “Link Polynomials and a Graphical Calculus” and “Knots Tangles and Electrical Networks”. An appendix with a discussion on invariants of embedded graphs and Vassiliev invariants has also been included. This book is an introduction to knot and link invariants as generalized amplitudes (vacuum–vacuum amplitudes) for a quasi-physical process. The demands of knot theory, coupled with a quantum statistical framework, create a context that naturally and powerfully includes an extraordinary range of interrelated topics in topology and mathematical physics. The author takes a primarily combinatorial stance toward knot theory and its relations with these subjects. This has the advantage of providing very direct access to the algebra and to the combinatorial topology, as well as the physical ideas. This book is divided into 2 parts: Part I of the book is a systematic course in knots and physics starting from the ground up. Part II is a set of lectures on various topics related to and sometimes based on Part I. Part II also explores some side-topics such as frictional properties of knots, relations with combinatorics and knots in dynamical systems. Contents:Physical KnotsStates and the Bracket PolynomialThe Jones Polynomial and Its GeneralizationsBraids and the Jones PolynomialFormal Feynman Diagrams, Bracket as a Vacuum-Vacuum Expectation and the Quantum Group SL(2)qYang-Baxter Models for Specializations of the Homfly PolynomialThe Alexander PolynomialKnot-Crystals — Classical Knot Theory in Modern GuiseThe Kauffman PolynomialThree Manifold Invariants from the Jones PolynomialIntegral Heuristics and Witten' s InvariantsThe Chromatic PolynomialThe Potts Model and the Dichromatic PolynomialThe Penrose Theory of Spin NetworksKnots and Strings — Knotted StringsDNA and Quantum Field TheoryKnots in Dynamical Systems — The Lorenz Attractorand other papers Readership: Physicists, mathematical physicists and mathematicians. keywords: Reviews of the First Edition: “It is an attractive book for physicists with profuse and often entertaining illustrations … proofs … seldom heavy and nearly always well explained with pictures… succeeds in infusing his own excitement and enthusiasm for these discoveries and their potential implications.” Physics Today “… here is a gold mine where, with care and patience, one should get acquainted with a beautiful subject under the guidance of a most original and imaginative mind.” Mathematical Reviews

This invaluable book is an introduction to knot and link invariants as generalised amplitudes for a quasi-physical process. The demands of knot theory, coupled with a quantum-statistical framework, create a context that naturally and powerfully includes an extraordinary range of interrelated topics in topology and mathematical physics. The author takes a primarily combinatorial stance toward knot theory and its relations with these subjects. This stance has the advantage of providing direct access to the algebra and to the combinatorial topology, as well as physical ideas.The book is divided into two parts: Part I is a systematic course on knots and physics starting from the ground up, and Part II is a set of lectures on various topics related to Part I. Part II includes topics such as frictional properties of knots, relations with combinatorics, and knots in dynamical systems.In this third edition, a paper by the author entitled “Knot Theory and Functional Integration” has been added. This paper shows how the Kontsevich integral approach to the Vassiliev invariants is directly related to the perturbative expansion of Witten's functional integral. While the book supplies the background, this paper can be read independently as an introduction to quantum field theory and knot invariants and their relation to quantum gravity. As in the second edition, there is a selection of papers by the author at the end of the book. Numerous clarifying remarks have been added to the text.

This invaluable book is an introduction to knot and link invariants as generalised amplitudes for a quasi-physical process. The demands of knot theory, coupled with a quantum-statistical framework, create a context that naturally and powerfully includes an extraordinary range of interrelated topics in topology and mathematical physics. The author takes a primarily combinatorial stance toward knot theory and its relations with these subjects. This stance has the advantage of providing direct access to the algebra and to the combinatorial topology, as well as physical ideas.

The present volume grew out of the Heidelberg Knot Theory Semester, organized by the editors in winter 2008/09 at Heidelberg University. The contributed papers bring the reader up to date on the currently most actively pursued areas of mathematical knot theory and its applications in mathematical physics and cell biology. Both original research and survey articles are presented; numerous illustrations support the text. The book will be of great interest to researchers in topology, geometry, and mathematical physics, graduate students specializing in knot theory, and cell biologists interested in the topology of DNA strands.

Over the last fifteen years, the face of knot theory has changed due to various new theories and invariants coming from physics, topology, combinatorics and alge-bra. It suffices to mention the great progress in knot homology theory (Khovanov homology and Ozsvath-Szabo Heegaard-Floer homology), the A-polynomial which give rise to strong invariants of knots and 3-manifolds, in particular, many new unknot detectors. New to this Edition is a discussion of Heegaard-Floer homology theory and A-polynomial of classical links, as well as updates throughout the text. Knot Theory, Second Edition is notable not only for its expert presentation of knot theory’s state of the art but also for its accessibility. It is valuable as a profes-sional reference and will serve equally well as a text for a course on knot theory.

Knots are familiar objects. Yet the mathematical theory of knots quickly leads to deep results in topology and geometry. This work offers an introduction to this theory, starting with our understanding of knots. It presents the applications of knot theory to modern chemistry, biology and physics.