Claremont Topology Seminar: Jim Hoste (Pitzer College)

Title: Variations on the Kauffman Bracket

Abstract: Forty years ago, Lou Kauffman formulated his “bracket” polynomial, a function from link diagrams to Laurent polynomials in one variable. This elementary construction leads to a simple definition of the Jones Polynomial. The simplifying assumptions made by Kauffman in producing the bracket polynomial are not strictly necessary, leading to the question: Can a more general invariant of links be obtained using variations of the Kauffman bracket? In this talk I will explore this question.