Homological algebra related to surfaces with boundary

In this article we describe an algebraic framework which can be used in three related but different contexts: string topology, symplectic field theory, and Lagrangian Floer theory of higher genus. It turns out that the relevant algebraic structure for all three contexts is a homotopy version of involutive bi-Lie algebras, which we call IBL$_\infty$-algebras.Comment: 127 pages, 22 figures. Some references added in version 2. Fixed a tex problem in version

Diassociative algebras and Milnor's invariants for tangles

We extend Milnor's mu-invariants of link homotopy to ordered (classical or virtual) tangles. Simple combinatorial formulas for mu-invariants are given in terms of counting trees in Gauss diagrams. Invariance under Reidemeister moves corresponds to axioms of Loday's diassociative algebra. The relation of tangles to diassociative algebras is formulated in terms of a morphism of corresponding operads.Comment: 17 pages, many figures; v2: several typos correcte

Kitaev lattice model for bicrossproduct Hopf algebras and tensor network representation

Kitaev's lattice models are usually defined as representations of the Drinfeld quantum double. We propose a new version based on Majid's bicrossproduct quantum group. Given a Hopf algebra $H$, we show that a triangulated oriented surface defines a representation of the bicrossproduct quantum group $H^{\text{cop}}\blacktriangleright\!\!\!\triangleleft H$. Even though the bicrossproduct has a more complicated and entangled coproduct, the construction of this new model is relatively natural as it relies on the use of the covariant Hopf algebra actions. We obtain an exactly solvable Hamiltonian for the model and provide a definition of the ground state in terms of a tensor network representation.Comment: 34 page

sl(3) link homology

We define a bigraded homology theory whose Euler characteristic is the quantum sl(3) link invariant.Comment: Published by Algebraic and Geometric Topology at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/agt/AGTVol4/agt-4-45.abs.htm

A New Matrix-Tree Theorem

The classical Matrix-Tree Theorem allows one to list the spanning trees of a graph by monomials in the expansion of the determinant of a certain matrix. We prove that in the case of three-graphs (that is, hypergraphs whose edges have exactly three vertices) the spanning trees are generated by the Pfaffian of a suitably defined matrix. This result can be interpreted topologically as an expression for the lowest order term of the Alexander-Conway polynomial of an algebraically split link. We also prove some algebraic properties of our Pfaffian-tree polynomial.Comment: minor changes, 29 pages, version accepted for publication in Int. Math. Res. Notice