The Colored Jones Polynomial and the A-Polynomial of Knots

We study relationships between the colored Jones polynomial and the A-polynomial of a knot. We establish for a large class of 2-bridge knots the AJ conjecture (of Garoufalidis) that relates the colored Jones polynomial and the A-polynomial. Along the way we also calculate the Kauffman bracket skein module of all 2-bridge knots. Some properties of the colored Jones polynomial of alternating knots are established.Comment: Typos and minor mistakes corrected. To appear in Advances in Mathematic

On Denominators of the Kontsevich Integral and the Universal Perturbative Invariant of 3-Manifolds

The integrality of the Kontsevich integral and perturbative invariants is discussed. We show that the denominator of the degree $n$ part of the Kontsevich integral of any knot or link is a divisor of $(2!3!... n!)^4(n+1)!$. We also show that the denominator of of the degree $n$ part of the universal perturbative invariant of homology 3-spheres is not divisible by any prime greater than $2n+1$.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX with graphics packag