118 research outputs found
Instanton Floer homology and the Alexander polynomial
The instanton Floer homology of a knot in the three-sphere is a vector space
with a canonical mod 2 grading. It carries a distinguished endomorphism of even
degree,arising from the 2-dimensional homology class represented by a Seifert
surface. The Floer homology decomposes as a direct sum of the generalized
eigenspaces of this endomorphism. We show that the Euler characteristics of
these generalized eigenspaces are the coefficients of the Alexander polynomial
of the knot. Among other applications, we deduce that instanton homology
detects fibered knots.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures. Revised version, correcting errors concerning
mod 2 gradings in the skein sequenc
Gauge theory and Rasmussen's invariant
A previous paper of the authors' contained an error in the proof of a key
claim, that Rasmussen's knot-invariant s(K) is equal to its gauge-theory
counterpart. The original paper is included here together with a corrigendum,
indicating which parts still stand and which do not. In particular, the
gauge-theory counterpart of s(K) is not additive for connected sums.Comment: This version bundles the original submission with a 1-page
corrigendum, indicating the error. The new version of the corrigendum points
out that the invariant is not additive for connected sums. 23 pages, 3
figure
Filtrations on instanton homology
In earlier work of the authors, the Khovanov complex of a knot or link
appeared as the first page in a spectral sequence abutting to the instanton
homology. The quantum and (co)homological gradings on Khovanov homology do not
survive as gradings, but we show that they survive as filtrations.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figures. Revised version, with corrected typos and
extended introductio
Khovanov homology is an unknot-detector
We prove that a knot is the unknot if and only if its reduced Khovanov
cohomology has rank 1. The proof has two steps. We show first that there is a
spectral sequence beginning with the reduced Khovanov cohomology and abutting
to a knot homology defined using singular instantons. We then show that the
latter homology is isomorphic to the instanton Floer homology of the sutured
knot complement: an invariant that is already known to detect the unknot.Comment: 124 pages, 13 figure
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Micron-Scale Resolution Radiography of Laser-Accelerated and Laser-Exploded Foils Using an Yttrium X-Ray Laser
The authors have imaged laser-accelerated foils and exploding foils on the few-micron scale using an yttrium x-ray laser (155 {angstrom}, 80 eV, {approximately}200 ps duration) and a multilayer mirror imaging system. At the maximum magnification of 30, resolution was of order one micron. The images were side-on radiographs of the foils. Accelerated foils showed significant filamentation on the rear-side (away from the driving laser) of the foil, although the laser beam was smoothed. In addition to the narrow rear-side filamentation, some shots revealed larger-scale plume-like structures on the front (driven) side of the Al foil. These plumes seem to be little-affected by beam smoothing and are likely a consequence of Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The experiments were carried out at the Nova two-beam facility
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