R-matrix knot invariants and triangulations

Abstract

The construction of quantum knot invariants from solutions of the Yang--Baxter equation (R-matrices) is reviewed with the emphasis on a class of R-matrices admitting an interpretation in intrinsically three-dimensional terms.Comment: 13 pages, submitted to proceedings of the conference "Interactions Between Hyperbolic Geometry, Quantum Topology and Number Theory", June 2009, New Yor