CAREER: Hyperbolic geometry and knots and links

Brigham Young University, Provo UT

Investigators

Abstract

It has been known since the early 1980s that knot and link complements decompose into pieces admitting a geometric structure, with the most common geometry being hyperbolic. However, the connection between hyperbolic geometry and other knot and link invariants is still not well understood. The investigator will use recent developments and techniques in 3-manifold geometry and topology to make connections between hyperbolic geometry and link invariants, focusing on problems in two areas. First, she will relate hyperbolic geometry to quantum invariants, in particular continuing her recent work to find connections between hyperbolic geometry and the colored Jones polynomial. Second, she will obtain bounds on hyperbolic quantities based on diagrammatical and topological invariants of knots and links, for example bounding volume and cusp volume, and finding isotopy classes of geodesics. As part of the educational portion of this work, she will organize two conferences on connections of hyperbolic geometry, and continue her work with undergraduate, graduate, and K-12 students. This project concerns the study of 3-dimensional spaces called 3-manifolds, which include the space of our universe (with three spatial dimensions). These spaces appear in physics, mechanics, microbiology, and chemistry, and so we wish to better understand their mathematical properties. One way to study 3-manifolds is to drill out tubes around circles from a 3-dimensional sphere, and then reattach the tubes in a different manner. The space of drilled tubes about circles is called a link complement, or knot complement if there is just one circle. In this way, knot and link complements are building blocks for 3-manifolds. The investigator will study the geometry of knot and link complements, with the hope of finding new results on the properties of broader classes of 3-manifolds. This project includes many provisions for training students. Much of the research will be carried out with the assistance of undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, as part of this project the investigator will run two research conferences, during which several graduate students and postdoctoral researchers will be invited to present their related work. Finally, the investigator will continue to run mathematical workshops for children throughout the school year.