Trace Diagrams, Representations, and Low-Dimensional Topology

dc.contributor.advisorGoldman, Williamen_US
dc.contributor.authorPeterson, Elishaen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMathematicsen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2006-06-14T05:53:11Z
dc.date.available2006-06-14T05:53:11Z
dc.date.issued2006-04-26en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis concerns a certain basis for the coordinate ring of the character variety of a surface. Let G be a connected reductive linear algebraic group, and let S be a surface whose fundamental group pi is a free group. Then the coordinate ring C[Hom(pi,G)] of the homomorphisms from pi to G is isomorphic to C[G^r]=C[G]^{tensor r} for some r>=0. The coordinate ring C[G] may be identified with the ring of matrix coefficients of the maximal compact subgroup of G. Therefore, the coordinate ring on the character variety, which is also the ring of invariants C[Hom(pi,G)]^G, may be described in terms of the matrix coefficients of the maximal compact subgroup. This correspondence provides a basis {X_a} for C[Hom(pi,G)]^G, whose constituents will be called central functions. These functions may be expressed as labelled graphs called trace diagrams. This point-of-view permits diagram manipulation to be used to construct relations on the functions. In the particular case G=SL(2,C), we give an explicit description of the central functions for surfaces. For rank one and two fundamental groups, the diagrammatic approach is used to describe the symmetries and structure of the central function basis, as well as a product formula in terms of this basis. For SL(3,C), we describe how to write down the central functions diagrammatically using the Littlewood-Richardson Rule, and give some examples. We also indicate progress for SL(n,C).en_US
dc.format.extent845344 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3500
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledMathematicsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledtrace diagramsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledspin networksen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcentral functionsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcharacter varietyen_US
dc.titleTrace Diagrams, Representations, and Low-Dimensional Topologyen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

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