The colored HOMFLYPT function is q-holonomic (Q1704074)

The colored Jones function is a sequence of Laurent polynomials roughly measuring the Jones polynomial of a knot and its cables. In [Geom. Topol. 9, 1253--1293 (2005; Zbl 1078.57012)], \textit{S. Garoufalidis} and \textit{T. T. Q. Lê} showed the existence of a recursion relation among the colored Jones polynomials. This relation has been the basis for the famous AJ conjecture of \textit{S. Garoufalidis} [Geom. Topol. Monogr. 7, 291--309 (2004; Zbl 1080.57014)], positing a relation between this recursion and the $A$-polynomial of the knot. \par More recently, mathematicians and physicists have suggested a possible relationship between colored HOMFLYPT polynomials and a polynomial arising from knot contact homology [\textit{M. Aganagic} et al., Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 18, No. 4, 827--956 (2014; Zbl 1315.81076)]. In the paper reviewed here, the authors use skew-Howe duality to build on the earlier work of Garoufalidis and Lê to establish a recurrence relation satisfied by the colored HOMFLYPT polynomials.