A polynomial defined by the \(SL(2;\mathbb{C})\)-Reidemeister torsion for a homology 3-sphere obtained by a Dehn surgery along a \((2p,q)\)-torus knot (Q1705554)

Let \(K\) be a torus knot of type \((2p, q)\) where \(p\) and \(q\) are coprime odd integers. Each \(1/n\) surgery along \(K\) yields a Brieskorn homology \(3\)-sphere \(M_n\) of type \((2p, q, |2pqn+1|)\). This paper investigates a polynomial invariant of \(M_n\) whose zeros are the set of the inverses of the Reidemeister torsions for irreducible \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-representations of \(\pi_1(M_n)\). It is known that the Reidemeister torsion for a Brieskorn homology \(3\)-sphere has only finitely many values. The main results give a generalization of the results by \textit{D. Johnson} [``A geometric form of Casson's invariant and its connection to Reidemeister torsion'', unpublished lecture notes] for the Brieskorn homology \(3\)-spheres obtained by integral surgeries along the trefoil knot (the torus knot of type \((2, 3)\)). Johnson had also shown a recurrence formula among his polynomial invariants indexed by the inverse of the surgery slope \(1/n\). The \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-representations of \(\pi_1(M_n)\) are grouped by the connected components in the \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-character variety of the \((2p, q)\)-torus knot group. Here we think of the \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-character variety as the set of conjugacy classes of irreducible \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-representations. The main theorem provides a factorization of the polynomial invariant and an explicit form of each factor. Each factor has the zeros at the inverses of the Reidemeister torsions of \(M_n\) for the extensions of irreducible \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-representations of the \((2p, q)\)-torus knot group, whose conjugacy classes lie on the same connected component of the \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-character variety of the torus knot group. The author also shows a recurrence formula for each factor in the polynomial invariant. It seems natural to restrict the recurrence formula to each factor related to a connected component of the \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-character variety of the torus knot group because there is only one connected component in the \(\mathrm{SL}(2, \mathbb{C})\)-character variety of the trefoil knot group in the previous work by Johnson.