Catalan states of lattice crossing: an application of plucking polynomial (Q1710629)

The Relative Kauffman Bracket Skein Module (RKBSM) was introduced in [\textit{J. H. Przytycki}, Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci., Math. 39, No. 1--2, 91--100 (1991; Zbl 0762.57013)]. The RKBSM of \(D^2 \times I,\) with \(2k\) fixed points on its boundary, is a free module with a basis consisting of all possible crossingless connections (called Catalan states) between the points on the boundary. In the paper under review, the authors study the tangle \(L(m,n),\) obtained by placing \(n\) vertical lines above \(m\) horizontal lines, using the invariant known as the plucking polynomial. Precisely, they compute the coefficients of the Catalan states with no returns on one side obtained from the expansion of \(L(m,n)\) in the RKBSM of \(D^2 \times I.\) Finally, the authors show that the coefficients of the Catalan states with returns on only one side are products of Gaussian polynomials and are unimodal.