Alexander polynomial, finite type invariants and volume of hyperbolic knots (Q1766294)

As it is well known, for an alternating hyperbolic knot \(K\), there exists a constant \(C_K > 0\) such that the volume of the knot complement vol\((S^3-K)\) is less than or equal to \(C_K\) times the determinant of the knot det\((K)\). Since det\((K)\) can be described by the absolute value of the Alexander polynomial at \(t=-1\), \(| \Delta_K(-1)| \), vol\((S^3-K)\) can be evaluated by using \(C_K\) and the Alexander polynomial. Against the above fact, in the current paper, the author shows: for every natural number \(n\), there exists a hyperbolic knot such that (1) its Alexander polynomial is trivial, (2) all the finite type invariants of order \(< 2n-1\) vanish, (3) the volume of the knot complement is greater than \(n\), (4) the genus of the knot is greater than \(n/6\). This means that the finite type invariants of order \(N\), for some natural number \(N\), together with the Alexander polynomial are far from controlling the volume of hyperbolic knots. A key to the proof is a relationship between knot adjacency and hyperbolic volume. We need some notions to state the relationship. A generalized crossing on a diagram of a knot is a set of twist crossings on two strings that inherit opposite orientations from any orientation of the knot. A crossing circle for a knot is the boundary of a disk which intersects the knot exactly twice in its interior with zero algebraic intersection number. Then a generalized crossing change for a generalized crossing is defined by crossing changes induced by \(1/q\)-surgery of \(S^3\), for some integer \(q\), along a crossing circle corresponding to the generalized crossing. A knot \(K\) is said to be \(n\)-adjacent to the unknot, if \(K\) admits a diagram containing \(n\) generalized crossings such that performing generalized crossing changes simultaneously at any of them yields a diagram of the unknot. A collection of crossing circles corresponding to those generalized crossings is called an \(n\)-trivializer. Then there exists a relationship between knot adjacency and hyperbolic volume: for every natural number \(n > 2\), there exists a knot \(K\) which is \(n\)-adjacent to the unknot and which admits an \(n\)-trivializer \(L_n\) such that the interior of the exterior space \(M_n\) of the knot \(K\) together with \(L_n\) admits a complete hyperbolic structure with finite volume. Furthermore, the volume vol\((M_n)\) is greater than \(n\) times the volume of the regular hyperbolic ideal tetrahedron, approximately 1.01494.