The configuration space integral for links in \(\mathbb{R}^3\) (Q1855202)

The paper is a self-contained description of the configuration space integral for links in \(\mathbb{R}^3\). Like the Kontsevich integral, the configuration space integral for a link takes values in an algebra of diagrams, which are graphs with univalent and trivalent vertices. To each diagram \(\Gamma\) one associates a configuration space \(C_\Gamma\) and its compactification \(\bar C_\Gamma\), which is a manifold with corners. Then a linear combination over all diagrams \(\Gamma\) of certain integrals over \(\bar C_\Gamma\) is an invariant of links (up to a factor controlled by a quantity called the anomaly). The compactification \(\bar C_\Gamma\) defined in the paper is new. A rationality result about the coefficients of diagrams is given.