Splitting formulas for the rational lift of the Kontsevich integral (Q1985994)

The Kontsevich integral \(Z\) is an invariant of knots that takes values in the completed vector space of unitrivalent graphs. Kricker generalized the Kontsevich integral to \(Z^{rat}\), an invariant of knots in homology 3-spheres with values in a completed space of trivalent graphs decorated by rational functions in non-commuting variables. In this paper, the author shows that \(Z^{rat}\) satisfies the splitting formulas with respect to null Lagrangian-preserving surgery. To perform a null Lagrangian-preserving surgery on a 3-manifold \(M\), first delete a collection of rational homological handlebodies that represent the trivial homology in \(H_1(M; \mathbb{Q})\). Then glue back a collection of (maybe different) rational homological handlebodies such that the Lagrangian spaces of the deleted and glued-back handlebodies coincide.