Asymptotic behavior of the colored Jones polynomials and Turaev-Viro invariants of the figure eight knot (Q2133947)

The Colored Jones Polynomial \(J_N(K; q)\) of a knot \(K\) in \(S^3\) can be defined using the quantized enveloping algebra \(U_q(sl_2)\). The classical Volume Conjecture says that the growth rate of the Colored Jones Polynomial captures the simplicial volume of the knot complement: \[ V(S^3\backslash K)=\lim_{N\to \infty}\frac{2\pi}N \log |J_N(K; q=e^{2\pi i/N})|. \] This conjecture can be verified for the Figure 8 knot \(4_1\) using the asymptotic expansion formula (AEF): \[ J_N(4_1; e^{2\pi i/N})\sim \frac{N^{3/2}}{3^{1/4}} \exp\left(\frac N{2\pi} V(S^3\backslash 4_1)\right) \] as \(N\to \infty\). One can substitute \(q\) with other complex numbers in order to extract more topological information from the Colored Jones Polynomial. In this paper the authors provide the AEF of \(J_M(4_1; \exp(\frac{2\pi i}{N+\frac12}))\) when \(s=\lim_{N\to\infty}\frac M{N+\frac12}\) is close to 1. Although they don't have the AEF for other \(s\), they are able to show that the growth rate of the Colored Jones Polynomial of the Figure 8 knot at \(s\) close to 1/2 is strictly less than those at \(s\) close to 1. The authors also give the AEF of the Turaev-Viro invariant of the Figure 8 knot using the fact that it can be expressed in terms of the Colored Jones Polynomial.