A full-twisting formula for the HOMFLY polynomial (Q2234347)

The Morton-Franks-Williams inequality [\textit{J. Franks} and \textit{R. F. Williams}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 303, 97--108 (1987; Zbl 0647.57002)] says that the highest and the lowest \(v\)-degrees of the Homfly polynomial are bounded by the number of Seifert circles in the link diagram, where Seifert circles [\textit{H. R. Morton}, Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 99, 107--109 (1986; Zbl 0588.57008)] are simple closed curves in the plane obtained by smoothing each crossing, respecting the orientation. For an \(n\) strands braid closure, Kálmán's full-twist formula [\textit{T. Kálmán}, ibid. 146, No. 3, 649--660 (2009; Zbl 1183.57006)] indicates that the coefficient of the lower bound for the \(v\)-degree in the Morton-Franks-Williams inequality has the same absolute value as the coefficient of the upper bound of its full twist closure. This implies that the lower bound for the \(v\)-degree is sharp if and only if the upper MFW estimate is sharp for its full twist closure. The author introduces the concept of knitted diagrams, generalizes Kálmán's full-twist formula to knitted diagrams and leaves an open question on how to categorify it. The article is quite friendly for reading with concise content, concrete examples and figures.