Varieties via a filtration of the KBSM and knot contact homology (Q2315314)

The \textit{Kauffman bracket skein module} (KBSM for short) of a 3-manifold was introduced in [\textit{J. H. Przytycki}, Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci., Math. 39, No. 1--2, 91--100 (1991; Zbl 0762.57013)], and since then has been found to be more and more important, due to its rich content. Specifically, the KBSM of a 3-manifold \(M\) at \(t=-1\) is isomorphic to \(\mathbb{C}[\mathcal{X}(M)]\), the \(\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{C})\)-character ring of \(\pi_1(M)\), up to nilradical; see [\textit{D. Bullock}, Comment. Math. Helv. 72, No. 4, 521--542 (1997; Zbl 0907.57010)]. However, in general, KBSMs are rather difficult to compute. One may first take a certain ``slice'' \(\mathcal{S}_0(M)\) that corresponds to the \textit{trace-free} \(\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{C})\)-characters which have their own interests [\textit{F. Nagasato} and \textit{Y. Yamaguchi}, Math. Ann. 354, No. 3, 967--1002 (2012; Zbl 1270.57045)]. This paper proposes a reasonable method for computing \(\mathcal{S}_0(M)\) when \(M\) is the complement of a knot \(K\), and finds a representation-theoretic viewpoint towards a conjecture of \textit{L. Ng} [Geom. Topol. 9, 1603--1637 (2005; Zbl 1112.57001)], which asserts a relation between the degree 0 \textit{abelian knot contact homology} \(HC_0^{\mathrm{ab}}(K)\) of \(K\) with \(\mathbb{C}[\mathcal{X}(\Sigma_2K)]\) (\(\Sigma_2K\) being the double branched cover along \(K\)). This is a remarkable observation, and will certainly be followed by further researches, leading to a deeper understanding of \(HC_\ast^{\mathrm{ab}}(K)\) which is defined via \textit{differential graded algebra}.