Pretzel knots and \(q\)-series (Q2360868)

The \(N\)-th \textit{colored Jones polynomial} of a link \(L\) is a Laurent polynomial \(J_{N,L}(q)\). The \textit{tail} of the colored Jones polynomial of an alternating link \(L\) is a \(q\)-series \(T_L(q)\) whose first \(N\) terms coincide with the first \(N\) terms of \(J_{L,N}(q)\) for each \(N\). The tail has been computed by \textit{C. Armond} and \textit{O. T. Dasbach} for low crossing knots as well as for some families of torus links, see [``Rogers-Ramanujan type identities and the head and tail of the colored Jones polynomial'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1106.3948}]. Furthermore, Armond and Dasbach showed that when \(L\) is the \((2,2k+1)\)-torus knot, \(T_L(q)\) is related to the \textit{Ramanujan theta function} \[ f(a,b)=\sum_{k=-\infty}^\infty a^{k(k+1)/2}b^{k(k-1)/2}. \] When \(L\) is the \((2,2k)\)-torus link, these authors also related \(T_L(q)\) to the so-called \textit{false theta function} \(\Psi(a,b)\). Using these facts, they give new proofs of properties satisfied by \(f(a,b)\) and \(\Psi(a,b)\). Using \((a;q)_k\) to denote the \(q\)-\textit{Pochhammer symbol}, such relations include the identity \[ (q;q)_\infty^2\sum_{i=0}^\infty \frac{q^i}{(q;q)_i^2}=(q;q)_\infty \sum_{i=0}^\infty \frac{q^{i^2+i}}{(q;q)^2_i}. \] In the paper under review, the authors compute \(T_L(q)\) for the infinite family of Pretzel knots \(P(2k+1,2,2u+1)\) (Theorem 3.1), as well as for the Pretzel knots \(P(2,2,\ldots,2)\) (Proposition 3.2). As an application, in Corollary 3.3, they provide a \(q\)-series identity which generalizes the equality displayed above. The proofs of these results rely on work of the second author, cf. [\textit{M. Hajij}, J. Knot Theory Ramifications 23, No. 14, Article ID 1450076, 30 p. (2014; Zbl 1321.57015) and Ramanujan J. 40, No. 1, 135--176 (2016; Zbl 1357.57036)].