Polynomial of an oriented surface-link diagram via quantum \(A_2\) invariant (Q2411463)

It is known that every surface-link can be presented by a marked (\(4\)-valent) graph diagram, and such a diagram presentation is unique up to moves called Yoshikawa moves. There is also an oriented version of this graph inherited from an orientation on surface-links. In the paper under review, a polynomial for an oriented marked graph diagram is defined by using the quantum \(A_2\), that is by a regular isotopy invariant introduced by G. Kuperberg for tangled trivalent graph diagrams. It is studied how the above-mentioned polynomial changes under Yoshikawa moves. A marked graph diagram is called ribbon if the marked vertices are divided into ribbon pairs (i.e., vertices of a bigon with the markers being not parallel). A marked graph is called ribbon if there is a ribbon marked graph diagram presenting the marked graph. A surface-link is called ribbon if it is obtained from a trivial \(2\)-link by surgery along some \(1\)-handles attaching it. It is known that for any admissible ribbon marked graph diagram, the surface-link presented by this diagram is a ribbon surface-link, and the converse is also true. This notion of a ribbon marked graph helps the authors to show that this introduced polynomial is useful for an invariant of a ribbon \(2\)-knot computed from an admissible oriented ribbon marked graph diagram with (necessarily) an even number of marked vertices.