Diassociative algebras and Milnor's invariants for tangles (Q2430453)

This paper introduces invariants of ordered (classical or virtual) tangles, called tree invariants, that extend Milnor's \(\mu\)-invariants. Virtual and classical tangles can be encoded by Gauss diagrams. The tree invariants of an ordered tangle are defined through a signed count of certain subdiagrams in a Gauss diagram representing the tangle. These subdiagrams correspond to a class of trees. (Note that the tangles considered in this paper do not contain closed components.) It is shown that tree invariants are indeed tangle invariants, and that they satisfy a skein relation. This skein relation coincides with that for certain \(\mu\)-invariants from [\textit{M. Polyak}, Algebr. Geom. Topol. 5, 1471--1479 (2005; Zbl 1092.57012)], and so particular \(\mu\)-invariants and tree invariants agree. Explicit formulae for some low degree \(\mu\)-invariants in terms of counting trees in a Gauss diagram are given. It is also shown that a morphism of operads arises from the tree invariants.