Decorated tangles and canonical bases (Q5957527)

The Temperley-Lieb algebra (of type \(A\)), a natural quotient of the Hecke algebra of the symmetric group, can be realised via a well-known diagram calculus [\textit{R. Penrose}, An approach to combinatorial space-time, in Quantum theory and beyond, 151-180 (1971)]. The category of decorated tangles [\textit{R. M. Green}, J. Knot Theory Ramifications 7, No. 2, 155-171 (1998; Zbl 0926.20005)] allows a generalization to Coxeter systems of other types, including \(B\), \(D\) and \(H\); again a quotient of the corresponding Hecke algebra is obtained. It was shown by \textit{R. M. Green} and \textit{J. Losonczy} [Math. Res. Lett. 6, No. 2, 213-222 (1999; Zbl 0961.20007)] that a generalized Temperley-Lieb algebra of arbitrary type admits a canonical (or IC = Intersection cohomology) basis, similar to the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis for the Hecke algebra. The aim of this paper is to describe this canonical basis in terms of the category of decorated tangles, in particular in the unsolved cases \(B\) and \(H\). This explains why, in certain cases, the canonical basis has structure constants consisting of Laurent polynomials with nonnegative coefficients. This understanding gives rise to further information about these cases, including an explicit construction of the canonical basis as a projection of the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis in type \(B\), and in type \(H\) a demonstration that the basis of decorated tangles coincides with the canonical basis. Overall, the paper unifies various ideas -- diagram calculus and the category of decorated tangles, fully-commutative elements, and the canonical basis -- relating to generalized Temperley-Lieb algebras, with particular application to types \(B\) and \(H\).