Twisted quandle homology theory and cocycle knot invariants (Q5958832)

A quandle is a set with a self-distributive binary operation whose axioms correspond to the three Reidemeister moves in knot theory. The algebraic theory of quandle homology has been applied to knot invariants (state sum invariants, called the quandle cocycle invariants, using quandle cocycles as weights), and on the other hand geometric methods using knot diagrams (knot diagrams colored by quandles) have been applied to quandle homology theory. In the present paper, the quandle homology theory is generalized to the case when the coefficient groups admit the structure of Alexander quandles, by including an action of the infinite cyclic group in the boundary operator. Using low-dimensional cocycles, Alexander extensions of quandles are considered, in analogy with the cohomological theory of group extensions, and explicit formulas for such cocycles are used to prove non-triviality of cohomology for some quandles. The corresponding generalization of the quandle cocycle knot invariants is given from which information on twisted cohomology groups is derived.