A formula for the HOMFLY polynomial of rational links (Q5964204)

The authors give an explicit formula for the HOMFLY(PT) polynomial of a rational link in terms of its normal form parameters, noting that Nakabo did the same thing, with a different formula, in 2002. Anyone surprised by this result has not been paying attention for quite some time. Seifert and Schubert explained the topological essence of 2-bridge knots 60 years ago, completing thereby their typological classification. Much of the subsequent research about them, consuming reams of mathematical paper, is just an exercise in comparative algebra. Historical note: the next big batch of knots to be fully nailed down geometrically is the ``algebraic'' or ``arborescent'' ones, discovered by Conway and Caudron and classified by Bonahon and Siebenmann almost 40 years ago. The mathematical world still awaits discovery of a third such general class.