Colored Jones polynomials and abelianized Lefschetz numbers (Q6189375)

Discovered in the 1980s, the Jones polynomial \(V(t)\) functions as a knot invariant, allowing for the differentiation between a knot and its mirror image, a capability not shared by other knot invariants, such as e.g. the Alexander polynomial. The colored Jones polynomials represent a generalization of \(V(t)\). In the present article, the author illustrates that colored Jones polynomials, computed on the closure of a braid, calculate the weighted sums of abelianized Lefschetz numbers linked to homeomorphisms on configuration spaces within punctured disks defined by the braid. This summation pertains to the number of configuration points and, following this computation, the author interprets the sum in the context of the Poincaré-Lefschetz duality intersection pairing between homology classes.