Asymptotics of the colored Jones function of a knot (Q658413)

Let \(J_{K,n}(q)\) be the colored Jones polynomial of a knot \(K\) in the three-sphere \(S^3\), associated with the \(n\)-dimensional irreducible representation of \(\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbb{C})\). If we put \(f_{K,n}(z):=J_{K,n}\bigl(\exp(z/n)\bigr)\) for \(z\in\mathbb{C}\), then \(f_{K,n}\) is a holomorphic function, called the colored Jones function, on \(\mathbb{C}\) for each integer \(n\geq2\). The purpose of the paper under review is to study the asymptotic behavior of the colored Jones function when \(n\) tends to infinity. The volume conjecture [\textit{R. M. Kashaev}, ``The hyperbolic volume of knots from the quantum dilogarithm'', Lett. Math. Phys. 39, No. 3, 269--275 (1997; Zbl 0876.57007); \textit{H. Murakami} and \textit{J. Murakami}, ``The colored Jones polynomials and the simplicial volume of a knot'', Acta Math. 186, No. 1, 85--104 (2001; Zbl 0983.57009)] states that \(2\pi\lim_{n\to\infty}\log|f_{K,n}(2\pi\sqrt{-1})|/n\) equals the simplicial volume of \(S^3\setminus{K}\), where the simplicial volume is the sum of the hyperbolic volumes of the hyperbolic pieces of \(S^3\setminus{K}\). The conjecture was generalized to the case where \(z\neq2\pi\sqrt{-1}\) by \textit{S. Gukov} [``Three-dimensional quantum gravity, Chern-Simons theory, and the \(A\)-polynomial'', Commun. Math. Phys. 255, No. 3, 577--627 (2005; Zbl 1115.57009)] and the reviewer [\textit{H. Murakami}, ``A version of the volume conjecture'', Adv. Math. 211, No. 2, 678--683 (2007; Zbl 1121.57006), \textit{S. Gukov} and \textit{H. Murakami}, ``\(SL(2,\mathbb C)\) Chern-Simons theory and the asymptotic behavior of the colored Jones polynomial'', The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. Fields Institute Communications 54, 261--277 (2008; Zbl 1171.57012)] as follows. The parameter \(z\) parametrizes representations \(\rho_{z}:\pi_1(S^3\setminus{K})\to SL(2;\mathbb{C})\) and the limit is determined by the volume of of the hyperbolic structure defined by \(\rho_{z}\). In this paper the authors show that for any knot \(K\), \(f_{K,n}(z)\) converges to \(1/\Delta_K\bigl(\exp(z)\bigr)\) if \(|z|\) is sufficiently small, which was first proved by the reviewer for the figure-eight knot [\textit{H. Murakami}, ``The colored Jones polynomials and the Alexander polynomial of the figure-eight knot'', JP J. Geom. Topol. 7, No. 2, 249--269 (2007; Zbl 1136.57006)]. Here \(\Delta_K(t)\) is the Alexander polynomial of \(K\). Note that this can be regarded as an analytic version of the so-called Melvin-Morton-Rozansky conjecture [\textit{P. M. Melvin} and \textit{H. R. Morton}, ``The coloured Jones function'', Commun. Math. Phys. 169, No. 3, 501--520 (1995; Zbl 0845.57007); \textit{L. Rozansky}, ``A contribution of the trivial connection to the Jones polynomial and Witten's invariant of 3d manifolds. I'', Commun. Math. Phys. 175, No. 2, 275--296 (1996; Zbl 0872.57010)], which was proved by \textit{D. Bar-Natan} and \textit{S. Garoufalidis} [``On the Melvin-Morton-Rozansky conjecture'', Invent. Math. 125, No. 1, 103--133 (1996; Zbl 0855.57004)]. Note also that in this case the limit \(2\pi\lim_{n\to\infty}\log|f_{K,n}(2\pi\sqrt{-1})|/n\) equals zero and that \(z\) parametrizes Abelian representations whose volume is zero, which proves the generalized volume conjecture. Moreover the authors express the asymptotic behavior for all orders in \(1/n\) in terms of the Alexander polynomial when \(|z|\) is small, which is a stronger version of \textit{L. Rozansky}'s result [``The universal \(R\)-matrix, Burau representation, and the Melvin-Morton expansion of the colored Jones polynomial'', Adv. Math. 134, No. 1, 1--31 (1998; Zbl 0949.57006)]. They use Habiro's cyclotomic expansion of the colored Jones polynomial [\textit{K. Habiro}, ``A unified Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant for integral homology spheres'', Invent. Math. 171, No. 1, 1--81 (2008; Zbl 1144.57006)]. For general \(z\) they give an upper bound for \(\limsup_{n\to\infty}\log|f_{K,n}(z)|/n\) in terms of the crossing number. When \(z=2\pi\sqrt{-1}\) they give an upper bound by using the crossing number and the volume of the regular hyperbolic ideal octahedron, which is shown to be optimal. In the Appendix the volume conjecture for the Borromean rings is proved, which is the first hyperbolic link for which the conjecture is established. See [\textit{R. van der Veen}, ``Proof of the volume conjecture for Whitehead chains'', Acta Math. Vietnam. 33, No. 3, 421--431 (2008; Zbl 1184.57009)] for more examples.