Infinitely many roots of unity are zeros of some Jones polynomials

Abstract: Let

N = 2 n^{2} - 1

or

N = n^{2} + n - 1

, for any

n g e 2

. Let

M = f r a c N - 1 2

. We construct families of prime knots with Jones polynomials

(- 1)^{M} s u m_{k = - M}^{M} (- 1)^{k} t^{k}

. Such polynomials have Mahler measure equal to

1

. If

N

is prime, these are cyclotomic polynomials

P h i_{2 N} (t)

, up to some shift in the powers of

t

. Otherwise, they are products of such polynomials, including

P h i_{2 N} (t)

. In particular, all roots of unity

z e t a_{2 N}

occur as roots of Jones polynomials. We also show that some roots of unity cannot be zeros of Jones polynomials.

Review text

The Alexander polynomial was characterised by Seifert with necessary and sufficient conditions. For the Jones polynomial, a powerful knot invariant introduced by Vaughan Jones in 1984, such a result has not been achieved yet. Determining the zeroes of Jones polynomials addresses this general question. It was shown in [\textit{X. Jin} et al., Electron. J. Comb. 17, No. 1, Research Paper R94, 10 p. (2010; Zbl 1230.05110)] that the set of zeroes of Jones polynomials is dense in \(\mathbb{C}\). The article under review proves that the set of zeroes of Jones polynomials is also dense in the unit circle \(\mathbb{T}\). More precisely, the author constructs a family of prime knots with Jones polynomial \((-1)^M\sum_{k=-M}^M(-1)^k t^k\), where \(M=(N-1)/2\), \(N=2n^2-1\) or \(N=n^2+n-1\). All roots of unity \(\zeta_{2N}\) occur as roots of these polynomials. The author also shows that some roots of unity are not zeroes of Jones polynomials.

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