Paper detail

Beta Deformation and Superpolynomials of (n,m) Torus Knots

Recent studies in several interrelated areas -- from combinatorics and representation theory in mathematics to quantum field theory and topological string theory in physics -- have independently revealed that many classical objects in these fields admit a relatively novel one-parameter deformation. This deformation, known in different contexts under the names of Omega-background, refinement, or beta-deformation, has a number of interesting mathematical implications. In particular, in Chern-Simons theory beta-deformation transforms the classical HOMFLY invariants into Dunfield-Gukov-Rasmussen superpolynomials -- Poincare polynomials of a triply graded knot homology theory. As shown in arXiv:1106.4305, these superpolynomials are particular linear combinations of rational Macdonald dimensions, distinguished by the polynomiality, integrality and positivity properties. We show that these properties alone do not fix the superpolynomials uniquely, by giving an example of a combination of Macdonald dimensions, that is always a positive integer polynomial but generally is not a superpolynomial.