A pair of Jones polynomial positivity obstructions

Abstract

We provide a new bound on the maximum degree of the Jones polynomial of a positive link with second Jones coefficient equal to $\pm 1$ or $\pm 2$. This builds upon the result of our previous work, in which we found such a bound for positive fibered links. We also show that each of these three bounds obstruct positivity for infinitely many almost-positive diagrams, allowing us to classify infinitely many knots as almost-positive.

42 pages, 31 figures