A refined 1-cocycle for regular isotopies and the refined tangle equations

Abstract

We refine the combinatorial 1-cocycle $\mathbb{L}{R}_{reg}$ for regular isotopies of long knots to a 1-cocycle with values in the free $\mathbb{Z}[x,x^{-1}]$-module generated by regular isotopy classes of oriented tangles with exactly one signed ordinary double point. We use it to define the refined tangle equations for couples of knot diagrams, where the coefficients are now Laurent polynomials instead of integers. A solution of the tangle equations gives quantitative information about any knot isotopy which relates two given knot diagrams. If the tangle equations have no solution, then the diagrams represent different knots.

30 pages, 22 figures, minore changes, reference added