Higher-order Arf invariant conjecture

For a link, let sf K4j2{\text{\rm sf K}}_{4j-2} denote the group of order 4j24j-2 intersection invariants, and let sf Lj{\text{\rm sf L}}_j denote the degree-jj free Lie algebra component. The higher-order Arf invariant is a homomorphism

Arfj:sf K4j2Z2sf Lj.\operatorname{Arf}_{j}:{\text{\rm sf K}}_{4j-2}\to\mathbb Z_2\otimes {\text{\rm sf L}}_{j}.

Higher-order Arf invariant conjecture. The maps Arfj\operatorname{Arf}_{j} are isomorphisms for all jj. This is known for j=1j=1, where it is given by the classical Arf invariants of the link components. Whether Arfj\operatorname{Arf}_j is non-trivial for any j>1j>1 remains open.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Rob Schneiderman, “Introduction to Whitney Towers”, arXiv:2012.01475 (2020).

Additional references

5 papers in this index state this conjecture (2010–2020). The statement above is taken from the most recent of them; the others are arXiv:2005.05381, arXiv:1202.3463, arXiv:1102.0758, arXiv:1011.6026.

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