Alexander polynomial
Polinomio de Alexander
- Date
- 1923 · confidence high
- Place
- Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Credited to
- James Waddell Alexander II
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What was discovered
The first knot polynomial invariant, assigning an integer-coefficient polynomial to each knot type, discovered by James Waddell Alexander II and fundamental to low-dimensional topology.
What it led to
- gave rise to the modern theory of knot invariants
- led, via the skein relation, to the Alexander-Conway polynomial
- paved the way for the discovery of the Jones polynomial in 1984