Complexity: Knots, Colourings and Countings Knots, Colourings and Counting

These notes are based on a series of lectures given at the Advanced Research Institute of Discrete Applied Mathematics held at Rutgers University. Their aim is to link together algorithmic problems arising in knot theory, statistical physics and classical combinatorics. Apart from the theory of computational complexity concerned with enumeration problems, introductions are given to several of the topics treated, such as combinatorial knot theory, randomised approximation algorithms, percolation and random cluster models. To researchers in discrete mathematics, computer science and statistical physics, this book will be of great interest, but any non-expert should find it an appealing guide to a very active area of research.

1. The complexity of enumeration; 2. Knots and links; 3. Colourings, flows and polynomials; 4. Statistical physics; 5. Link polynomials; 6. Complexity questions; 7. The complexity of uniqueness and parity; 8. Approximation and randomisation; References.

These notes are based on a series of lectures given at the Advanced Research Institute of Discrete Applied Mathematics held at Rutgers University. Their aim is to link together algorithmic problems arising in knot theory, statistical physics and classical combinatorics.