An Introduction to Quantum and Vassiliev Knot Invariants

This book provides an accessible introduction to knot theory, focussing on Vassiliev invariants, quantum knot invariants constructed via representations of quantum groups, and how these two apparently distinct theories come together through the Kontsevich invariant. Consisting of four parts, the book opens with an introduction to the fundamentals of knot theory, and to knot invariants such as the Jones polynomial. The second part introduces quantum invariants of knots, working constructively fro