A Casson-Lin type invariant for links
Abstract
We define an integer valued invariant for two-component links in S3 by counting projective SU(2) representations of the link group having non-trivial second Stiefel-Whitney class. We show that our invariant is, up to sign, the linking number of the link. Our construction generalizes that of X.-S. Lin who defined a similar invariant for knots in S3; his invariant equals half the knot signature.
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