Universality for polynomial invariants on ribbon graphs with half-ribbons

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the Bollob\'as and Riordan polynomial $\mathcal{R}$ for ribbon graphs with half-ribbons introduced in [Combinatorics, Probability and Computing 31, 507-549, 2022]. We prove the universality property of a multivariate version of $\mathcal{R}$ whereas $\mathcal{R}$ itself turns out to be universal for a subclass of ribbon graphs with half-ribbons. We also show that $\mathcal{R}$ can be defined on some equivalence classes of ribbon graphs involving half-ribbons moves and that the new polynomial is universal on these classes.