A factorization of the Conway polynomial and covering linkage invariants

Abstract

J.P. Levine showed that the Conway polynomial of a link is a product of two factors: one is the Conway polynomial of a knot which is obtained from the link by banding together the components; and the other is determined by the $\bar{\mu}$-invariants of a string link with the link as its closure. We give another description of the latter factor: the determinant of a matrix whose entries are linking pairings in the infinite cyclic covering space of the knot complement, which take values in the quotient field of ${\Bbb Z}[t,t^{-1}]$. In addition, we give a relation between the Taylor expansion of a linking pairing around $t=1$ and derivation on links which is invented by T.D. Cochran. In fact, the coefficients of the powers of $t-1$ will be the linking numbers of certain derived links in $S^3$. Therefore, the first non-vanishing coefficient of the Conway polynomial is determined by the linking numbers in $S^3$. This generalizes a result of J. Hoste.