Multivariable link invariants arising from sl(2|1) and the Alexander polynomial

Abstract

In this paper we construct a multivariable link invariant arising from the quantum group associated to the special linear Lie superalgebra sl(2|1). The usual quantum group invariant of links associated to (generic) representations of sl(2|1) is trivial. However, we modify this construction and define a nontrivial link invariant. This new invariant can be thought of as a multivariable version of the Links-Gould invariant. We also show that after a variable reduction our invariant specializes to the Conway potential function, which is a version of the multivariable Alexander polynomial.