Polynomial of an oriented surface-link diagram via quantum A2 invariant

Abstract

It is known that every surface-link can be presented by a marked graph diagram, and such a diagram presentation is unique up to moves called Yoshikawa moves. G. Kuperberg introduced a regular isotopy invariant, called the quantum A(2) invariant, for tangled trivalent graph diagrams. In this paper, a polynomial for a marked graph diagram is defined by use of the quantum A(2) invariant and it is studied how the polynomial changes under Yoshikawa moves. The notion of a ribbon marked graph is introduced to show that this polynomial is useful for an invariant of a ribbon 2-knot.