Algebraic topology based on knots

A branch of mathematics on the border of topology (cf. also Topology, general) and algebra, in which one analyzes properties of manifolds by considering links (submanifolds) in a manifold and their algebraic structure (cf. also Manifold). The main object of the discipline is the notion of skein module, i.e., the quotient of a free module over ambient isotopy classes of links in a manifold by properly chosen local ((skein)) relations.

For references, see Kauffman polynomial.