Abstract:

Have you ever struggled to disentangle your headphones or untie your laces? Are you a sailor and a master of sailing knots, or do you enjoy the art of knitting? If any of these sound familiar, you have (perhaps unknowingly) done knot theory at some point in your life. The concept of ‘‘knottedness’’ has intrigued humanity for centuries and has captivated mathematicians since at least the 18th century. Some fascinating pieces of math have been developed within knot theory throughout the centuries. Knots appear to be such natural objects that they are ubiquitous in science, even beyond daily life experiences: chemistry, materials science, hydrodynamics, electrodynamics. Apart from exhibiting all of these exciting occurrences, I will explain what knots have to do with quantum field theory and how this profound connection benefits both physics and mathematics.