We refine prior bounds on how the multivariable signature and the nullity of a link change under link cobordisms. The formula generalizes a series of results about the 4-genus having their origins in the Murasugi-Tristram inequality, and at the same time extends previously known results about concordance invariance of the signature to a bigger set of allowed variables. Finally, we show that the multivariable signature and nullity are also invariant under 0.5-solvable cobordism.

It is well known that the Blanchfield pairing of a knot can be expressed using Seifert matrices. In this paper, we compute the Blanchfield pairing of a colored link with non-zero Alexander polynomial. More precisely, we show that the Blanchfield pairing of such a link can be written in terms of generalized Seifert matrices which arise from the use of C-complexes. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. 57M25. 1 arXiv:1609.08057v1 [math.GT]

Taking the signature of the closure of a braid defines a map from the braid group to the integers. In 2005, Gambaudo and Ghys expressed the homomorphism defect of this map in terms of the Meyer cocycle and the Burau representation. In the present paper, we simultaneously extend this result in two directions, considering the multivariable signature of the closure of a coloured tangle. The corresponding defect is expressed in terms of the Maslov index and of the Lagrangian functor defined by Turaev and the first-named author.

The Burau representation of the braid group can be used to recover the Alexander polynomial of the closure of a braid. We define twisted Burau maps and use them to compute twisted Alexander polynomials.

No abstract