Springer varieties appear in both geometric representation theory and knot theory. Motivated by knot theory and categorification, Khovanov provides a topological construction of (m, m) Springer varieties. Here we extend his construction to all two-row Springer varieties. Using the combinatorial and diagrammatic properties of this construction we provide a particularly useful homology basis and construct the Springer representation using this basis. We also provide a skein-theoretic formulation of the representation in this case.

We develop a dimer model for the Alexander polynomial of a knot. This recovers Kauffman's state sum model for the Alexander polynomial using the language of dimers. By providing some additional structure we are able to extend this model to give a state sum formula for the twisted Alexander polynomial of a knot depending on a representation of the knot group.Comment: 16 page

Springer varieties are studied because their cohomology carries a natural action of the symmetric group $S_n$ and their top-dimensional cohomology is irreducible. In his work on tangle invariants, Khovanov constructed a family of Springer varieties $X_n$ as subvarieties of the product of spheres $(S^2)^n$. We show that if $X_n$ is embedded antipodally in $(S^2)^n$ then the natural $S_n$-action on $(S^2)^n$ induces an $S_n$-representation on the image of $H_*(X_n)$. This representation is the Springer representation. Our construction admits an elementary (and geometrically natural) combinatorial description, which we use to prove that the Springer representation on $H_*(X_n)$ is irreducible in each degree. We explicitly identify the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis for the irreducible representation of $S_n$ corresponding to the partition $(n/2,n/2)$

We identify the ring of odd symmetric functions introduced by Ellis and Khovanov as the space of skew polynomials fixed by a natural action of the Hecke algebra at q = −1. This allows us to define graded modules over the Hecke algebra at q = −1 that are 'odd' analogs of the cohomology of type A Springer varieties. The graded module associated to the full flag variety corresponds to the quotient of the skew polynomial ring by the left ideal of nonconstant odd symmetric functions. The top degree component of the odd cohomology of Springer varieties is identified with the corresponding Specht module of the Hecke algebra at q = −1.

Given a graph G, its k-coloring graph is the graph whose vertex set is the proper k-colorings of the vertices of G with two k−colorings adjacent if they differ at exactly one vertex. In this paper, we consider the question: Which graphs can be coloring graphs? In other words, given a graph H, do there exist G and k such that H is the k-coloring graph of G? We will answer this question for several classes of graphs and discuss important obstructions to being a coloring graph involving order, girth, and induced subgraphs.