Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2022 / iii / Paper 112 / 3 / c / Solution

Expand the determinant of the matrix $A_1$ from part (b) by the Leibniz formula for determinants. A matrix entry is a signed sum of monomials arising from the possible corners at its crossing. Choosing one summand in every row chooses one corner at every crossing, while choosing distinct columns puts exactly one chosen corner in every region $R_i$ with $i>1$ and none in the two deleted regions $R_0,R_1$. The surviving determinant terms are therefore in bijection with the Kauffman states $s\in \mathcal{S}(D)$.

The sign of a permutation in the determinant together with the corner signs gives $(-1{)}^{ϵ(s)}$, and multiplying the corner monomials gives $t^{\delta (s)}$. Since part (b) identifies this determinant with the Alexander polynomial of a knot up to a unit,