We introduce skein theoretic techniques to compute the Yang-Baxter (YB) homology and cohomology groups of the R-matrix corresponding to the Jones polynomial. More specifically, we show that the YB operator $R$ for Jones, normalized for homology, admits a skein decomposition $R = I + betaalpha$, where $alpha: V^{otimes 2} rightarrow k$ is a cup pairing map and $beta: k rightarrow V^{otimes 2}$ is a cap copairing map, and differentials in the chain complex associated to $R$ can be decomposed into horizontal tensor concatenations of cups and caps. We apply our skein theoretic approach to determine the second and third YB homology groups, confirming a conjecture of Przytycki and Wang. Further, we compute the cohomology groups of $R$, and provide computations in higher dimensions that yield some annihilations of submodules.
To every involutive non-degenerate set-theoretic solution $(X,r)$ of the Yang-Baxter equation on a finite set $X$ there is a naturally associated finite solvable permutation group ${mathcal G}(X,r)$ acting on $X$. We prove that every primitive permutation group of this type is of prime order $p$. Moreover, $(X,r)$ is then a so called permutation solution determined by a cycle of length $p$. This solves a problem recently asked by A. Ballester-Bolinches. The result opens a new perspective on a possible approach to the classification problem of all involutive non-degenerate set-theoretic solutions.
Given a set-theoretic solution $(X,r)$ of the Yang--Baxter equation, we denote by $M=M(X,r)$ the structure monoid and by $A=A(X,r)$, respectively $A=A(X,r)$, the left, respectively right, derived structure monoid of $(X,r)$. It is shown that there exist a left action of $M$ on $A$ and a right action of $M$ on $A$ and 1-cocycles $pi$ and $pi$ of $M$ with coefficients in $A$ and in $A$ with respect to these actions respectively. We investigate when the 1-cocycles are injective, surjective or bijective. In case $X$ is finite, it turns out that $pi$ is bijective if and only if $(X,r)$ is left non-degenerate, and $pi$ is bijective if and only if $(X,r)$ is right non-degenerate. In case $(X,r) $ is left non-degenerate, in particular $pi$ is bijective, we define a semi-truss structure on $M(X,r)$ and then we show that this naturally induces a set-theoretic solution $(bar M, bar r)$ on the least cancellative image $bar M= M(X,r)/eta$ of $M(X,r)$. In case $X$ is naturally embedded in $M(X,r)/eta$, for example when $(X,r)$ is irretractable, then $bar r$ is an extension of $r$. It also is shown that non-degenerate irretractable solutions necessarily are bijective.