Markov traces on the Birman-Wenzl-Murakami algebras

We classify the Markov traces factoring through the Birman-Wenzl-Murakami (BMW) algebras. For this purpose, we define a common cover' for the two variations of the BMW-algebra originating from the quantum orthogonal/symplectic duality, which are responsible for the so-called Dubrovnik’ variation of the Kauffman polynomial. For generic values of the defining parameters of the BMW algebra, this cover is isomorphic to the BMW algebra itself, and this fact provides a shorter defining relation for it, in the generic case. For a certain 1-dimensional family of special values however, it is a non-trivial central extension of the BMW-algebra which induces a central extension of the Temperley-Lieb algebra. Inside this 1-dimensional family, exactly two values provide possibly additional Q-valued Markov traces. We describe both of these potential traces on the (extended) Temperley-Lieb subalgebra. While we only conjecture the existence of one of them, we prove the existence of the other by introducing a central extension of the Iwahori-Hecke algebra at q=-1 for an arbitrary Coxeter system, and by proving that this extension indeed admits an exotic Markov trace. These constructions provide several natural non-vanishing Hochschild cohomology classes on these classical algebras.