A-polynomials, Ptolemy equations and Dehn filling

The A-polynomial encodes hyperbolic geometric information on knots and related manifolds. Historically, it has been difficult to compute, and particularly difficult to determine A-polynomials of infinite families of knots. Here, we compute A-polynomials by starting with a triangulation of a manifold, then using symplectic properties of the Neumann–Zagier matrix encoding the gluings to change the basis of the computation. The result is a simplification of the defining equations. We apply this method to families of manifolds obtained by Dehn filling, and show that the defining equations of their A-polynomials are Ptolemy equations which, up to signs, are equations between cluster variables in the cluster algebra of the cusp torus.