Stavros Garoufalidis and Andrew Kricker.
Abstract: A celebrated theorem of Kirby identifies the set of closed oriented connected 3-manifolds with the set of framed links in $S^3$ modulo two moves. We give a similar description for the set of knots (and more generally, boundary links) in homology 3-spheres. As an application, we define a noncommutative version of the Alexander polynomial of a boundary link. Our surgery view of boundary links is a key ingredient in a construction of a rational version of the Kontsevich integral, given in subsequent work.
Key words: Boundary links, surgery, Kirby calculus.
Notes: 7 pages, 3 figures.