On the universal sl_2 invariant of boundary bottom tangles

Abstract: The universal sl_2 invariant of bottom tangles has a universality property for the colored Jones polynomial of links. Habiro conjectured that the universal sl_2 invariant of boundary bottom tangles takes values in certain subalgebras of the completed tensor powers of the quantized enveloping algebra U_h(sl_2) of the Lie algebra sl_2. In the present paper, we prove an improved version of Habiro's conjecture. As an application, we prove a divisibility property of the colored Jones polynomial of boundary links.