The crossing model for regular A_n-crystals

A regular $A_n$-crystal is an edge-colored directed graph, with $n$ colors, related to an irreducible highest weight integrable module over $U_q(sl_{n+1})$. Based on Stembridge's local axioms for regular simply-laced crystals and a structural characterization of regular $A_2$-crystals in \cite{DKK-07}, we present a new combinatorial construction, the so-called {\em crossing model}, and prove that this model generates precisely the set of regular $A_n$-crystals. Using the model, we obtain a series of results on the combinatorial structure of such crystals and properties of their subcrystals.