Questions tagged [braid-groups]
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Symmetries of local systems on the punctured sphere
Let $X=S^2\setminus D$, for $D\subset S^2$ some finite set of points, say with $|D|=n\geq 1$. The category of locally constant sheaves of $\mathbb{C}$-vector spaces on $X$ (equivalently, complex ...
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How to get a presentation of the mapping class group of the $n$-punctured sphere
$\DeclareMathOperator\Mod{Mod}$I would like to compute the mapping class group (homeomorphism preserving orientation modulo those isotopic to the identity) of the sphere $S^2$ minus $n$ points $p_1,\...
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Bounds for the crossing number in terms of the braid index?
Is there a lower bound on the crossing number of a knot (resp., link) with braid index $b$?
For knots, I believe the smallest crossing number for braid index 2 is 3, the smallest crossing number for ...
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Squier's conjecture on Burau at roots of unity
In Squier's short, yet influential, paper about the Burau representation, he made two conjectures that might have provided a proof for the faithfulness of the Burau representation (which we now know ...
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Composition of 3-braids to obtain braids with trivial closure
Given a 3-braid $b=\sigma_1\sigma_2^{-1}\sigma_1\sigma_2^{-1}\sigma_1$ (which has non-trivial closure), can we find a 3-braid $c$, which has trivial closure (closure results in any trivial knot or ...
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Non-straightenable multiple space-time trajectories and 'entangled' braid
Considering we have the space-time trajectory of multiple particles (or any objects) in the X-Y-Time coordination system. Given a projection direction parallel to the X-Y plane, we can obtain the ...
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Are there infinite number of 3-braids with trivial closure?
Not counting equivalent braids, are there finite or infinite numbers of 3-braids whose closures are trivial knot or links? If the answer is infinite, are there some patterns in those infinite numbers ...
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Space-time trajectory that cannot be straightened and its braid form
Considering we have the space-time trajectory of multiple particles (or any objects) in the X-Y-Time coordination system. Given a projection direction, we can obtain the braid form of the space-time ...
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Interplay beween simplicial and Weyl algebra identities
Recall that the (first) Weyl algebra is the algebra generated by $x,y$ with the relation $xy-yx=1$. It can be realized as the algebra of differential operators on $k[x]$, where one generator acts as ...
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Alexander polynomials for a certain family of closed braids
Let $n\geq 3$ be a positive integer and $\kappa=(k_1, \dots, k_n)\in \mathbb{Z}^n$. Denote by $B_n$ the braid group on $n$ strings. Consider the braid on $n+1$ strings $\sigma_\kappa:=\sigma_1^{k_1}\...
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On an Artin (?) subgroup of braid groups
While working on something apparently unrelated I encountered a "braid-like" group, which is a relatively geometric subgroup of a braid group and seems to be itself an Artin group. It seems ...
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Why is the category of strong braided functors from the braid category to a braided monoidal $M$ equivalent to the subcategory of *strict* functors?
This is my first, and probably my last, (for a while) posting on MO. I am very much a student and I don't claim to be a research mathematician, at all, but I have seen that sometimes "regular&...
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Generating cycles inside Tits' graph of words for a positive braid
Let $Br_n$ be the braid group and consider words in its generators (not in the inverses). Two such words define the same "positive" braid if one can be obtained from the other by commuting ...
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Determine if a closed braid is a link/unlink
I am relatively new to the world of braids/knots so really sorry if this question is simple. However, I am not able to find if there is any theorem/procedure that determines if a closed braid, given ...
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Is the Lawrence–Krammer representation faithful, reduced modulo p?
It is well-known that the braid group $B_n$ is linear for every $n$ by the Lawrence–Krammer (or LKB) representation. It embeds $B_n$ faithfully into $\mathrm{GL}\left(\frac{n(n-1)}{2},\mathbb{Z}[q^{\...
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Coherence theorem in braided monoidal categories
In MacLane's Categories for the working mathematician, the author shows that the evaluation at 1 gives an equivalence of categories $\mathrm{hom}_{\mathrm{BMC}}(B,M)\simeq M_0$ where $B$ is the braid ...
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Are braid groups known to not be linear over $\mathbb{Z}$?
$\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}$It is known that every braid group $B_n$ embeds as a subgroup of $\GL_m(\mathbb{Z}[q^{\pm 1},t^{\pm 1}])$, where $m=n(n-1)/2$ (see Krammer - Braid groups are linear). This ...
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Coxeter's braid group quotients
Coxeter's result is that if the generators of the braid group $B_n$ on $n$ strands fulfill a relation $\forall_i\sigma_i^k=1$, then $1/n+1/k>1/2$ must hold to get a finite quotient of $B_n$. In ...
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Dehornoy's proof that the application of two elementary embeddings is an elementary embedding
What is meant by the statement and the proof of Lemma 3.2 in Chapter XII of Dehornoy's book Braids and Self-Distributivity?
That lemma states "Assume that $j_1$ and $j_2$ are elementary ...
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Virtual cohomological dimension of mapping class group and braid group of punctured surfaces
$\DeclareMathOperator\MCG{MCG}\DeclareMathOperator\vcd{vcd}\DeclareMathOperator\cd{cd}$Let $B_{k}(S_{g}),$ $\MCG(S_{g};k)$ and $\MCG(S_{g}))$ denote the braid group, the mapping class group (relative ...
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Representation stability for systems of braid group representations
In general, if I understand correctly, the representation theory of the braid groups is quite complicated, and there's no classification of the irreducibles. However, the braid groups form a sort of ...
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Good algorithmic properties for quotients of braid groups
I'm trying to understand some things about quotients of braid groups, and particularly I'd like to solve the word problem for some elements of these quotients. I'm using MAGMA to try to access this, ...
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Configuration space of 4 points as an orbifold
Setup: Consider the braid group $B_n$. One way to define this is as the fundamental group of the unordered configuration space $UC_n(\mathbb{C}) = \{\{z_1,\dotsc,z_n\}\subset \mathbb{C} \mid z_i \not= ...
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Arc complex characterization of braids with trivial closure
A braid $\beta\in B_n,$ the braid group with $n$ strands, viewed as the mapping class group $\mathrm{Mod}(\mathbb{D}_n)$ of the disk with $n$ punctures is trivial if and only if $\beta$ acts trivially ...
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Braid group and the fundamental group of coefficients of polynomials
I am studying Norbert A'Campo's article "Tresses, monodromie et le groupe symplectique" and I am trying to understand why $\rho(t_i)=T_i$. I am stating this just for the sake of reference, ...
user341790
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Finiteness of almost maximal submonoids in positive braids
A numerical semigroup of genus $g$ is a submonoid $S=S+S$ of $\mathbb N$ missing $g$ elements (gaps) of $\mathbb N$. It is not hard to show that
there are only finitely many numerical semigroups of ...
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Image of the pure braid group under the Artin presentation into the automorphism group of the nilpotent quotient of a free group?
As I know, it is unknown that the image of the mapping class group of the surface and its Johnson filtration under the higher Johnson homomorphisms.
There are a relationship between the mapping class ...
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Braid 2-groups, symmetric 2-groups
Is there an object which can be called a "braid 2-group"? Or a "symmetric 2-group"? (Note: not a braided 2-group)
I am ignorant about 2-categories but I hope that a good candidate ...
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Composite knots and their braid words
Given a composite knot K = K_1 # K_2, I wonder how the braid word looks like. Is it possible to see from the word that the knot is composite?
I am not aware of a statement such as "the closure of ...
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Geometric intuition behind Garside's paper?
I apologize in advance for a somewhat wishy-washy question. I just read the paper "The Braid Group and Other Groups" by F. A. Garside in which he solves the conjugacy problem for the braid ...
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From braid representations to link invariants
If one has a $\mathbb{C}$-linear representation of the braid algebra into e.g. the Temperley-Lieb algebra i.e. $\rho:\mathbb{C}[B_{n}]\to TL_{n}(\delta)$, we can deduce a skein relation $\mathcal{S}$....
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Fundamental group to groupoid : bijection between homotopy classes?
I'm looking at the fundamental group $\pi_{1}(M)$ of the $n^{th}$ unordered configuration space $M$ of $\mathbb{R}^{d}$. In particular, it's well-known that $\pi_{1}(M)\cong S_{n}$ (symmetric group) ...
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Braids of fibered knots
There are some theorems saying that the closure of a braid of a specific form is fibered. For instance, a theorem of Stallings says that the closure of a homogeneous braid is a fibered knot.
I am ...
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Braid groups and Kazhdan's property (T)
In Nica's dissertation Group actions on median spaces, we can read the following assertion:
Braid groups do not contain infinite subgroups satisfying Kazhdan's property (T).
This is used in order to ...
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Artin groups of type $D_n$ as mapping class groups?
According to Allcock (Braid Pictures for Artin groups, https://arxiv.org/abs/math/9907194), the Artin group $A(D_n$) of type $D_n$ may be realized as an index 2 subgroup of the orbifold fundamental ...
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How to get the braid word of the tubes in a reducible braid?
If a braid is reducible, it means that the strands can be separated into groups of strands (less groups than number of strands), such that each group is running inside one tube. The tubes themselves ...
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Knots with a braid presentation with only positive or negative crossings on each fixed position
I am interested in the following class of knots $K$:
$\{$$K$ has a braid presentation such that for any fixed position $k$, either only positive or negative powers of $\sigma_k$ appear in the braid ...
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Several questions about Gauss's mathematical conception of braids
I'm trying to figure out several things about Gauss's thoughts concerning a certain four-strand braid. The reference my questions are based on is mainly Moritz Epple's excellent article "orbits ...
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Integral homology of braid groups as a ring
Let $Br_k$ denote the braid group on $k$ strands. In Corollary A.4 of "Homology of Iterated Loop Spaces" (Page 348), Cohen-Lada-May compute $H_i(Br_k;\mathbb Z)$ as an abelian group for each ...
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CW-presentation of configurations of points in plane and space
I know from the the theory of Artin groups that, as the $K(\pi,1)$ conjecture is known for Braids group, that using Salvetti complexes we have a fairly explicit finite CW-complex presentation of the ...
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Linear representations of Hurwitz braid group with small degree
In Bigelow: Does the Jones Polynomial detect the Unknot?, J. Knot Theory Ramifications, 11, 493-505 (2002), Corollary 6.2. ff.,
a non-trivial braid $\beta$ in the kernel of the specialized Burau ...
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When is the action of the braid group on tensor powers of Yetter-Drinfeld modules faithful?
Let $V$ be a Yetter-Drinfeld module over a Hopf algebra $H$ with invertible antipode. Recall that $V$ is a braided vector space with braiding $\Psi\colon V\otimes V\to V\otimes V, v\otimes w\mapsto v_{...
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On $\Psi$-generating paths in the Bruhat order of a Weyl group
Let $W$ be a Weyl group with roots $R$ and positive roots $R^+$. Let $v\in W$ of length $r$. We call $\mathbb{m}=(\alpha_1,\ldots,\alpha_r)\in(R^+)^r$ a Bruhat path from $1$ to $v$ if $1\lessdot s_{\...
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Surjective homomorphisms between braid groups
There cannot be a surjective homomorphism $B_2 \to B_n$ for any $n > 2$ because $B_2$ is commutative and $B_n$ is not. It seems plausible that if $m < n$, there cannot be a surjective ...
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Cohomology of the moduli space of rational curves with $n$ marked points with spin structure
Consider $\mathcal{M}_{0,n}$- the moduli space of rational curves with $n$ marked points. A map
$$
p\colon \pi_1(\mathcal{M}_{0,n})\longrightarrow H_1(\mathcal{M}_{0,n},\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})
$$
...
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Do there exist any variational principles on the space of braids (or knots)?
This is very speculative question and I do not know where to start looking up the literature, or if what I am looking for is even mathematically possible/meaningful.
Q: I am interested in finding out ...
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Permuting $n$ points in a $2$-manifold
Given $n$ points on a connected $2$-manifold $M$, I'd like to consider the homotopy classes of paths that "permute" these points.
Edit (Clarifying what I mean by this):
Given a set of $n$ ...
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Software for finding conjugates in the Braid group
The conjugacy problem for the braid group was solved by Garside, and gives an algorithm for determining whether two braids are conjugate. Since this algorithm is rather tedious, I was wondering if ...
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Finite quotients of surface braid groups
Let $\Sigma_b$ be a closed orientable surface of genus $b \geq 2$, and denote by $\mathsf{P}_2(\Sigma_b)$ the pure braid group with two strands on $\Sigma_b$.
There is a braid $A_{12} \in \Sigma_b$ ...
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When do elements in the braid group $B_n$ commute?
I have been looking around for an answer to this question, but I have not been able to find anything. My question is:
Is it known how to tell whether two elements $b_1, b_2 \in B_n$ commute?
EDIT: ...
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