The braid group of a necklace

We show several geometric and algebraic aspects of a necklace: a link composed with a core circle and a series of (unlinked) circles linked to this core. We first prove that the fundamental group of the configuration space of necklaces (that we will call braid group of a necklace) is isomorphic to the braid group over an annulus quotiented by the square of the center. We then define braid groups of necklaces and affine braid groups of type \(\mathcal {A}\) in terms of automorphisms of free groups and characterize these automorphisms among all automorphisms of free groups. In the case of affine braid groups of type \(\mathcal {A}\) such a representation is faithful.     

Graphical Calculus for the Double Affine Q-Dependent Braid Group

In this paper, we present a straightforward pictorial representation of the double affine Hecke algebra (DAHA) which enables us to translate the abstract algebraic structure of a DAHA into an intuitive graphical calculus suitable for a physics audience. Initially, we define the larger double affine Q-dependent braid group. This group is constructed by appending to the braid group a set of operators Q _i , before extending it to an affine Q-dependent braid group. We show specifically that the elliptic braid group and the DAHA can be obtained as quotient groups. Complementing this, we present a pictorial representation of the double affine Q-dependent braid group based on ribbons living in a toroid. We show that in this pictorial representation, we can fully describe any DAHA. Specifically, we graphically describe the parameter q upon which this algebra is dependent and show that in this particular representation q corresponds to a twist in the ribbon.     

A Categorical Structure for the Virtual Braid Group

This article gives a new interpretation of the virtual braid group in terms of a strict monoidal category SC that is freely generated by one object and three morphisms, two of the morphisms corresponding to basic pure virtual braids and one morphism corresponding to a transposition in the symmetric group. This point of view makes many relationships between the virtual braid group and the pure virtual braid group apparent, and makes representations of the virtual braid groups and pure virtual braid groups via solutions to the algebraic Yang–Baxter Equation equally transparent. In this categorical framework, the virtual braid group has nothing to do with the plane and nothing to do with virtual crossings. It is a natural group associated with the structure of algebraic braiding.     

Dual Garside structure and reducibility of braids

Benardete, Gutierrez and Nitecki showed an important result which relates the geometrical properties of a braid, as a homeomorphism of the punctured disk, to its algebraic Garside-theoretical properties. Namely, they showed that if a braid sends a standard curve to another standard curve, then the image of this curve under the action of each factor of the left normal form of the braid (with the classical Garside structure) is also standard. We provide a new simple, geometric proof of the result by Benardete–Gutierrez–Nitecki, which can be easily adapted to the case of the dual Garside structure of braid groups, with the appropriate definition of standard curves in the dual setting. This yields a new algorithm for determining the Nielsen–Thurston type of braids.     

Braided surfaces and seifert ribbons for closed braids

Apositive band in the braid groupB _n is a conjugate of one of the standard generators; a negative band is the inverse of a positive band. Using the geometry of the configuration space, a theory of bands andbraided surfaces is developed. Each representation of a braid as a product of bands yields a handle decomposition of aSeifert ribbon bounded by the corresponding closed braid; and up to isotopy all Seifert ribbons occur in this manner. Thus,band representations provide a convenient calculus for the study of ribbon surfaces. For instance, from a band representation, a Wirtinger presentation of the fundamental group of the complement of the associated Seifert ribbon inD ⁴ can be immediately read off, and we recover a result of T. Yajima (and D. Johnson) that every Wirtinger-presentable group appears as such a fundamental group. In fact, we show that every such group is the fundamental group of a Stein manifold, and so that there are finite homotopy types among the Stein manifolds which cannot (by work of Morgan) be realized as smooth affine algebraic varieties.     

Surface framed braids

In this paper we introduce the framed pure braid group on n strands of an oriented surface, a topological generalisation of the pure braid group P _n . We give different equivalent definitions for framed pure braid groups and we study exact sequences relating these groups with other generalisations of P _n , usually called surface pure braid groups. The notion of surface framed braid groups is also introduced.     

A model for embedding finite coverings defined by principal bundles into bundles of manifolds

For any finite group G we construct a canonical model for embedding a principal G-bundle fibrewise into a given locally trivial fibration with a connected manifold M of dimension n⩾2 as fibre. The construction uses configuration spaces. We apply the construction to obtain a canonical model for the class of principal G-bundles which are polynomial when considered as covering maps. Finally, we give an algebraic characterization of the polynomial principal G-bundles in terms of homomorphisms into braid groups.     

Algebraic K-theory of groups wreath product with finite groups

The Farrell-Jones Fibered Isomorphism Conjecture for the stable topological pseudoisotopy theory has been proved for several classes of groups. For example, for discrete subgroups of Lie groups [F.T. Farrell, L.E. Jones, Isomorphism conjectures in algebraic K-theory, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1993) 249-297], virtually poly-infinite cyclic groups [F.T. Farrell, L.E. Jones, Isomorphism conjectures in algebraic K-theory, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 6 (1993) 249-297], Artin braid groups [F.T. Farrell, S.K. Roushon, The Whitehead groups of braid groups vanish, Internat. Math. Res. Notices 10 (2000) 515-526], a class of virtually poly-surface groups [S.K. Roushon, The isomorphism conjecture for 3-manifold groups and K-theory of virtually poly-surface groups, math.KT/0408243, K-Theory, in press] and virtually solvable linear group [F.T. Farrell, P.A. Linnell, K-Theory of solvable groups, Proc. London Math. Soc. (3) 87 (2003) 309-336]. We extend these results in the sense that if G is a group from the above classes then we prove the conjecture for the wreath product G?H for H a finite group. The need for this kind of extension is already evident in [F.T. Farrell, S.K. Roushon, The Whitehead groups of braid groups vanish, Internat. Math. Res. Notices 10 (2000) 515-526; S.K. Roushon, The Farrell-Jones isomorphism conjecture for 3-manifold groups, math.KT/0405211, K-Theory, in press; S.K. Roushon, The isomorphism conjecture for 3-manifold groups and K-theory of virtually poly-surface groups, math.KT/0408243, K-Theory, in press]. We also prove the conjecture for some other classes of groups.     

A special class of tensor categories initiated by inverse braid monoids

In this paper, we introduce the concept of a wide tensor category which is a special class of a tensor category initiated by the inverse braid monoids recently investigated by Easdown and Lavers [The Inverse Braid Monoid, Adv. in Math. 186 (2004) 438-455].The inverse braid monoidsIB_n is an inverse monoid which behaves as the symmetric inverse semigroup so that the braid group B_n can be regarded as the braids acting in the symmetric group. In this paper, the structure of inverse braid monoids is explained by using the language of categories. A partial algebra category, which is a subcategory of the representative category of a bialgebra, is given as an example of wide tensor categories. In addition, some elementary properties of wide tensor categories are given. The main result is to show that for every strongly wide tensor category C, a strict wide tensor category C^str can be constructed and is wide tensor equivalent to C with a wide tensor equivalence F.As a generalization of the universality property of the braid category B, we also illustrate a wide tensor category through the discussion on the universality of the inverse braid category IB (see Theorem 3.3, 3.6 and Proposition 3.7).     

A categorification of the Burau representation at prime roots of unity

We construct a p-DG structure on an algebra Koszul dual to a zigzag algebra used by Khovanov and Seidel to construct a categorical braid group action. We show there is a braid group action in this p-DG setting.     

Braids and partial permutations

We study the inverse braid monoid IBn introduced by Easdown and Lavers in 2004. We completely describe the factorizable structure of IBn and use this to give a new proof of the Easdown-Lavers presentation; we also derive several new presentations, each of which gives rise to a new presentation of the symmetric inverse monoid. We then define and study the pure inverse braid monoid IPn which is related to IBn in the same way that the pure braid group is related to the braid group.     

On the inverse braid monoid

Inverse braid monoid describes a structure on braids where the number of strings is not fixed. So, some strings of initial n may be deleted. In the paper we show that many properties and objects based on braid groups may be extended to the inverse braid monoids. Namely we prove an inclusion into a monoid of partial monomorphisms of a free group. This gives a solution of the word problem. Another solution is obtained by an approach similar to that of Garside. We give also the analogues of Artin presentation with two generators and Sergiescu graph-presentations.     

Anti-affine algebraic groups

We say that an algebraic group G over a field is anti-affine if every regular function on G is constant. We obtain a classification of these groups, with applications to the structure of algebraic groups in positive characteristics, and to the construction of many counterexamples to Hilbert's fourteenth problem.     

Entropy in a Category

The Pinsker subgroup of an abelian group with respect to an endomorphism was introduced in the context of algebraic entropy. Motivated by the nice properties and characterizations of the Pinsker subgroup, we generalize its construction in two directions. Indeed, we introduce the concept of entropy function h of an abelian category, and we define the Pinsker radical with respect to h, so that the class of all objects with trivial Pinsker radical is the torsion-free class of a torsion theory.     

Vines and partial transformations

We introduce the partial vine monoid PVn. This monoid is related to the partial transformation semigroup PTn in the same way as the braid group Bn is related to the symmetric group Sn, and contains both the vine monoid [T.G. Lavers, The theory of vines, Comm. Algebra 25 (4) (1997) 1257-1284] and the inverse braid monoid [D. Easdown, T.G. Lavers, The inverse braid monoid, Adv. Math. 186 (2) (2004) 438-455]. We give a presentation for PVn in terms of generators and relations, as well as a faithful representation in a monoid of endomorphisms of a free group. We also derive a new presentation for PTn.     

Combinatorial properties of virtual braids

We determine the lower central series of the virtual braid group VBn and of the kernels of two different projections of VBn in Sn: the normal closure of the Artin braid group Bn, that we will denote by Hn, and the so-called virtual pure braid group VPn, which is related to Yang Baxter equation. We describe relations between Hn and VPn and we provide a connection between virtual pure braids and the finite type invariant theory for virtual knots defined by Goussarov, Polyak and Viro.     

Morse theory on spaces of braids and Lagrangian dynamics

In the first half of the paper we construct a Morse-type theory on certain spaces of braid diagrams. We define a topological invariant of closed positive braids which is correlated with the existence of invariant sets of parabolic flows defined on discretized braid spaces. Parabolic flows, a type of one-dimensional lattice dynamics, evolve singular braid diagrams in such a way as to decrease their topological complexity; algebraic lengths decrease monotonically. This topological invariant is derived from a Morse-Conley homotopy index.?In the second half of the paper we apply this technology to second order Lagrangians via a discrete formulation of the variational problem. This culminates in a very general forcing theorem for the existence of infinitely many braid classes of closed orbits. Oblatum 11-V-2001 & 13-XI-2002?Published online: 24 February 2003 RID="*" ID="*"The first author was supported by NSF DMS-9971629 and NSF DMS-0134408. The second author was supported by an EPSRC Fellowship. The third author was supported by NWO Vidi-grant 639.032.202.     

Monodromy of cyclic coverings of the projective line

We show that the image of the pure braid group under the monodromy action on the homology of a cyclic covering of degree d of the projective line is an arithmetic group provided the number of ramification points is sufficiently large compared to the degree d and the ramification degrees are co-prime to d.     

Lower central series of Artin–Tits and surface braid groups

We consider algebraic and topological generalisations of braid groups and pure braid groups, namely Artin–Tits groups (of spherical type) and surface (pure) braid groups, and we determine their lower central series and related residual properties.