English

Random walks and the symplectic representation of the braid group

Geometric Topology 2025-09-01 v2

Abstract

We consider the symplectic representation ρn\rho_n of a braid group B(n)B(n) in Sp(2l,Z)Sp(2l,\mathbb{Z}), for l=[n12]l=\Big[\dfrac{n-1}{2}\Big]. If PP is a polynomial on the 4l24l^2 coefficients of the matrices in Sp(2l,Z)Sp(2l,\mathbb{Z}), we show that the set {βB(n):P(ρn(β))=0}\{\beta\in B(n): P(\rho_n(\beta))=0\} is transient for non degenerate random walks on B(n)B(n). We derive that the nn-braids β\beta which close into a loop β^\hat{\beta} with 0<det(β^)C0<|det({\hat{\beta}})|\leq C for some constant CC form a transient set. And given a prime number pp, we show that the probability for a given braid to close in a pp-colorable loop is greater than 1p\dfrac{1}{p}. We also derive that for a random 33-braid, the quasipositive links (βσiβ1σj)p(\beta\sigma_i\beta^{-1}\sigma_j)^p have zero signature for every integer pp and 1i,j21\leq i,j\leq 2. \\ As an example of such braids, we investigate the signature of the Lissajous toric knots 33-braids.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2203.00984,
  title  = {Random walks and the symplectic representation of the braid group},
  author = {Marc Soret and Marina Ville},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.00984},
  year   = {2025}
}