Related papers: Linearity of some low-complexity mapping class gro…
In this paper, we show that projective special linear groups $S:=L_3(q)$ with $q$ less than $100$ are uniquely determined by their orders and degree patterns of their prime graphs. Indeed, we prove that if $G$ is a finite group whose order…
Groups of almost upper triangular infinite matrices with entries indexed by integers are studied. It is shown that, when the matrices are over a finite field, these groups admit a nondiscrete totally disconnected, locally compact group…
We show that the class of large-type Artin groups is invariant under isomorphism, in stark contrast with the corresponding situation for Coxeter groups. We obtain this result by providing a purely algebraic characterisation of large-type…
Let $G$ be a fundamental group of a graph of group where the graph is a rose or a star graph and the vertex groups are free groups, free abelian groups or right-angled Artin groups. We prove the linearity of $G$ over $\mathbb{Z}$ under…
It is known that the pure braid groups are residually torsion-free nilpotent. This property is however widely open for the most obvious generalizations of these groups, like pure Artin groups and like fundamental groups of hyperplane…
We consider the (pure) braid groups B_{n}(M) and P_{n}(M), where M is the 2-sphere S^2 or the real projective plane RP^2. We determine the minimal cardinality of (normal) generating sets X of these groups, first when there is no restriction…
We show that any twisted Dijkgraaf-Witten representation of a mapping class group of an orientable, compact surface with boundary has finite image. This generalizes work of Etingof, Rowell and Witherspoon showing that the braid group images…
We define the braid groups of a two-dimensional orbifold and introduce conventions for drawing braid pictures. We use these to realize the Artin groups associated to the spherical Coxeter diagrams A_n, B_n=C_n and D_n and the affine…
We construct the first examples of normal subgroups of mapping class groups that are isomorphic to non-free right-angled Artin groups. Our construction also gives normal, non-free right-angled Artin subgroups of other groups, such as braid…
We study the isometry groups of compact spherical orientable $3$-orbifolds $S^3/G$, where $G$ is a finite subgroup of $\mathrm{SO}(4)$, by determining their isomorphism type. Moreover, we prove that the inclusion of $\mbox{Isom}(S^3/G)$…
Every smooth minimal complex algebraic surface of general type, $X$, may be mapped into a moduli space, $\MM_{c_1^2(X), c_2(X)}$, of minimal surfaces of general type, all of which have the same Chern numbers. Using the braid group and braid…
The higher connectivity at infinity for mapping class groups of surfaces with boundary components and punctures is understood with the exceptions of the mapping class groups for the closed surfaces of genus 3 and 4. In this paper we prove a…
By considering appropriate finite covering spaces of closed non-orientable surfaces, we construct linear representations of their mapping class group which have finite index image in certain big arithmetic groups.
We continue the study of low dimensional linear representations of mapping class groups of surfaces initiated by Franks--Handel and Korkmaz. We consider $(2g+1)$-dimensional complex linear representations of the pure mapping class groups of…
This article gives the proof of results announced in [J. Blanc, Finite Abelian subgroups of the Cremona group of the plane, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, S\'er. I 344 (2007), 21-26.] and some description of automorphisms of rational surfaces.…
Let Ng be the connected closed nonorientable surface of genus g >= 5 and Mod(Ng) denote the mapping class group of Ng. We prove that the outer automorphism group of Mod(Ng) is either trivial or Z if g is odd, and injects into the mapping…
The genus spectrum of a finite group $G$ is the set of all $g\geq 2$ such that $G$ acts faithfully and orientation-preserving on a closed compact orientable surface of genus $g$. This article is an overview of some results relating the…
We prove that if $G$ is a finite simple group which is the unit group of a ring, then $G$ is isomorphic to either (a) a cyclic group of order 2; (b) a cyclic group of prime order $2^k -1$ for some $k$; or (c) a projective special linear…
The configuration space $\text{UC}(n,p\times q)$ of $n$ unlabelled non-overlapping unit squares in a $p\times q$ rectangle is known to recover the homotopy type of the classical configuration space of $n$ unlabelled points in the plane,…
We apply results proved in [Li19] to the linear order expansions of non-trivial free homogeneous structures and the universal n-linear order for $n\geq 2$, and prove the simplicity of their automorphism groups.