Related papers: On quotients of congruence subgroups of braid grou…

The congruence subgroups of braid groups arise from a congruence condition on the integral Burau representation $B_n \to \operatorname{GL}_{n}(\mathbb Z)$. We find the image of such congruence subgroups in $\operatorname{GL}_{n}(\mathbb…

By evaluating the Burau representation at t=-1, we obtain a symplectic representation of the braid group. We define the congruence subgroups of the braid group to be the preimages of the principal congruence subgroups of the symplectic…

We prove for $m\geq1$ and $n\geq5$ that the level $m$ congruence subgroup $B_n[m]$ of the braid group $B_n$ associated to the integral Burau representation $B_n\to\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb{Z})$ is generated by $m$th powers of half-twists and…

We extend the notion of congruence subgroups of the braid group to the virtual braid group using an extension of the integral Burau representation. We prove that the level 2 congruence subgroup of the virtual braid group is the pure virtual…

We investigate the rational cohomology of the quotient of (generalized) braid groups by the commutator subgroup of the pure braid groups. We provide a combinatorial description of it using isomorphism classes of certain families of graphs.…

Small Coxeter groups are exactly those for which the Tits representation takes integral values, which makes the study of their congruence subgroups significant. In \cite{MR0938643}, Squier introduced a matrix representation of an Artin…

Following previous work on congruence subgroups and crystallographic braid groups, we study the lower central series of congruence braid groups related to the braid group $B_3$, showing in particular that corresponding quotients are almost…

The Burau representation is a fundamental bridge between the braid group and diverse other topics in mathematics. A 1974 question of Birman asks for a description of the image; in this paper we give a "strong approximation" to the answer.…

We categorify the coefficients of the Burau representation matrix using elementary geometrical methods. We show the faithfulness of this categorification in the sense that it detects the trivial braid.

We consider subgroups of the braid groups which are generated by $k$-th powers of the standard generators and prove that any infinite intersection (with even $k$) is trivial. This is motivated by some conjectures of Squier concerning the…

This paper is the first of a two part series devoted to describing relations between congruence and crystallographic braid groups. We recall and introduce some elements belonging to congruence braid groups and we establish some…

Burau representation of the Artin braid group remains as one of the very important representations for the braid group. Partly, because of its connections to the Alexander polynomial which is one of the first and most useful invariants for…

This paper will appear in the Santa Cruz proceedings. An overview of the braid group techniques in the theory of algebraic surfaces, from Zariski to the latest results, is presented. An outline of the Van Kampen algorithm for computing…

In the paper we give a survey on braid groups and subjects connected with them. We start with the initial definition, then we give several interpretations as well as several presentations of these groups. Burau presentation for the pure…

In this paper we give a description of the generators of the prime level congruence subgroups of braid groups. Also, we give a new presentation of the symplectic group over a finite field, and we calculate symmetric quotients of the prime…

This article gives certain fibre bundles associated to the braid groups which are obtained from a translation as well as conjugation on the complex plane. The local coefficient systems on the level of homology for these bundles are given in…

We consider normal subgroups $N$ of the braid group $B_n$ such that the quotient $B_n/N$ is an extension of the symmetric group by an abelian group. We show that, if $n\geq 4$, then there are exactly 8 commensurability classes of such…

This paper presents a unified framework for determining the congruences on a number of monoids and categories of transformations, diagrams, matrices and braids, and on all their ideals. The key theoretical advances present an iterative…

The reduced Burau representation $V_n$ of the braid group $B_n$ is obtained from the action of $B_n$ on the homology of an infinite cyclic cover of the disc with $n$ punctures. The group homology $H_*(B_n;V_n)$ of braid groups with…

We study the representations of the commutator subgroup of the braid group with n strands in the symmetric group of degree r. Motivated by some experimental results, we conjecture that for n>r, every such representation is trivial.