Related papers: The Braids on your Blanket
A group invariant for links in thickened closed orientable surfaces is studied. Associated polynomial invariants are defined. The group detects nontriviality of a virtual link and determines its virtual genus.
We consider birack and switch colorings of braids. We define a switch structure on the set of permutation representations of the braid group and consider when such a representation is a switch automorphism. We define quiver-valued…
In this article, we give a numerical algorithm to compute braid groups of curves, hyperplane arrangements, and parameterized system of polynomial equations. Our main result is an algorithm that determines the cross-locus and the generators…
We describe an alternative way of computing Alexander polynomials of knots/links, based on the Artin representation of the corresponding braids by automorphisms of a free group. Then we apply the same method to other representations of…
After defining reduced minimum braid word and criteria for a braid family representative, different braid family representatives are derived, and a correspondence between them and families of knots and links given in Conway notation is…
We introduce and explore the relation between knot invariants and quiver representation theory, which follows from the identification of quiver quantum mechanics in D-brane systems representing knots. We identify various structural…
The aim of this survey article is to highlight several notoriously intractable problems about knots and links, as well as to provide a brief discussion of what is known about them.
We define a new algebraic structure called a \emph{pointed rack} and use it to construct ambient isotopy invariants of $ n $-braids. We first introduce an integer-valued invariant of braids using pointed racks. This is then strengthened by…
We give a simple characterization of braids that can be unplaited keeping separately their upper ends and their lower ends tied together
We introduce natural language processing into the study of knot theory, as made natural by the braid word representation of knots. We study the UNKNOT problem of determining whether or not a given knot is the unknot. After describing an…
Many natural counting problems arise in connection with the normal form of braids--and seem to have never been considered so far. Here we solve some of them by analysing the normality condition in terms of the associated permutations, their…
We establish counting formulas and bijections for deformations of the braid arrangement. Precisely, we consider real hyperplane arrangements such that all the hyperplanes are of the form $x\_i-x\_j=s$ for some integer $s$. Classical…
The aim of the present note is to construct invariants of the Artin braid group valued in $G_{N}^{2}$, and further study of groups related to $G_{n}^{3}$. In the groups $G_{n}^{2}$, the word problem is solved; these groups are much simpler…
An infinitary version of braid groups has been considered as a direct limit of n-braid groups. However, we can imagine more complicated braids with infinitely many strings. We invetisgate basic properties especially when the number of…
In this paper we construct a gathering process by the means of which we obtain new normal forms in braid groups. The new normal forms generalise Artin-Markoff normal forms and possess an extremely natural geometric description. In the two…
We construct ribbon surfaces of Euler characteristic one for several infinite families of alternating 3-braid closures. We also use a twisted Alexander polynomial obstruction to conclude the classification of smoothly slice knots which are…
The main result of this paper is a negative answer to the question: are all transversal knot types transversally simple? An explicit infinite family of examples is given of closed 3-braids that define transversal knot types that are not…
We show several geometric and algebraic aspects of a necklace: a link composed with a core circle and a series of circles linked to this core. We first prove that the fundamental group of the configuration space of necklaces (that we will…
In this paper we study the homeomorphisms of the disk that are liftable with respect to a simple branched covering. Since any such homeomorphism maps the branch set of the covering onto itself and liftability is invariant up to isotopy…
We study geometric presentations of braid groups for particles that are constrained to move on a graph, i.e. a network consisting of nodes and edges. Our proposed set of generators consists of exchanges of pairs of particles on junctions of…