Related papers: Simple Braids Tend toward Positive Entropy
Traditionally, knot theorists have considered projections of knots where there are two strands meeting at every crossing. A multi-crossing is a crossing where more than two strands meet at a single point, such that each strand bisects the…
Topological entropy is a common measure of the rate of mixing in a flow. It can be computed by partition methods, or by estimating the growth rate of material lines or other material elements. This requires detailed knowledge of the…
A generalization of the topological fundamental group is developed in order to exhibit a topologically complete braid group containing Artin's braid group on infinitely many strands with respect to the following notion of convergence: A…
We consider the topological complexity of subgroups of Artin's braid group consisting of braids whose associated permutations lie in some specified subgroup of the symmetric group. We give upper and lower bounds for the topological…
We study a certain type of braid closure which resembles the plat closure but has certain advantages; for example, it maps pure braids to knots. The main results of this note are a Markov-type theorem and a description of how Vassiliev…
Periodic solutions of the planar $N$-body problem determine braids through the trajectory of $N$ bodies. Braid types can be used to classify periodic solutions. According to the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface automorphisms,…
We give examples of knots with some unusual properties of the crossing number of positive diagrams or strand number of positive braid representations. In particular we show that positive braid knots may not have positive minimal (strand…
The Rickard complex of a braid with strands colored by positive integers is a chain complex of singular Soergel bimodules. The complex determines the colored triply-graded homology and colored sl(N) homology of the braid closure, when…
This short note is about three-stranded pretzel knots that have an even number of crossings in one of the strands. We calculate the braid index of such knots and determine which of them are quasipositive. The main tools are the…
Many well studied knots can be realized as positive braid knots where the braid word contains a positive full twist; we say that such knots are twist positive. Some important families of knots are twist positive, including torus knots,…
Let $b$ be a pseudo-Anosov braid whose permutation has a fixed point and let $M_b$ be the mapping torus by the pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism defined on the genus $0$ fiber $F_b$ associated with $b$. This paper describes a structure of the…
We prove that fibred knots cannot be untied with $\bar{t}_{2k}$-moves, for all $k \geq 2$. More generally, we give an upper bound on the number of two strand twist operations that allow to untie a knot with non-trivial HOMFLY polynomial, in…
The contents of this 6-page paper have been subsumed into the 13-page paper, "A note on closed 3-braids", arXiv:0802.1072 [math.GT]. This paper is correct, but contains less information than the new one. The topological classification of…
Minimum braids are a complete invariant of knots and links. This paper defines minimum braids, describes how they can be generated, presents tables for knots up to ten crossings and oriented links up to nine crossings, and uses minimum…
We study periodic solutions of the planar Newtonian $N$-body problem with equal masses. Each periodic solution traces out a braid with $N$ strands in 3-dimensional space. When the braid is of pseudo-Anosov type, it has an associated stretch…
Random braids that are formed by multiplying randomly chosen permutation braids are studied by analyzing their behavior under Garside's weighted decomposition and cycling. Using this analysis, we propose a polynomial-time algorithm to the…
We study braid diagrams with a minimal number of crossings. Such braid diagrams correspond to geodesic words for the braid groups with standard Artin generators. We prove that a diagram of a homogeneous braid is minimal if and only if it is…
It is well-known that there is a faithful representation of braid groups on automorphism groups of free groups, and it is also well-known that free groups are bi-orderable. We investigate which n-strand braids give rise to automorphisms…
We study the relaxation of a topologically non-trivial vortex braid with zero net helicity in a barotropic fluid. The aim is to investigate the extent to which the topology of the vorticity field -- characterized by braided vorticity field…
To a closed braid in a solid torus we associate a trace graph in a thickened torus in such a way that closed braids are isotopic if and only if their trace graphs can be related by trihedral and tetraherdal moves. For closed braids with a…