Related papers: Simple Braids Tend toward Positive Entropy
In previous papers, the author realized the following principle for many knot theories: if a knot diagram is complicated enough then it reproduces itself, i.e., is a subdiagram of any other diagram equivalent to it. This principle is…
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…
We define invariants of braids rather than invariants of conjugacy classes of braids. For any pure three-braid we give effective upper and lower bounds for these invariants. This is done in terms of a natural syllable decomposition of the…
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…
A divide on an orientable 2-orbifold gives rise to a fibration of the unit tangent bundle to the orbifold.We characterize the corresponding monodromies as exactly the products of a left-veering horizontal and a right-veering vertical…
In this paper we investigate the decidability and complexity of problems related to braid composition. While all known problems for a class of braids with three strands, $B_3$, have polynomial time solutions we prove that a very natural…
Every knot has a plat projection, obtained by closing up a braid with bridges. The plat projection is determined by the number of strands and the number of rows of twist regions in the braid, and an integer number of crossings in each twist…
In this note, we prove a lower bound for the positive kinkiness of a closed braid which we then use to derive an estimate for the positive kinkiness of a link in terms of its Seifert system. As an application, we show that certain pretzel…
We report on the geometry and mechanics of knotted stiff strings. We discuss both closed and open knots. Our two main results are: (i) Their equilibrium energy as well as the equilibrium tension for open knots depend on the type of knot as…
We give an algorithm which decides the Nielsen-Thurston type of a given four-strand braid. The complexity of our algorithm is quadratic with respect to word length. The proof of its validity is based on a result which states that for a…
We give an explicit geometric argument that Artin's braid group $B_n$ is right-orderable. The construction is elementary, natural, and leads to a new, effectively computable, canonical form for braids which we call left-consistent canonical…
We explore properties of braids such as their fractional Dehn twist coefficients, right-veeringness, and quasipositivity, in relation to the transverse invariant from Khovanov homology defined by Plamenevskaya for their closures, which are…
The unknotting number of a positive braid with n strands and k intersections is known to be equal to (k-n+1)/2. We consider Lorenz knots (which are positive braids) and, using a different method, find their unknotting numbers in terms of…
Transitivity, the existence of periodic points and positive topological entropy can be used to characterize complexity in dynamical systems. It is known that for graphs that are not trees, for every $\varepsilon>0,$ there exist (complicate)…
We determine the minimum dilatation $\delta_n$ among pseudo-Anosov braids with $n$ strands, for large enough values of $n$. These are the dilatations attained by the examples of Hironaka-Kin and Venzke, and they satisfy $\lim_{n \to \infty}…
Twin groups are planar analogues of Artin braid groups and play a crucial role in the Alexander-Markov correspondence for the isotopy classes of immersed circles on the 2-sphere without triple and higher intersections. These groups admit…
A minimal knot is the intersection of a topologically embedded branched minimal disk in $\mathbb{R}^4$ $\mathbb{C}^2 $ with a small sphere centered at the branch point. When the lowest order terms in each coordinate component of the…
Let $D_n$ denote the $n$-punctured disk in the complex plane, where the punctures are on the real axis. An $n$-braid $\alpha$ is said to be \emph{reducible} if there exists an essential curve system $\C$ in $D_n$, called a \emph{reduction…
We show that a certain linear representation of the singular braid monoid on three strands is faithful. Furthermore we will give a second - group theoretically motivated - solution to the word problem in this monoid.
The strip entropy is studied in this article. We prove that the strip entropy approximation is valid for every ray of a golden-mean tree. This result extends the previous result of [Petersen-Salama, Discrete \& Continuous Dynamical Systems,…