Related papers: Intermediate subgroups of braid groups are not bi-…
We study several natural decision problems in braid groups and Artin groups. We classify the Artin groups with decidable submonoid membership problem in terms of the non-existence of certain forbidden induced subgraphs of the defining…
We prove that the symmetric group $S_n$ is the smallest non-cyclic quotient of the braid group $B_n$ for $n=5,6$ and that the alternating group $A_n$ is the smallest non-trivial quotient of the commutator subgroup $B_n'$ for $n = 5,6,7,8$.…
We show that each of the Artin groups of type $B_n$ and $D_n$ can be presented as a semidirect product $F \rtimes {\cal B}_n$, where $F$ is a free group and ${\cal B}_n$ is the $n$-string braid group. We explain how these semidirect product…
We define pseudo-Garside groups and prove a theorem about them parallel to Garside's result on the word problem for the usual braid groups. The main novelty is that the set of simple elements can be infinite. We introduce a group B=B(Z^n)…
Combining the results by Birman and Goldberg, it was proved the normal closure of the pure braid group of the disk $P_n(D)$ in the pure braid group of the torus $P_n(T)$ is the commutator subgroup $[P_n(T),P_n(T)]$. In this paper we are…
For every compact surface $S$ of finite type (possibly with boundary components but without punctures), we show that when $n$ is sufficiently large there is no lift $\sigma$ of the surface braid group $B_n(S)$ to $\operatorname{Diff}(S,n)$,…
This article was submitted to a volume under preparation, with Benson Farb as the editor, on the topic of open problems in surface mapping class groups. The braid group B_n is the mapping class group of an n-times punctured disk. The…
Let $K$ be a nontrivial knot. For each $n\in \mathbb{N}$, we prove that the rank of its $n$th iterated Whitehead doubled knot group $\pi_1(S^3 \setminus \operatorname{WD}^n(K))$ is bounded below by $n+1$. As an application, we show that…
A bi-order on a group $G$ is a total, bi-multiplication invariant order. A subset $S$ in an ordered group $(G,\leqslant)$ is convex if for all $f\leqslant g$ in $S$, every element $h\in G$ satisfying $f\leqslant h \leqslant g$ belongs to…
We develop a new approach to the linear ordering of the braid group $B\_n$, based on investigating its restriction to the set $\Div(\Delta\_n^d)$ of all divisors of $\Delta\_n^d$ in the monoid $B\_\infty^+$, i.e., to positive $n$-braids…
We prove that, for $n\geq 3$, the minimal dimension of a model of the classifying space of the full braid group $B_n$, and of the pure braid group $P_n$, with respect to the family of virtually cyclic groups is $n$.
We prove that any fusion category over $\mathbb{C}$ with exactly one non-invertible simple object is spherical. Furthermore, we classify all such categories that come equipped with a braiding.
In this paper, we make use of the relations between the braid and mapping class groups of a compact, connected, non-orientable surface N without boundary and those of its orientable double covering S to study embeddings of these groups and…
The space of unordered configurations of distinct points in the plane is aspherical, with Artin's braid group as its fundamental group. Remarkably enough, the space of ordered configurations of distinct points on the real projective line,…
Let M be a surface, perhaps with boundary, and either compact, or with a finite number of points removed from the interior of the surface. We consider the inclusion i: F\_n(M) --\textgreater{} M^n of the nth configuration space F\_n(M) of M…
In this paper we define a new family of groups which generalize the {\it classical braid groups on} $\C $. We denote this family by $\{B_n^m\}_{n \ge m+1}$ where $n,m \in \N$. The family $\{ B_n^1 \}_{n \in \N}$ is the set of classical…
We give a complete classification of homomorphisms from the braid group on $n$ strands to the braid group on $2n$ strands when $n$ is at least 5. We also classify endomorphisms of the braid group on 4 strands, as well as homomorphisms from…
In this paper, we investigate the structure of the automorphism groups of pure braid groups. We prove that, for $n>3$, $\Aut(P_n)$ is generated by the subgroup $\Aut_c(P_n)$ of central automorphisms of $P_n$, the subgroup $\Aut(B_n)$ of…
This paper initiates the study of circular orderability of $3$-manifold groups, motivated by the L-space conjecture. We show that a compact, connected, $\mathbb{P}^2$-irreducible $3$-manifold has a circularly orderable fundamental group if…
In this paper, we classify homomorphisms from the braid group of $n$ strands to the mapping class group of a genus $g$ surface. In particular, we show that when $g<n-2$, all representations are either cyclic or standard. Our result is sharp…