Related papers: Braid structures in knot complements, handlebodies…

We classify an action of the $n$-strand braid group on the free group of rank $n$ which is similar to the Artin representation in the sense that the $i$-th generator $\sigma_{i}$ of $B_{n}$ acts so that it fixes all free generators $x_{j}$…

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…

This work presents an approach towards the representation theory of the braid groups $B_n$. We focus on finite-dimensional representations over the field of Laurent series which can be obtained from representations of infinitesimal braids,…

Each pointed topological space has an associated $\pi$-module, obtained from action of its first homotopy group on its second homotopy group. For the $3$-ball with a trivial link with $n$-components removed from its interior, its…

A pair of surgeries on a knot is called purely cosmetic if the pair of resulting 3-manifolds are homeomorphic as oriented manifolds. Using recent work of Hanselman, we show that (nontrivial) knots which arise as the closure of a 3-stranded…

For positive integers $n$, $p$ and $q$ with $pq-n>0$, let $UC(n,p\times q)$ denote the configuration space of $n$ unlabelled hard unit squares in the rectangle $[0,p]\times[0,q]$, and let $B_n(p\times q)$ denote the corresponding…

We characterize the groups of branched twist spins of classical knots in terms of 3-manifold groups, and also give a purely algebraic, conjectural characterization in terms of $PD_3$-groups. We show also that each group is the group of at…

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…

Given a closed, oriented, connected 3-manifold, M, we define higher-order linking forms on the higher-order Alexander modules of M. These higher-order linking forms generalize similar linking forms for knots previously studied by the…

In this paper we present a detailed study of \emph{bonded knots} and their related structures, integrating recent developments into a single framework. Bonded knots are classical knots endowed with embedded bonding arcs modeling physical or…

In this paper we are interested in BB knots, namely knots and links where the bridge index equals the braid index. Supported by observations from experiments, it is conjectured that BB knots possess a special geometric/physical property…

Let n be greater than or equal to 3. We study the quotient group B\_n/[P n,P\_n] of the Artin braid group B\_n by the commutator subgroup of its pure Artin braid group P\_n. We show that B\_n/[P n,P\_n] is a crystallographic group, and in…

The configuration space $\text{UC}(n,p\times q)$ of $n$ unlabelled non-overlapping unit squares in a $p\times q$ rectangle is known to recover the homotopy type of the classical configuration space of $n$ unlabelled points in the plane,…

We study the representations of the commutator subgroup K_{n} of the braid group B_{n} into a finite group . This is done through a symbolic dynamical system. Some experimental results enable us to compute the number of subgroups of K_{n}…

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 consider irreducible 3-manifolds M that arise as knot complements in closed 3-manifolds and that contain at most two connected strict essential surfaces. The results in the paper relate the boundary slopes of the two surfaces to their…

Braids can be represented geometrically as curve diagrams. The geometric complexity of a braid is the minimal complexity of a curve diagram representing it. We introduce and study the corresponding notion of geometric generating function.…

Several distinct Garside monoids having torus knot groups as groups of fractions are known. For $n,m\geq 2$ two coprime integers, we introduce a new Garside monoid $\mathcal{M}(n,m)$ having as Garside group the $(n,m)$-torus knot group,…

We associate to a braided 2-stack ${\cal C}$ a torsor, endowed with a symmetric cube structure (or $\Sigma$-structure), whose triviality is equivalent to the existence on ${\cal C}$ of a fully symmetric monoidal structure. In order to…

We explore algebraic characterizations of 2-knots whose associated knot manifolds fibre over lower-dimensional orbifolds, and consider also some issues related to the groups of higher-dimensional fibred knots.