Related papers: Lower central series for surface braid groups
We give a sharp lower bound on the size of nonabelian quotients of the surface braid group $B_n(\Sigma_g)$ and classify all quotients that attain the lower bound: Depending on $n$ and $g$, a quotient of minimum order is either a symmetric…
We classify the irreducible projective representations of symmetric and alternating groups of minimal possible and second minimal possible dimensions, and get a lower bound for the third minimal dimension. On the way we obtain some new…
It is known that the pure braid groups are residually torsion-free nilpotent. This property is however widely open for the most obvious generalizations of these groups, like pure Artin groups and like fundamental groups of hyperplane…
This paper will appear in the Santa Cruz proceedings. An overview of the braid group techniques in the theory of algebraic surfaces, from Zariski to the latest results, is presented. An outline of the Van Kampen algorithm for computing…
The object of study in this paper is the finite groups whose integral group rings have only trivial central units. Prime-power groups and metacyclic groups with this property are characterized. Metacyclic groups are classified according to…
We characterize the double centralizer of all parabolic subgroups of the braid groups. We apply this result to provide a new and potentially more efficient solution to the subgroup conjugacy problem for parabolic subgroups. In the course of…
We classify homomorphisms from the braid group on $n$ strands to the pure mapping class group of a nonoriantable surface of genus $g$. For $n\ge 14$ and $g\le 2\lfloor{n/2}\rfloor+1$ every such homomorphism is either cyclic, or it maps…
In this paper we study the reduction curves of a braid, and how they can be used to decompose the braid into simpler ones in a precise way, which does not correspond exactly to the decomposition given by Thurston theory. Then we study how a…
We study singularities and Artin's contraction theorem for orbifold surfaces. Our main result has a consequence which is in the direction of the birational Minimal Model Program for b-terminal orbifold surfaces. For example, we ascertain…
Let M be a compact, connected surface, possibly with a finite set of points removed from its interior. Let d,n be positive integers, and let N be a d-fold covering space of M. We show that the covering map induces an embedding of the n-th…
Every smooth minimal complex algebraic surface of general type, $X$, may be mapped into a moduli space, $\MM_{c_1^2(X), c_2(X)}$, of minimal surfaces of general type, all of which have the same Chern numbers. Using the braid group and braid…
We give an upper bound for the degree of rational curves in a family that covers a given birational ruled surface in projective space. The upper bound is stated in terms of the degree, sectional genus and arithmetic genus of the surface. We…
Derived braids have been used to classify categorical structures based on the braid underlying a braided monoidal category V. With four-strand braids underlying the composition morphisms of tensor products of categories enriched over V,…
The mixed braid groups are the subgroups of Artin braid groups whose elements preserve a given partition of the base points. We prove that the centralizer of any braid can be expressed in terms of semidirect and direct products of mixed…
We study the minimal dilatation of pseudo-Anosov pure surface braids and provide upper and lower bounds as a function of genus and the number of punctures. For a fixed number of punctures, these bounds tend to infinity as the genus does. We…
A skew brace is a ring-like and group-like algebraic structure that was introduced in the study of set-theoretic solutions to the Yang-Baxter equation. In this survey paper, we shall consider the left series, right series, socle series, and…
A one-relator group with lower central series of length \omega^2 is constructed. This answers a problem of G. Baumslag.
Laundry surfaces for closed braid diagrams are presented. It is shown that braid diagrams are characterized by linking matrices obtained by lifting cycles from these surfaces. Oriented link types are then characterized by equivalence…
This article deals with the study of cactus groups from a combinatorial point of view. These groups have been gaining prominence lately in various domains of mathematics, amongst which are their relations with well-known groups such as…
We determine all finite subgroups of simple algebraic groups that have irreducible centralizers - that is, centralizers whose connected component does not lie in a parabolic subgroup.