We define a quasihomomorphism from braid groups to the concordance group of knots and examine its properties and consequences of its existence. In particular, we provide a relation between the stable four ball genus in the concordance group and the stable commutator length in braid groups, and produce examples of infinite families of concordance classes of knots with uniformly bounded four ball genus. We also provide applications to the geometry of the infinite braid group. In particular, we show that its commutator subgroup admits a stably unbounded conjugation invariant norm. This answers an open problem posed by Burago, Ivanov and Polterovich.
We prove that the smallest non-trivial quotients of the commutator subgroups of the braid groups are the alternating groups, proving a conjecture of Chudnovsky-Kordek-Li-Partin. Furthermore, we show that any minimal quotient map is the standard projection, composed with an automorphism of the alternating group.
We give a complete classification of homomorphisms from the commutator subgroup of the braid group on $n$ strands to the braid group on $n$ strands when $n$ is at least 7. In particular, we show that each nontrivial homomorphism extends to an automorphism of the braid group on $n$ strands. This answers four questions of Vladimir Lin. Our main new tool is the theory of totally symmetric sets.
In this paper, we give a proof of the result of Brandenbursky and Kȩdra which says that the commutator subgroup of the infinite braid group admits stably unbounded norms. Moreover, we observe the norms which we constructed are equivalent to the biinvariant word norm studied by Brandenbursky and Kȩdra.
Let $WB_n$ be the welded (or loop) braid group on n strands, $n \geq 3$. We investigate commutator subgroup of $WB_n$. We prove that the commutator subgroup $WB_n'$ is finitely generated and Hopfian. We show that $WB_n'$ is perfect if and only if $n \geq 5$. We also compute finite presentation for $FWB_n'$, the commutator subgroup of the flat welded braid group $FWB_n$. Along the way, we investigate adorability of these groups.
For $n$ at least 7 and $n$ equal to 5, we give generating sets of size 2 for the commutator subgroup of the braid group on $n$ strands. These generating sets are of the smallest possible cardinality. For $n$ equal to 4 or 6, we give generating sets of size three. We also prove that the commutator subgroup of the braid group on 4 strands cannot be generated by fewer than three elements.
We study 3-braid knots of finite smooth concordance order. A corollary of our main result is that a chiral 3-braid knot of finite concordance order is ribbon.
The singular braids with $n$ strands, $n \geq 3$, were introduced independently by Baez and Birman. It is known that the monoid formed by the singular braids is embedded in a group that is known as singular braid group, denoted by $SG_n$. There has been another generalization of braid groups, denoted by $GVB_n$, $n \geq 3$, which was introduced by Fang as a group of symmetries behind quantum quasi-shuffle structures. The group $GVB_n$ simultaneously generalizes the classical braid group, as well as the virtual braid group on $n$ strands. We investigate the commutator subgroups $SG_n'$ and $GVB…
Let $VB_n$, resp. $WB_n$ denote the virtual, resp. welded, braid group on $n$ strands. We study their commutator subgroups $VB_n' = [VB_n, VB_n]$ and, $WB_n' = [WB_n, WB_n]$ respectively. We obtain a set of generators and defining relations for these commutator subgroups. In particular, we prove that $VB_n'$ is finitely generated if and only if $n \geq 4$, and $WB_n'$ is finitely generated for $n \geq 3$. Also we prove that $VB_3'/VB_3'' =\mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus\mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}^{\infty}$, $VB_4' / VB_4'' = \mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}_3$, $WB…
In this paper, we investigate some applications of commutator subgroups to homotopy groups and geometric groups. In particular, we show that the intersection subgroups of some canonical subgroups in certain link groups modulo their symmetric commutator subgroups are isomorphic to the (higher) homotopy groups. This gives a connection between links and homotopy groups. Similar results hold for braid and surface groups.
Let $β:=σ_1σ_2^{-1}$ be a braid in $B_3$, where $B_3$ is the braid group on 3 strings and $σ_1, σ_2$ are the standard Artin generators. We use Gauss diagram formulas to show that for each natural number $n$ not divisible by $3$ the knot which is represented by the closure of the braid $β^n$ is algebraically slice if and only if $n$ is odd. As a consequence, we deduce some properties of Lucas numbers.
Delta finite-type invariants are defined analogously to finite-type invariants, using delta moves instead of crossing changes. We show that they are closely related to the lower central series of the commutator subgroup of the pure braid group.
We give formulae for the first homology of the $n$-braid group and the pure 2-braid group over a finite graph in terms of graph theoretic invariants. As immediate consequences, a graph is planar if and only if the first homology of the $n$-braid group over the graph is torsion-free and the conjectures about the first homology of the pure 2-braid groups over graphs in \cite{FH} can be verified. We discover more characteristics of graph braid groups: the $n$-braid group over a planar graph and the pure 2-braid group over any graph have a presentation whose relators are words of commutators, and …
Given a knot in $S^3$, one can associate to it a surface diffeomorphism in two different ways. First, an arbitrary knot in $S^{3}$ can be represented by braids, which can be thought of as diffeomorphisms of punctured disks. Second, if the knot is fibered -- that is, if its complement fibers over $S^1$ -- one can consider the monodromy of the fibration. One can ask to what extent properties of these surface diffeomorphisms dictate topological properties of the corresponding knot. In this article we collect observations, conjectures, and questions addressing this, from both the braid perspective…
We show that any knot which is smoothly the closure of a 3-braid cannot be Lagrangian concordant to and from the maximum Thurston-Bennequin Legendrian unknot except the unknot itself. Our obstruction comes from drawing the Weinstein handlebody diagrams of particular symplectic fillings of cyclic branched double covers of knots in $S^3$. We use the Legendrian contact homology differential graded algebra of the links in these diagrams to compute the symplectic homology of these fillings to derive a contradiction. As a corollary, we find an infinite family of contact manifolds which are rational …
We derive a lower bound on the size of finite non-cyclic quotients of the braid group that is superexponential in the number of strands. We also derive a similar lower bound for nontrivial finite quotients of the commutator subgroup of the braid group.
We first show that the braid group over a graph topologically containing no $Θ$-shape subgraph has a presentation related only by commutators. Then using discrete Morse theory and triple Massey products, we prove that a graph topologically contains none of four prescribed graphs if and only if its 4-braid groups is a right-angled Artin group.
We present and discuss some open problems formulated by participants of the International Workshop "Knots, Braids, and Auto\-mor\-phism Groups" held in Novosibirsk, 2014. Problems are related to palindromic and commutator widths of groups; properties of Brunnian braids and two-colored braids, corresponding to an amalgamation of groups; extreme properties of hyperbolic 3-orbifold groups, relations between inner and quasi-inner automorphisms of groups; and Staic's construction of symmetric cohomology of groups.
We determine the lower central and derived series of the n-string braid groups B_n(RP^2) of the real projective plane. We are motivated in part by the study of Fadell-Neuwirth short exact sequences, but the problem is interesting in its own right. For n=1,2, B_n(RP^2) is finite and its lower central and derived series are known. If n>2 (resp. n>4), we show that the lower central (resp. derived) series of B_n(RP^2) is constant from the commutator subgroup onwards, and we exhibit a presentation of the commutator subgroup. In the exceptional cases n=3,4, we determine explicitly the complete deriv…
Let n be greater than or equal to 3. We prove that the quaternion group of order 8 is realised as a subgroup of the sphere braid group B\_n(S^2) if and only if n is even. If n is divisible by 4 then the commutator subgroup of B\_n(S^2) contains such a subgroup. Further, for all n greater than or equal to 3, B\_n(S^2) contains a subgroup isomorphic to the dicyclic group of order 4n.
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 knots cannot be unknotted using only positive crossing changes. We also describe a subgroup of infinite rank in the smooth knot concordance group of which no element has a strongly quasipositive representative.
According to the Tits conjecture proved by Crisp and Paris, [CP], the subgroups of the braid group generated by proper powers of the Artin elements are presented by the commutators of generators which are powers of commuting elements. Hence they are naturally presented as right-angled Artin groups. The case of subgroups generated by powers of the band generators is more involved. We show that the groups are right-angled Artin groups again, if all generators are proper powers with exponent at least 3. We also give a presentation in cases at the other extreme, when all generators occur with expo…
We show that many normal subgroups of the braid group modulo its centre, and of the mapping class group of a sphere with marked points, have the property that their automorphism and abstract commensurator groups are mapping class groups of such spheres. As one application, we establish the automorphism groups of each term in the lower central series and derived series of the pure braid group. We also obtain new proofs of results of Dyer-Grossman and Orevkov, showing that the automorphism groups of the braid group and of its commutator subgroup are isomorphic. We then calculate the automorphism…
Our aim is to determine the lower central series (LCS) and derived series (DS) for the braid groups of the sphere and of the finitely-punctured sphere. We show that for all n (resp. all n\geq 5), the LCS (resp. DS) of the n-string braid group B\_n(S^2) is constant from the commutator subgroup onwards, and that Γ\_2(B\_4(S^2)) is a semi-direct product of the quaternion group by a free group of rank 2. For n=4, we determine the DS of B\_4(S^2), as well as its quotients. For n \geq 1, the class of m-string braid groups B\_m(S^2) \ {x\_1,...,x\_n} of the n-punctured sphere includes the Artin braid…
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 also give an improved lower bound on the order of any non-cyclic quotient of $B_n$.
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 going to study the case for full braid groups: i.e. the normal closure of $B_n(D)$ in $B_n(T)$, which turns out to have an interesting geometric description.
We design an algorithm writing down presentations of graph braid groups. Generators are represented in terms of actual motions of robots moving without collisions on a given graph. A key ingredient is a new motion planning algorithm whose complexity is linear in the number of edges and quadratic in the number of robots. The computing algorithm implies that 2-point braid groups of all light planar graphs have presentations where all relators are commutators.
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 case n=3, we analyse explicitly some of its subgroups. We also prove that B\_n/[P n,P\_n] possesses torsion, and we show that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the conjugacy classes of the finite-order elements of B\_n/[P n,P\_n] with the conjugacy classes of the elements of odd order of the symmetric group S\_n, and that the isomorphism class …
We define an annular concordance invariant and study its properties. When specialized to braids, this invariant gives bounds on band rank. We introduce a modified chain complex to reformulate the invariant. Then, by focusing on a special case, we give a refinement of the transverse invariant $\hatθ$. We also study the relationship of this invariant with transverse and braid monodromy properties.
We use simple properties of the Rasmussen invariant of knots to study its asymptotic behaviour on the orbits of a smooth volume preserving vector field on a compact domain in the 3-space. A comparison with the asymptotic signature allows us to prove that asymptotic knots are non-alternating, in general. Further we show that the Rasmussen invariant defines a quasi-morphism on the braid groups and derive estimates for the stable commutator and torsion lengths of alternating braids.
We continue our study of the knot Floer homology invariants of cable knots. For large |n|, we prove that many of the filtered subcomplexes in the knot Floer homology filtration associated to the (p,pn+1) cable of a knot, K, are isomorphic to those of K. This result allows us to obtain information about the behavior of the Ozsvath-Szabo concordance invariant under cabling, which has geometric consequences for the cabling operation. Applications considered include quasipositivity in the braid group, the knot theory of complex curves, smooth concordance, and lens space (or, more generally, L-spac…
Let $M$ be a compact surface without boundary, and $n\geq 2$. We analyse the quotient group $B_n(M)/Γ_2(P_n(M))$ of the surface braid group $B_{n}(M)$ by the commutator subgroup $Γ_2(P_n(M))$ of the pure braid group $P_{n}(M)$. If $M$ is different from the $2$-sphere $\mathbb{S}^2$, we prove that $B_n(M)/Γ_2(P_n(M))$ is isomorphic rho $P_n(M)/Γ_2(P_n(M)) \rtimes_φ S_n$, and that $B_n(M)/Γ_2(P_n(M))$ is a crystallographic group if and only if $M$ is orientable. If $M$ is orientable, we prove a number of results regarding the structure of $B_n(M)/Γ_2(P_n(M))$. We characterise the finite-order el…
We study a novel type of braid groups on a closed orientable surface $Σ$. These are fundamental groups of certain manifolds that are hybrids between symmetric products and configuration spaces of points on $Σ$; a class of examples arises naturally in gauge theory, as moduli spaces of vortices in toric fibre bundles over $Σ$. The elements of these braid groups, which we call divisor braids, have coloured strands that are allowed to intersect according to rules specified by a graph $Γ$. In situations where there is more than one strand of each colour, we show that the corresponding braid group a…
Residual torsion-free nilpotence has proven to be an important property for knot groups with applications to bi-orderability and ribbon concordance. Mayland proposed a strategy to show that a two-bridge knot group has a commutator subgroup which is a union of an ascending chain of parafree groups. This paper proves Mayland's assertion and expands the result to the subgroups of two-bridge link groups that correspond to the kernels of maps to $\mathbb{Z}$. We call these kernels the Alexander subgroups of the links. As a result, we show the bi-orderability of a large family of two-bridge link gro…
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 into the n-fold Cartesian product of M, as well as the induced homomorphism i\_\#: P\_n(M) --\textgreater{} (π\_1(M))^n, where P\_n(M) is the n-string pure braid group of M. Both i and i\_\# were studied initially by J.Birman who conjectured that Ker(i\_\#) is equal to the normal closure of the Artin pure braid group P\_n in P\_n(M). The conjecture was late…
The Gassner representation of the pure braid group to $GL_n(Z[Z^n])$ can be extended to give a representation of the concordance group of $n$-strand string links to $GL_n(F)$, where $F$ is the field of quotients of $\zz[\zz^n]$, $ F = Q(t_1,...,t_n)$; this was first observed by Le Dimet. Here we present simple new perspectives on its definition, its computation, and its applications to obtain both general results and interesting family of examples.
