In this paper we show that every finite spatial graph is a connected sum of a planar graph, which is a forest, i.e. disjoint union of finite number of trees and a tangle.
As a consequence we get that any finite spatial graph is a connected sum of a planar graph and a braid. Using these decompositions it is not difficult to find a set of generators and defining relations for the fundamental group of compliment of a spatial graph in 3-space $\mathbb{R}^3$.
A planar pure braid consists of $n$ descending smooth arcs, each connecting a point on one horizontal line $\ell_{1}$ to a point on a horizontal line $\ell_{2}$, which is required to be directly below the first point. Two arcs are allowed to cross, but no threefold intersections are allowed. The set $Γ_{n}$ of all planar pure braids on $n$ strands is a group with respect to a natural stacking operation. We show that $Γ_{n}$ is always a diagram group, in the sense of Guba and Sapir. A number of consequences follow, including biautomaticity and bi-orderability of the groups $Γ_{n}$. Moreover, ea…
We show that the second homology of the configuration spaces of a planar graph is generated under the operations of embedding, disjoint union, and edge stabilization by three atomic graphs: the cycle graph with one edge, the star graph with three edges, and the theta graph with four edges. We give an example of a non-planar graph for which this statement is false.
Periodic solutions of the planar $N$-body problem determine braids through the trajectory of $N$ bodies. Braid types can be used to classify periodic solutions. According to the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface automorphisms, braids fall into three types: periodic, reducible and pseudo-Anosov. To a braid of pseudo-Anosov type, there is an associated stretch factor greater than 1, and this is a conjugacy invariant of braids. In 2006, the third author discovered a family of multiple choreographic solutions of the planar $2n$-body problem. We prove that braids obtained from the solution…
Embeddings of the braid groups of covering spaces, classification of the finite subgroups of the braid groups of the real projective plane, and linearity of braid groups of low-genus surfaces
We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a graph to have a right-angled Artin group as its braid group for braid index $\ge 5$. In order to have the necessity part, graphs are organized into small classes so that one of homological or cohomological characteristics of right-angled Artin groups can be applied. Finally we show that a given graph is planar iff the first homology of its 2-braid group is torsion-free and leave the corresponding statement for $n$-braid groups as a conjecture along with few other conjectures about graphs whose braid groups of index $\le 4$ are right-angled Art…
In this article, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for embedding a finite index subgroup of Artin's braid group into the mapping class group of a connected orientable surface.
The deep connections between braids and dynamics by way of the Nielsen-Thurston classification theorem have led to a wide range of practical applications. Braids have been used to detect coherent structures and mixing regions in oceanic flows, drive the design of industrial mixing machines, contextualize the evolution of taffy pullers, and characterize the chaotic motion of topological defects in active nematics. Mixing plays a central role in each of these examples, and the braids naturally associated with each system come equipped with a useful measure of mixing efficiency, the topological e…
In this paper, we introduce a bisected vertex leveling of a plane graph. Using this planar embedding, we present elementary proofs of the well-known upper bounds in terms of the minimal crossing number on braid index $b(L)$ and arc index $α(L)$ for any knot or non-split link $L$, which are $b(L) \leq \frac{1}{2} c(L) + 1$ and $α(L) \leq c(L) + 2$. We also find a quadratic upper bound of the minimal crossing number of delta diagrams of $L$.
The graph braid group of a complete bipartite graph is the fundamental group of a configuration space of points on the graph, which is a CAT(0) cube complex. We combine an analysis of the topology of links of vertices in this complex, the description of a hidden symmetry among the parameters, and known results from the literature to explicitly compute the exact degree to which these complexes and groups are connected at infinity.
We give a finite presentation for the braid twist group of a decorated surface. If the decorated surface arises from a triangulated marked surface without punctures, we obtain a finite presentation for the spherical twist group of the associated 3-Calabi-Yau triangulated category. The motivation/application is that the result will be used to show that the (principal component of) space of stability conditions on the 3-Calabi-Yau category is simply connected in the sequel.
We associate an open book with any connected plane checkerboard graph, thus providing a common extension of the classes of prime positive braid links and positive tree-like Hopf plumbings. As an application, we prove that the link type of a prime positive braid closure is determined by the linking graph associated with that braid.
