arXiv research

The paper finds minimal generating sets and abelianizes the quasitoric braid group.

Minimal complexes for two-strand braids defined directly.

We show that every quasipositive link has a quasipositive minimal braid representative, partially resolving a question posed by Orevkov. These quasipositive minimal braids are used to show that the maximal self-linking number of a quasipositive link is bounded below by the negative of the minimal braid index, with equa…

Adding a braid closure to a fibered knot makes a link ribbon concordance minimal.

The paper finds braid representatives minimizing simple walks for knots.

The article calculates the minimal model dimensions for classifying spaces of surface braid groups.

New satellite knots found that can't be represented by positive braids with full twists.

We study the centralizer of a braid from the point of view of Garside theory, showing that generically a minimal set of generators can be computed very efficiently, as the ultra summit set of a generic braid has a very particular structure. We present an algorithm to compute the centralizer of a braid whose generic-cas…

Braids can be represented geometrically as laminations of punctured disks. The geometric complexity of a braid is the minimal complexity of a lamination that represents it, and tight laminations are representatives of minimal complexity. These laminations give rise to a normal form of braids, via a relaxation algorithm…

We define braid presentation of edge-oriented spatial graphs as a natural generalization of braid presentation of oriented links. We show that every spatial graph has a braid presentation. For an oriented link it is known that the braid index is equal to the minimal number of Seifert circles. We show that an analogy do…

We give examples of knots with some unusual properties of the crossing number of positive diagrams or strand number of positive braid representations. In particular we show that positive braid knots may not have positive minimal (strand number) braid representations, giving a counterpart to results of Franks-Williams a…

Virtual braids are a combinatorial generalization of braids. We present abstract braids as equivalence classes of braid diagrams on a surface, joining two distinguished boundary components. They are identified up to isotopy, compatibility, stability and Reidemeister moves. We show that virtual braids are in a bijective…

It is well-known that there is a faithful representation of braid groups on automorphism groups of free groups, and it is also well-known that free groups are bi-orderable. We investigate which n-strand braids give rise to automorphisms which preserve some bi-ordering of the free group rank n. As a consequence of our w…

Positive braids minimize knot untangling steps.

In this paper, we show that the minimal asymptotic translation length of the Torelli group $\mathcal{I}_g$ of the surface $S_g$ of genus $g$ on the curve graph asymptotically behaves like $1/g$, contrary to the mapping class group $Mod(S_g)$, which behaves like $1/g^2$. We also show that the minimal asymptotic translat…

Neural nets solve braid untangling up to length 20.

In the present paper, we construct a monomorphism from (Artin) pure braid group $PB_{n}$ into a group, which is `bigger' than $PB_{n}$. Roughly speaking, this mapping is defined on words of braids by adding `new generators' between generators of $PB_{n}$. By this mapping we can get a new invariant for classical braids.…

We solved a conjecture about braid group quotients being alternating groups.

Study of Lorenz links and T-links, showing equivalence and unique presentations.

We show that the difference between the Seifert genus and the topological 4-genus of a prime positive braid knot is bounded from below by an affine function of the minimal number of strands among positive braid representatives of the knot. We deduce that among prime positive braid knots, the property of having such a g…

Minimal generating sets of Reidemeister moves identified and classified.

No minimal charts with exactly seven white vertices found.

Let $D_n$ denote the $n$-punctured disk in the complex plane, where the punctures are on the real axis. An $n$-braid $α$ is said to be \emph{reducible} if there exists an essential curve system $\C$ in $D_n$, called a \emph{reduction system} of $α$, such that $α*\C=\C$ where $α*\C$ denotes the action of the braid $α$ o…

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. We compute explicitly the geometric generating function for the group of braids o…

New procedures connect braid charts, triplane diagrams, and braid movies for knotted surfaces.

Study shows surprising cobordism distances between certain torus knots.

Given a knot diagram $D$, we construct a semi-threading circle for it which can be an axis of $D$ as a closed braid depending on knot diagrams. In particular, we consider semi-threading circles for minimal diagrams of a knot with respect to overpasses which give us some information related to the braid index. By this n…

We use Ozsváth, Stipsicz, and Szabó's Upsilon-invariant to provide bounds on cobordisms between knots that `contain full-twists'. In particular, we recover and generalize a classical consequence of the Morton-Franks-Williams inequality for knots: positive braids that contain a positive full-twist realize the braid inde…

We suggest a new algorithm for finding a canonical representative of a given braid, and also for the harder problem of finding a $σ_1$-consistent representative. We conjecture that the algorithm is quadratic-time. We present numerical evidence for this conjecture, and prove two results: (1) The algorithm terminates in …

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 also bound the dilatation of pseudo-Anosov pure surface braids away from zero a…

We use some Lie group theory and Budney's unitarization of the Lawrence-Krammer representation, to prove that for generic parameters of definite form the image of the representation (also on certain types of subgroups) is dense in the unitary group. This implies that, except possibly for closures of full-twist braids, …

Study of generalized knots and links, proving inequality involving crossing number and braid index.

Choose any oriented link type X and closed braid representatives X[+], X[-] of X, where X[-] has minimal braid index among all closed braid representatives of X. The main result of this paper is a `Markov theorem without stabilization'. It asserts that there is a complexity function and a finite set of `templates' such…

Paper classifies Heegaard Floer minimal knots in sutured manifolds.

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) +…

Study on bounds of knot untangling for specific types of knots.

We consider a hyperbolic surface bundle over the circle with the smallest known volume among hyperbolic manifolds having 3 cusps, so called "the magic manifold". We compute the entropy function on the fiber face of the unit ball with respect to the Thurston norm, determine homology classes whose representatives are gen…

Study shows fibred knots can't be untied with specific moves.

We consider the (pure) braid groups B_{n}(M) and P_{n}(M), where M is the 2-sphere S^2 or the real projective plane RP^2. We determine the minimal cardinality of (normal) generating sets X of these groups, first when there is no restriction on X, and secondly when X consists of elements of finite order. This improves o…

A minimal knot is the intersection of a topologically embedded branched minimal disk in $\mathbb{R}^4$ $\mathbb{C}^2$ with a small sphere centered at the branch point. When the lowest order terms in each coordinate component of the embedding of the disk in $\mathbb{C}^2$ are enough to determine the knot type, we talk …

This paper studies minimal charts of a specific type to understand embedded surfaces in 4-space.

No minimal chart of type (4,3) exists in 4-space.

We show that representations of the loop braid group arise from Aharonov-Bohm like effects in finite 2-group (3+1)-dimensional topological higher gauge theory. For this we introduce a minimal categorification of biracks, which we call W-bikoids (welded bikoids). Our main example of W-bikoids arises from finite 2-groups…

It has been conjectured that the algebraic crossing number of a link is uniquely determined in minimal braid representation. This conjecture is true for many classes of knots and links. The Morton-Franks-Williams inequality gives a lower bound for braid index. And sharpness of the inequality on a knot type implies the …

The minimal standardizer of a curve system on a punctured disk is the minimal braid that transforms it into a system formed only by round curves. We give an algorithm to compute it in a geometrical way. Then, we generalize this problem algebraically to parabolic subgroups of Artin-Tits groups of spherical type and we s…

Any knot $K$ in genus-$1$ $1$-bridge position can be moved by isotopy to lie in a union of $n$ parallel tori tubed by $n-1$ tubes so that $K$ intersects each tube in two spanning arcs, which we call a leveling of the position. The minimal $n$ for which this is possible is an invariant of the position, called the level …

We study knots in $\mathbb{S}^3$ obtained by the intersection of a minimal surface in $\mathbb{R}^4$ with a small 3-sphere centered at a branch point. We construct examples of new minimal knots. In particular we show the existence of non-fibered minimal knots. We show that simple minimal knots are either reversible or …

We solve the Jones conjecture, which states that the exponent sum in a minimal braid representation of a knot in S^3 is a knot invariant, by proving a generalized version of the original one. We apply contact geometry to study this problem in knot theory.