arXiv research

A nontrivial element in a group is a generalized torsion element if some nonempty finite product of its conjugates is the identity. We prove that any generalized torsion element in a free product of torsion-free groups is conjugate to a generalized torsion element in some factor group. This implies that the fundamental…

New torsion patterns found in Khovanov homology of link diagrams.

New examples of hyperbolic links with generalized torsion elements found.

New generalized torsion found in 3-manifolds.

The study finds generalized torsion elements in 3-manifolds from specific knot surgeries.

The paper classifies 3-manifold groups with specific torsion elements.

The paper classifies reversible elements in Seifert-fibered spaces and braid groups.

The study finds infinitely many hyperbolic 3-manifolds with large rank and generalized torsion elements.

It is well known that any knot group is torsion-free, but it may admit a generalized torsion element. We show that the knot group of any negative twist knot admits a generalized torsion element. This is a generalization of the same claim for the knot $5_2$, which is the $(-2)$-twist knot, by Naylor and Rolfsen.

New findings on generating mapping class groups with specific torsion elements.

Let $S_g$ be the closed oriented surface of genus g and let $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ be the mapping class group. When the genus is at least 3, $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ can be generated by torsion elements. We prove the follow results. For $g \geq 4$, $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ can be generated by 4 torsion elements. Three generators are invo…

This paper detects torsion elements in homology cylinder monoids.

Given a finite set of $r$ points in a closed surface of genus $g$, we consider the torsion elements in the mapping class group of the surface leaving the finite set invariant. We show that the torsion elements generate the mapping class group if and only if $(g, r) \neq (2, 5k+4)$ for some integer $k$.

Proves mapping class group generated by two torsion elements for certain surfaces.

Study on minimal torsion topological generators for mapping class groups of infinite-type surfaces.

We show that the mapping class group of a closed oriented surface of genus at least three is generated by 3 elements of order 3 and by 4 elements of order 4. Note that the mapping class group cannot be generated by finitely many torsion elements of same order if genus is equal to one or two.

New infinite class of hyperbolic knots with high genus and generalized torsion found.

It is known that a bi-orderable group has no generalized torsion element, but the converse does not hold in general. We conjecture that the converse holds for the fundamental groups of 3-manifolds, and verify the conjecture for non-hyperbolic, geometric 3-manifolds. We also confirm the conjecture for some infinite fami…

Study primes dividing torsion in homology of commuting elements in Lie groups.

Proves mapping class group of nonorientable surfaces can be generated by three torsions.

We construct a canonical element, called the refined analytic torsion, of the determinant line of the cohomology of a closed oriented odd-dimensional manifold M with coefficients in a flat complex vector bundle E. We compute the Ray-Singer norm of the refined analytic torsion. In particular, if there exists a flat Herm…

Torsion elements on surfaces extend over 4-sphere in various ways.

Let $S_g$ be the closed oriented surface of genus g and let $\text{Mod}^{\pm}(S_g)$ be the extended mapping class group of $S_g$. When the genus is at least 5, we prove that $\text{Mod}^{\pm}(S_g)$ can be generated by two torsion elements. One of these generators is an order 2 element, and the other one is an order 4g+…

We prove that a Kleinian group $G$ acting upon $\mathbb{H}^{n}$ admits a non-constant $G$-automorphic function, even if it has torsion elements, provided that the orders of the elliptic (torsion) elements are uniformly bounded. This is accomplished by developing a technique for mashing distinct fat triangulations while…

Let Mod_{g,b} denote the mapping class group of a surface of genus g with b punctures. Feng Luo asked in a recent preprint if there is a universal upper bound, independent of genus, for the number of torsion elements needed to generate Mod_{g,b}. We answer Luo's question by proving that 3 torsion elements suffice to ge…

Study shows conjugacy of torsion in genus 2 surfaces.

Method constructs fundamental domains for Picard modular groups.

Bi-orderable groups from left-orderable ones, showing non-profinite properties.

New bounds on specific torsion lengths for periodic mapping classes.

Finite order elements with infinite centralizers in 3-manifold groups imply specific structure.

We refine the Whitehead torsion of a chain equivalence of finite chain complexes in an additive category $\bA$ from an element of $\widetilde{K}^{iso}_1(\bA)$ to an element of the absolute group $K_1^{iso}(\bA)$. We apply this invariant to symmetric Poincaré complexes and identify it in terms of more traditional invari…

We give elementary applications of quasi-homomorphisms to growth problems in groups. A particular case concerns the number of torsion elements required to factorise a given element in the mapping class group of a surface.

The paper calculates the full asymptotics of analytic torsions for compact orbifolds.

Study on stable torsion length in groups, showing it vanishes in crystallographic groups and providing algorithms for computation.

We show that the absolute value at zero of the Ruelle zeta function defined by the geodesic flow coincides with the higher-dimensional Reidemeister torsion for the unit tangent bundle over a 2-dimensional hyperbolic orbifold and a non-unitary representation of the fundamental group. Our proof is based on the integral e…

Researchers identify knot groups with generalized torsion of order two.

Paper finds generalized torsions in non-bi-orderable 3-manifold groups.

We show that mapping class groups of surfaces of genus at least two contain elements of infinite order that are not conjugate to their inverses, but whose powers have bounded torsion lengths. In particular every homogeneous quasi-homomorphism vanishes on such an element, showing that elements of infinite order not conj…

Obstructs 2-torsion in rational knot concordance group.

Automated theorem prover proves non-orderability of groups.

We define analytic torsion of Z_2-graded elliptic complexes as an element in the graded determinant line of the cohomology of the complex, generalizing most of the variants of Ray-Singer analytic torsion in the literature. It applies to a myriad of new examples, including flat superconnection complexes, twisted analyti…

We prove that for genus $g=3,4$, the extended mapping class group $\text{Mod}^{\pm}(S_g)$ can be generated by two elements of finite orders. But for $g=1$, $\text{Mod}^{\pm}(S_1)$ cannot be generated by two elements of finite orders.

In this note we prove that there is no constant $C$, depending on the genus of the surface, such that every element in the mapping class group can be written as a product of at most $C$ torsion elements, answering a question of T. E. Brendle and B. Farb in the negative.

Geometric torsions are torsions of acyclic complexes of vector spaces which consist of differentials of geometric quantities assigned to the elements of a manifold triangulation. We use geometric torsions to construct invariants for a manifold with a triangulated boundary. These invariants can be naturally united in a …

In this paper, we describe the space of adapted connections on a metric contact manifold through the space of their torsion tensors. The torsion tensor is an element of the space of TM-valued two-forms, which splits into various subspaces. We study the parts of the torsion tensor according to this splitting to complete…

A positive integer $m$ will be called a {\it finitistic order} for an element $γ$ of a group $Γ$ if there exist a finite group $G$ and a homomorphism $h:Γ\to G$ such that $h(γ)$ has order $m$ in $G$. It is shown that up to conjugacy, all but finitely many elements of a given finitely generated, torsion-free Kleinian gr…

Let M be an arithmetic hyperbolic 3-manifold, such as a Bianchi manifold. We conjecture that there is a basis for the second homology of M, where each basis element is represented by a surface of `low' genus, and give evidence for this. We explain the relationship between this conjecture and the study of torsion homolo…

We prove that both the hyperelliptic mapping class group and the extended hyperelliptic mapping class group are generated by two torsion elements. We also compute the index of the subgroup of the hyperelliptic mapping class group which is generated by involutions and we prove that the extended hyperelliptic mapping cla…