Stabilization in the braid groups I: MTWS

dc.creatorBirman, Joan S
dc.creatorMenasco, William W
dc.date2003-10-18
dc.date2009-02-26
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T12:48:15Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T12:48:15Z
dc.descriptionChoose 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 that (possibly after initial complexity-reducing modifications in the choice of X[+] and X[-]which replace them with closed braids X[+]', X[-]') there is a sequence of closed braid representatives X[+]' = X^1->X^2->...->X^r = X[-]' such that each passage X^i->X^i+1 is strictly complexity reducing and non-increasing on braid index. The templates which define the passages X^i->X^i+1 include 3 familiar ones, the destabilization, exchange move and flype templates, and in addition, for each braid index m>= 4 a finite set T(m) of new ones. The number of templates in T(m) is a non-decreasing function of m. We give examples of members of T(m), m>= 4, but not a complete listing. There are applications to contact geometry, which will be given in a separate paper.
dc.descriptionThis is the version published by Geometry & Topology on 27 April 2006; part II (arXiv:math/0310280) is also published in GT volume 10
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/math/0310279
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/math/0310279
dc.identifierGeom. Topol. 10 (2006) 413-540
dc.identifierdoi:10.2140/gt.2006.10.413
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/221990
dc.subjectGeometric Topology
dc.subjectGroup Theory
dc.subject57M25, 57M50
dc.titleStabilization in the braid groups I: MTWS
dc.typetext

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