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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lee, Donsung
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.16607
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author Lee, Donsung
author_facet Lee, Donsung
contents In 1974, Birman posed the question of under what conditions a matrix with Laurent polynomial entries is in the image of the Burau representation. In 1984, Squier observed that the matrices in the image are contained in a unitary group. In 2021, Salter formulated a specific question: whether the central quotient of the Burau image group is the central quotient of a certain subgroup of the unitary group. We solve this question negatively in the simplest nontrivial case, $n=3$, algorithmically constructing a counterexample.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
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spellingShingle Salter's question on the image of the Burau representation of $B_3$
Lee, Donsung
Group Theory
Geometric Topology
20F36, 20C99, 20E05
In 1974, Birman posed the question of under what conditions a matrix with Laurent polynomial entries is in the image of the Burau representation. In 1984, Squier observed that the matrices in the image are contained in a unitary group. In 2021, Salter formulated a specific question: whether the central quotient of the Burau image group is the central quotient of a certain subgroup of the unitary group. We solve this question negatively in the simplest nontrivial case, $n=3$, algorithmically constructing a counterexample.
title Salter's question on the image of the Burau representation of $B_3$
topic Group Theory
Geometric Topology
20F36, 20C99, 20E05
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.16607