A framization of the Hecke algebra of type B

We introduce a framization of the Hecke algebra of type B. For this framization, we construct a faithful tensorial representation and two linear bases. We also construct a Markov trace on such an algebra, and from this trace we derive isotopy invariants for framed and classical knots and links in the solid torus.     

On the vertex group of n-manifolds

In this paper we obtain the decomposition of the vertex group of n-manifolds, extending the one given by Kauffman and Lins for dimension 3 and solving the related conjecture. The result is obtained in the more general category of gems: the vertex group of a gem , representing an n-manifold M, is the free product of n copies of the fundamental group of M and a free group F of rank N–n, where N is the number of n-residues of . In particular, for crystallizations FZ and consequently the vertex group is an invariant of M.     

Superinjective simplicial maps of complexes of curves and injective homomorphisms of subgroups of mapping class groups II

Let R be a compact, connected, orientable surface of genus g with p boundary components. Let C(R) be the complex of curves on R and be the extended mapping class group of R. Suppose that either g=2 and p?2 or g?3 and p?0. We prove that a simplicial map is superinjective if and only if it is induced by a homeomorphism of R. As a corollary, we prove that if K is a finite index subgroup of and is an injective homomorphism, then f is induced by a homeomorphism of R and f has a unique extension to an automorphism of . This extends the author's previous results about closed connected orientable surfaces of genus at least 3, to the surface R.     

Canonical extensions of the Johnson homomorphisms to the Torelli groupoid

We prove that every trivalent marked bordered fatgraph comes equipped with a canonical generalized Magnus expansion in the sense of Kawazumi. This Magnus expansion is used to give canonical extensions of the higher Johnson homomorphisms τm, for m?1, to the Torelli groupoid, and we provide a recursive combinatorial formula for tensor representatives of these extensions. In particular, we give an explicit 1-cocycle in the dual fatgraph complex which extends τ₂ and thus answer affirmatively a question of Morita and Penner. To illustrate our techniques for calculating higher Johnson homomorphisms in general, we give explicit examples calculating τm, for m?3.     

Separable subgroups of mapping class groups

We investigate separability questions for the mapping class group of a surface. While this group is not subgroup separable in general, we prove a large family of interesting subgroups are separable. This includes many classically studied subgroups such as solvable subgroups, Heegaard and Handlebody groups, geometric subgroups, and all the terms in the Johnson filtration.     

Groupoid extensions of mapping class representations for bordered surfaces

The mapping class group of a surface with one boundary component admits numerous interesting representations including a representation as a group of automorphisms of a free group and as a group of symplectic transformations. Insofar as the mapping class group can be identified with the fundamental group of Riemann's moduli space, it is furthermore identified with a subgroup of the fundamental path groupoid upon choosing a basepoint. A combinatorial model for this, the mapping class groupoid, arises from the invariant cell decomposition of Teichmüller space, whose fundamental path groupoid is called the Ptolemy groupoid. It is natural to try to extend representations of the mapping class group to the mapping class groupoid, i.e., to construct a homomorphism from the mapping class groupoid to the same target that extends the given representations arising from various choices of basepoint.Among others, we extend both aforementioned representations to the groupoid level in this sense, where the symplectic representation is lifted both rationally and integrally. The techniques of proof include several algorithms involving fatgraphs and chord diagrams. The former extension is given by explicit formulae depending upon six essential cases, and the kernel and image of the groupoid representation are computed. Furthermore, this provides groupoid extensions of any representation of the mapping class group that factors through its action on the fundamental group of the surface including, for instance, the Magnus representation and representations on the moduli spaces of flat connections.     

Generic character sheaves on reductive groups over a finite ring

In this paper we propose a construction of generic character sheaves on reductive groups over finite local rings at even levels, whose characteristic functions are higher Deligne–Lusztig characters when the parameters are generic. We formulate a conjecture on the simple perversity of these complexes, and we prove it in the level two case (thus extend a result of Lusztig from the function field case). We then discuss the induction and restriction functors, as well as the Frobenius reciprocity, based on the perversity.     

Superinjective simplicial maps of complexes of curves and injective homomorphisms of subgroups of mapping class groups

Let S be a closed, connected, orientable surface of genus at least 3, be the complex of curves on S and be the extended mapping class group of S. We prove that a simplicial map, , preserves nondisjointness (i.e. if α and β are two vertices in and i(α,β)≠0, then i(λ(α),λ(β))≠0) iff it is induced by a homeomorphism of S. As a corollary, we prove that if K is a finite index subgroup of and is an injective homomorphism, then f is induced by a homeomorphism of S and f has a unique extension to an automorphism of .     

Extending homeomorphisms from punctured surfaces to handlebodies

Let Hg be a genus g handlebody and MCG2n(Tg) be the group of the isotopy classes of orientation preserving homeomorphisms of Tg=∂Hg, fixing a given set of 2n points. In this paper we find a finite set of generators for , the subgroup of MCG2n(Tg) consisting of the isotopy classes of homeomorphisms of Tg admitting an extension to the handlebody and keeping fixed the union of n disjoint properly embedded trivial arcs. This result generalizes a previous one obtained by the authors for n=1. The subgroup turns out to be important for the study of knots and links in closed 3-manifolds via (g,n)-decompositions. In fact, the links represented by the isotopy classes belonging to the same left cosets of in MCG2n(Tg) are equivalent.     

The subregular variety to the variety of special lattices

We recall the basic geometric properties of the full lattice variety, the projective variety parametrizing special lattices over Witt vectors which was introduced in Haboush (2005) [6]. It is an analog in unequal characteristic, of a certain Schubert variety in the affine Grassmannian for , and it is normal and a locally complete intersection (Haboush and Sano, submitted for publication [7], Sano (2004) [15]). In this paper, I prove that the complement of its smooth locus, the subregular variety in it, is also normal and a locally complete intersection. The result is analogous to the geometry of the subregular subvariety of the nilpotent cone.     

A method of finding automorphism groups of endomorphism monoids of relational systems

For any set X and any relation ρ on X, let T(X,ρ) be the semigroup of all maps a:X→X that preserve ρ. Let S(X) be the symmetric group on X. If ρ is reflexive, the group of automorphisms of T(X,ρ) is isomorphic to N_S(X)(T(X,ρ)), the normalizer of T(X,ρ) in S(X), that is, the group of permutations on X that preserve T(X,ρ) under conjugation. The elements of N_S(X)(T(X,ρ)) have been described for the class of so-called dense relations ρ. The paper is dedicated to applications of this result.     

Reflection groups of geodesic spaces and Coxeter groups

H.S.M. Coxeter showed that a group Γ is a finite reflection group of an Euclidean space if and only if Γ is a finite Coxeter group. In this paper, we define reflections of geodesic spaces in general, and we prove that Γ is a cocompact discrete reflection group of some geodesic space if and only if Γ is a Coxeter group.     

Combinatorial conditions that imply word-hyperbolicity for 3-manifolds

Thurston conjectured that a closed triangulated 3-manifold in which every edge has degree 5 or 6, and no two edges of degree 5 lie in a common 2-cell, has word-hyperbolic fundamental group. We establish Thurston's conjecture by proving that such a manifold admits a piecewise Euclidean metric of non-positive curvature and the universal cover contains no isometrically embedded flat planes. The proof involves a mixture of computer computation and techniques from small cancellation theory.     

Computing the Conway polynomial of several closures of oriented 3-braids

This paper deals with polynomial invariants of a class of oriented 3-string tangles and the knots (or links) obtained by applying six different closures. In Cabrera-Ibarra (2004) [1], expressions were given to compute the Conway polynomials of four different closures of the composition of two such 3-string tangles. By using the expressions and results from that reference, and using an algorithm developed on the basis of Giller?s calculations for 3-string tangles, we provide new results concerning six closures of 3-braids. Surprisingly, for 3-braids two of the closures turn out to be affine functions of the four previously defined. Among the contributions in this paper one finds computational tools to obtain the Conway polynomial of closures of 3-braids in terms of continuous fractions and their expansions. An interesting feature is that our calculations yield explicit, nonrecursive formulas in the case of 3-braids, thereby considerably lowering the time required to compute them. As a byproduct, explicit expressions are also given to obtain both numerators and denominators of continuous fractions in a nonrecursive way.