In 1987 Bieri, Neumann and Strebel introduced a geometric invariant for discrete groups. In this article we compute and explicitly describe the BNS-invariant for the pure braid groups.
An infinitary version of braid groups has been considered as a direct limit of n-braid groups. However, we can imagine more complicated braids with infinitely many strings. We invetisgate basic properties especially when the number of strings is countable.
Let $n, k geq 3$. In this paper, we analyse the quotient group $B_n/Gamma_k(P_n)$ of the Artin braid group $B_n$ by the subgroup $Gamma_k(P_n)$ belonging to the lower central series of the Artin pure braid group $P_n$. We prove that it is an almost-crystallographic group. We then focus more specifically on the case $k=3$. If $n geq 5$, and if $tau in N$ is such that $gcd(tau, 6) = 1$, we show that $B_n/Gamma_3 (P_n)$ possesses torsion $tau$ if and only if $S_n$ does, and we prove that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the conjugacy classes of elements of order $tau$ in $B_n/Gamma_3 (P_n)$ with those of elements of order $tau$ in the symmetric group $S_n$. We also exhibit a presentation for the almost-crystallographic group $B_n/Gamma_3 (P_n)$. Finally, we obtain some $4$-dimensional almost-Bieberbach subgroups of $B_3/Gamma_3 (P_3)$, we explain how to obtain almost-Bieberbach subgroups of $B_4/Gamma_3(P_4)$ and $B_3/Gamma_4(P_3)$, and we exhibit explicit elements of order $5$ in $B_5/Gamma_3 (P_5)$.
Let M be a compact surface, either orientable or non-orientable. We study the lower central and derived series of the braid and pure braid groups of M in order to determine the values of n for which B_n(M) and P_n(M) are residually nilpotent or residually soluble. First, we solve this problem for the case where M is the 2-torus. We then give a general description of these series for an arbitrary semi-direct product that allows us to calculate explicitly the lower central series of P_2(K), where K is the Klein bottle, and to give an estimate for the derived series of P_n(K). Finally, if M is a non-orientable compact surface without boundary, we determine the values of n for which B_n(M) is residually nilpotent or residually soluble in the cases that were not already known in the literature.
It is a classical result of Powell that pure mapping class groups of connected, orientable surfaces of finite type and genus at least three are perfect. In stark contrast, we construct nontrivial homomorphisms from infinite-genus mapping class groups to the integers. Moreover, we compute the first integral cohomology group associated to the pure mapping class group of any connected orientable surface of genus at least 2 in terms of the surfaces simplicial homology. In order to do this, we show that pure mapping class groups of infinite-genus surfaces split as a semi-direct product.
Generalising previous results on classical braid groups by Artin and Lin, we determine the values of m, n $in$ N for which there exists a surjection between the n-and m-string braid groups of an orientable surface without boundary. This result is essentially based on specific properties of their lower central series, and the proof is completely combinatorial. We provide similar but partial results in the case of orientable surfaces with boundary components and of non-orientable surfaces without boundary. We give also several results about the classification of different representations of surface braid groups in symmetric groups.