Em Artin (1925), Artin introduziu o estudo do grupo de tranças, o qual está intimamente relacionado ao estudo de nós e enlaçamentos. Em seu outro artigo Theory of Braids Artin (1947), ele questionou se as noções de isotopia e homotopia de tranças são as mesmas ou diferentes. Tal questão foi respondida muito mais tarde em Goldsmith (1974), onde a autora apresenta um exemplo de trança que é homotópica à trança trivial mas não é equivalente à trança trivial, caracterizando, além disso, o grupo de classes de homotopia de tranças puras no disco como um certo quociente do grupo de tranças puras original. Uma área de pesquisa mais recente nesta teoria é o estudo da ordenação destes grupos de tranças. Em Habegger e Lin (1990) os autores mostram que o grupo de classes de homotopia de tranças puras no disco é nilpotente e livre de torção. Resulta que ele é bi-ordenado. Em Yurasovskaya (2008) a autora fornece uma ordem explícita e calculável para este grupo. Neste trabalho discutiremos e apresentaremos os principais resultados neste contexto. / In Artin (1925), Artin introduced the study of braid groups, which is closely related to the study of knots and links. In his other paper Theory of Braids Artin (1947), he asked if the notions of isotopy and homotopy of braids are different or the same. Such question was answered much later in Goldsmith (1974), where the author presents an example of braid that is homotopic to the trivial braid, but it is not equivalent to the trivial braid, characterizing, beyond that, the group of homotopy classes of braids as an certain quotient of the original braid group. One more recent research area on this theory is the study of ordenation of braid groups. In Habegger e Lin (1990) the authors show that the homotopy group classes of pure braids is nilpotent and torsion free. It follows that it is bi-orderable. In Yurasovskaya (2008) the author provides one explicit and evaluable order for this group. In this work, we will discuss and present the main results involved on this context.

Sejam $M$ e $N$ superfícies fechadas e $\\tau: M \\to M$ uma involução livre de pontos fixos. Dizemos que uma classe de homotopia $\\beta \\in [M,N]$ tem a propriedade de Borsuk-Ulam se para toda função contínua $g: M \\to N$ que representa $\\beta$, existe $x \\in M$ tal que $g(\\tau(x)) = g(x)$. No caso em que $N$ é diferente de $S^2$ e $RP^2$, mostramos que $\\beta$ não ter a propriedade de Borsuk-Ulam é equivalente a existência de um diagrama algébrico envolvendo $\\pi_1(M)$, $\\pi_1(M_\\tau)$, $P_2(N)$ e $B_2(N)$, sendo $M_\\tau$ o espaço de órbitas de $\\tau$ e sendo $P_2 (N)$ e $B_2(N)$, respectivamente, o grupo de tranças puras e totais de $N$. Para cada caso listado abaixo, nós classificamos todas as classes de homotopia $\\beta \\in [M,N]$ que têm a propriedade de Borsuk-Ulam: $M = T^2$, $M_\\tau = T^2$ e $N = T^2$; $M = T^2$, $M_\\tau = K^2$ e $N = T^2$; $M = K^2$ e $N = T^2$; $M = T^2$, $M_\\tau = T^2$ e $N = K^2$. No caso em que $N = S^2$, para cada superfície $M$ e involução $\\tau: M \\to M$, nós classificamos os elementos $\\beta \\in [M,S^2]$ que têm a propriedade de Borsuk-Ulam. Para fazer tal classificação, nós usamos a teoria de funções equivariantes e a teoria de grau de aplicações. Para classes de homotopia $\\beta \\in [M,RP^2]$, classificamos aquelas que se levantam para $S^2$. No final, nós consideramos a propriedade de Borsuk-Ulam para ações livres de $Z_p$, com $p$ um inteiro primo positivo. Neste caso, mostramos que se $M$ e $N$ são superfícies fechadas e $Z_p$ age livremente em M, com $p$ ímpar, então sempre existe uma função $f: M \\to N$ homotópica a uma função constante e cuja restrição a cada órbita da ação é injetora. / Let $M$ and $N$ be compact surfaces without boundary, and let $\\tau: M \\to M$ be a fixed-point free involution. We say that a homotopy class $\\beta \\in [M,N]$ has the Borsuk-Ulam property if for every continuous fuction $g: M \\to N$ that represents $\\beta$, there exists $x \\in M$ such that $g(\\tau(x)) = g(x)$. In the case where $N$ is different of $S^2$ and $RP^2$, we show that the fact that $\\beta$ does not have the Borsuk-Ulam property is equivalent to the existence of an algebraic diagram involving $\\pi_1(M)$, $\\pi_1(M_\\tau), $P_2(N)$ and $B_2(N)$, where $M_\\tau$ is the orbit space of $\\tau$ and $P_2(N)$ and $B_2(N) $ are the pure and the full braid groups of the surface $N$ respectively. We then go on to consider the cases of the torus $T^2$ and the Klein bottle $K^2$. Let $M$ and $N$ satisfy one of the following: $M = T^2$, $M_\\tau = T^2$ and $N = T^2$; $M = T^2$, $M_\\tau = K^2$ and $N = T^2$; $M = K^2$ and $N = T^2$; $M = T^2$, $M_\\tau = T^2$ and $N = K^2$. In these cases we classify the homotopy classes $\\beta \\in [M,N]$ that possess the Borsuk-Ulam property. If $N= S^2$, for every surface $M$ and an involution $\\tau: M \\to M$, we classify the elements $\\beta \\in [M, S^2] $ that possess the Borsuk-Ulam property. To obtain this classification, we make use of the theory of equivariant functions and degree theory of maps. For homotopy classes $\\beta \\in [M,RP^2]$, we classify the classes that admit a lifting to $S^2$. Finally, we consider the Borsuk-Ulam property for free actions of $Z_p$, where $p$ is a prime number. If $M$ and $N$ are compact surfaces without boundary such that $Z_p$ acts freely on $M$, with $p$ odd, we show that there is always a function $f: M \\to N$ homotopic to the constant function whose restriction to every orbit of $\\tau$ is injective.

L'animation est« l'art de se servir des interstices invisibles entre les images». Le cinéaste Norman McLaren souligne ici que la construction du mouvement dépend d'une pratique du dessin de recherche, dont n'est restituée à l'écran que la forme aboutie. Une réflexion s'engage au sujet des processus créatifs d'un cinéma d'animation « d'atelier », fondé sur une démarche expérimentale. Ouvert lors de la réalisation de chaque photogramme, « l'interstice invisible » désigne le chantier de création dans lequel la pratique artistique et le développement filmique sont interrogés. Durant la réalisation, les cinéastes plasticiens font régulièrement « l'expérience de l'interstice » en questionnant leurs dess(e)ins. De nouvelles formes visuelles et narratives peuvent émerger d'une telle démarche, qui favorise les tensions dialectiques tout en encourageant les lignes d'invention : le fixe rencontre l'animé, la fiction se mêle au scénario poïétique et les supports s'entrelacent. Une poétique de la tresse se construit alors. Cette thèse propose de caractériser et de raconter le parcours de recherche du cinéaste plasticien, ainsi que de définir sa ligne de conduite. Il s'agira d'identifier les formes tressées qu'il élabore, jusqu'à émettre des propositions conceptuelles, telles que des « illustrations filmées » ou des matières «ectoplastiques ». Le cinéma d'animation plasticien pourra être défini à cette occasion autour d'une pensée du «tiers» ou du « dehors ». La thèse adopte une ligne de création-recherche, fondée sur des relations entre théorie et pratique, qui favorisent le croisement d'expériences artistiques et d'exercices de pensée. / Animation is «the art of manipulating the invisible interstices that lie between frames». Animator Norman McLaren explains that building movement depends on a research practice, that we can only see the result on screen. An experimental cinema can be defined from his comment. The « invisible interstice » opens with the creation of each new image, and so does the creative disorder, that goes along with questioning the artistic practice and the film development. During production, animators experiment the interstice. New narrative and visual forms can emerge from such an approach, which stimulates dialogues and invention : fixed pictures meet moving pictures, fiction crosses creative development, and media interlace. A poetic of the braid builds itself. This PhD proposes to characterise and tell the creator's explorative journey, and to define his process. We will identify the enlaced forms he creates, and we will propose concepts such as « filmed illustrations » and «ectoplastic» material. Experimental cinema will be defined as a « third » or an « out » cinema. This PhD adopts a line of creation and research, based on a continuous relationship between artistic experiences and theory.

We investigate various forms of link positivity: braid positivity, strong quasipositivity, and quasi- positivity. On the one hand, this investigation is undertaken in the context of braid simplification: we give sufficient conditions under which a given braid word is conjugate to a braid word with strictly fewer negative bands. On the other hand, we use the famous Bennequin inequality to define a new link invariant: the defect of the Bennequin inequality, or 3-defect, and give criteria in terms of the 3-defect under which a given link is (strongly) quasipositive. Moreover, we use the 4-dimensional analogue of the Bennequin inequality, the slice Bennequin inequality in order to define the analogous defect of the slice Bennequin inequality, or 4-defect. We then investigate the relationship between the 4-defect and the most complicated class of 3- braids, Xu’s NP-form 3-braids, and establish several bounds. We also conjecture a formula for the signature of NP-form 3-braids which uses a new and easily computable NP-form 3-braid invariant, the offset. Finally, the appendices provide lists of all quasipositive and strongly quasipositive knots with at most 12 crossings (with two exceptions, 12n239 and 12n512), along with accompanying quasipositive or strongly quasipositive braid words. Many of these knots did not have previously established positivities or braid words reflecting these positivities—these facts were discovered using various criteria (conjectural or proven) expressed throughout this thesis.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University (Division of Information & Communication Sciences, Dept. of Mathematics), 2007. / Thesis by publication. Bibliography: p. 119-123.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Mathematics, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-62).

In this thesis, we classify finite orbits of the action of the pure braid group over a certain large open subset of the SL(2,C) character variety of the Riemann sphere with five boundary components, i.e. Σ5. This problem arises in the context of classifying algebraic solutions of the Garnier system G2, that is the two variable analogue of the famous sixth Painleve equation PVI. The structure of the analytic continuation of these solutions is described in terms of the action of the pure braid group on the fundamental group of Σ5. To deal with this problem, we introduce a system of co-adjoint coordinates on a big open subset of the SL(2,C) character variety of Σ5. Our classifica- tion method is based on the definition of four restrictions of the action of the pure braid group such that they act on some of the co-adjoint coordi- nates of Σ5 as the pure braid group acts on the co-adjoint coordinates of the character variety of the Riemann sphere with four boundary components, i.e. Σ4, for which the classification of all finite orbits is known. In order to avoid redundant elements in our final list, a group of symmetries G of the large open subset is introduced and the final classification is achieved modulo the action of G. We present a final list of 54 finite orbits.

A partir de um grupo H e um elemento h em H, nós definimos uma representação : \'B IND. n\' Aut(\'H POT. n\' ), onde \'B IND. n\' denota o grupo de trança de n cordas, e \'H POT. n\' denota o produto livre de n cópias de H. Chamamos a a representação de tipo Artin associada ao par (H, h). Nós também estudamos varios aspectos de tal representação. Primeiramente, associamos a cada trança um grupo \' IND. (H,h)\' () e provamos que o operador \' IND. (H,h)\' determina um grupo invariante de enlaçamentos orientados. Então damos uma construção topológica da representação de tipo Artin e do invariante de enlaçamentos \' IND.(H,h)\' , e provamos que a representação é fiel se, e somente se, h é não trivial / From a group H and a element h H, we define a representation : \' B IND. n\' Aut(\'H POT. n\'), where \'B IND. n\' denotes the braid group on n strands, and \'H POT. n\' denotes the free product of n copies of H. We call the Artin type representation associated to the pair (H, h). Here we study various aspects of such representations. Firstly, we associate to each braid a group \' IND. (H,h)\' () and prove that the operator \' IND. (H,h)\' determines a group invariant of oriented links. We then give a topological construction of the Artin type representations and of the link invariant \' iND. (H,h)\' , and we prove that the Artin type representations are faithful if and only if h is nontrivial

<div> We introduce the quantum toroidal superalgebra E_m|nassociated with the Lie superalgebra gl_m|n and initiate its study. For each choice of parity "s" of gl_m|n, a corresponding quantum toroidal superalgebra E_s is defined. </div><div> </div><div><br></div><div>To show that all such superalgebras are isomorphic, an action of the toroidal braid group is constructed. </div><div><br></div><div>The superalgebra E_s contains two distinguished subalgebras, both isomorphic to the quantum affine superalgebra U_q sl̂_m|n with parity "s", called vertical and horizontal subalgebras. We show the existence of Miki automorphism of E_s, which exchanges the vertical and horizontal subalgebras.</div><div><br></div><div>If <i>m</i> and <i>n</i> are different and "s" is standard, we give a construction of level 1 E_m|n-modules through vertex operators. We also construct an evaluation map from E_m|n(q₁,q₂,q₃) to the quantum affine algebra U_q gl̂_m|n at level c=q₃^(m-n)/2.</div>

In his dissertation, F.A. Garside provided a solution to the word and conjugacy problems in the braid group on n-strands, using a particular element that he called the fundamental word. Others have since defined fundamental words in the generalized setting of Artin groups, and even more recently in Garside groups. We consider the problem of finding the number of representations of a power of the fundamental word in these settings. In the process, we find a Pascal-like identity that is satisfied in a certain class of Garside groups.