On Burau representations at roots of unity

Louis Funar (1) , Toshitake Kohno (2)

1 IF - Institut Fourier
2 UTokyo - The University of Tokyo

We consider subgroups of the braid groups which are generated by $k$-th powers of the standard generators and prove that any infinite intersection (with even $k$) is trivial. This is motivated by some conjectures of Squier concerning the kernels of Burau's representations of the braid groups at roots of unity. Furthermore, we show that the image of the braid group on 3 strands by these representations is either a finite group, for a few roots of unity, or a finite extension of a triangle group, by using geometric methods.

Domaines: Topologie géométrique [math.GT]; Algèbres quantiques [math.QA]

Louis Funar, Toshitake Kohno. On Burau representations at roots of unity. Geometriae Dedicata, 2014, 169, pp.145-163. ⟨hal-01702829⟩