The central theme of this study is Artin's braid group and the many ways that the notion of a braid has proved to be important in low-dimensional topology. In Chapter 1 the author is concerned with the concept of a braid as a group of motions of points in a manifold. She studies structural and algebraic properties of the braid groups of two manifolds, and derives systems of defining relations for the braid groups of the plane and sphere. In Chapter 2 she focuses on the connections between the classical braid group and the classical knot problem. After reviewing basic results she proceeds to an exploration of some possible implications of the Garside and Markov theorems. Chapter 3 offers discussion of matrix representations of the free group and of subgroups of the automorphism group of the free group. These ideas come to a focus in the difficult open question of whether Burau's matrix representation of the braid group is faithful. Chapter 4 is a broad view of recent results on the connections between braid groups and mapping class groups of surfaces. Chapter 5 contains a brief discussion of the theory of "plats." Research problems are included in an appendix.

The two-volume set LNCS 11442 and 11443 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 22nd IACR International Conference on the Practice and Theory of Public-Key Cryptography, PKC 2019, held in Beijing, China, in April 2019. The 42 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 173 submissions. They are organized in topical sections such as: Cryptographic Protocols; Digital Signatures; Zero-Knowledge; Identity-Based Encryption; Fundamental Primitives; Public Key Encryptions; Functional Encryption; Obfuscation Based Cryptography; Re- Encryption Schemes; Post Quantum Cryptography.​

This volume deals with the K-theoretical aspects of the group rings of braid groups of the 2-sphere. The lower algebraic K-theory of the finite subgroups of these groups up to eleven strings is computed using a wide variety of tools. Many of the techniques extend to the general case, and the results reveal new K-theoretical phenomena with respect to the previous study of other families of groups. The second part of the manuscript focusses on the case of the 4-string braid group of the 2-sphere, which is shown to be hyperbolic in the sense of Gromov. This permits the computation of the infinite maximal virtually cyclic subgroups of this group and their conjugacy classes, and applying the fact that this group satisfies the Fibred Isomorphism Conjecture of Farrell and Jones, leads to an explicit calculation of its lower K-theory. Researchers and graduate students working in K-theory and surface braid groups will constitute the primary audience of the manuscript, particularly those interested in the Fibred Isomorphism Conjecture, and the computation of Nil groups and the lower algebraic K-groups of group rings. The manuscript will also provide a useful resource to researchers who wish to learn the techniques needed to calculate lower algebraic K-groups, and the bibliography brings together a large number of references in this respect.

Lie theory is a mathematical framework for encoding the concept of symmetries of a problem, and was the central theme of an INdAM intensive research period at the Centro de Giorgi in Pisa, Italy, in the academic year 2014-2015. This book gathers the key outcomes of this period, addressing topics such as: structure and representation theory of vertex algebras, Lie algebras and superalgebras, as well as hyperplane arrangements with different approaches, ranging from geometry and topology to combinatorics.

This monograph uses braids to explore dynamics on surfaces, with an eye towards applications to mixing in fluids. The text uses the particular example of taffy pulling devices to represent pseudo-Anosov maps in practice. In addition, its final chapters also briefly discuss current applications in the emerging field of analyzing braids created from trajectory data. While written with beginning graduate students, advanced undergraduates, or practicing applied mathematicians in mind, the book is also suitable for pure mathematicians seeking real-world examples. Readers can benefit from some knowledge of homotopy and homology groups, but these concepts are briefly reviewed. Some familiarity with Matlab is also helpful for the computational examples.

This introductory volume provides the basics of surface-knots and related topics, not only for researchers in these areas but also for graduate students and researchers who are not familiar with the field.Knot theory is one of the most active research fields in modern mathematics. Knots and links are closed curves (one-dimensional manifolds) in Euclidean 3-space, and they are related to braids and 3-manifolds. These notions are generalized into higher dimensions. Surface-knots or surface-links are closed surfaces (two-dimensional manifolds) in Euclidean 4-space, which are related to two-dimensional braids and 4-manifolds. Surface-knot theory treats not only closed surfaces but also surfaces with boundaries in 4-manifolds. For example, knot concordance and knot cobordism, which are also important objects in knot theory, are surfaces in the product space of the 3-sphere and the interval.Included in this book are basics of surface-knots and the related topics of classical knots, the motion picture method, surface diagrams, handle surgeries, ribbon surface-knots, spinning construction, knot concordance and 4-genus, quandles and their homology theory, and two-dimensional braids.

On Knots is a journey through the theory of knots, starting from the simplest combinatorial ideas--ideas arising from the representation of weaving patterns. From this beginning, topological invariants are constructed directly: first linking numbers, then the Conway polynomial and skein theory. This paves the way for later discussion of the recently discovered Jones and generalized polynomials. The central chapter, Chapter Six, is a miscellany of topics and recreations. Here the reader will find the quaternions and the belt trick, a devilish rope trick, Alhambra mosaics, Fibonacci trees, the topology of DNA, and the author's geometric interpretation of the generalized Jones Polynomial. Then come branched covering spaces, the Alexander polynomial, signature theorems, the work of Casson and Gordon on slice knots, and a chapter on knots and algebraic singularities.The book concludes with an appendix about generalized polynomials.

The two-volume set LNCS 10769 and 10770 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 21st IACR International Conference on the Practice and Theory of Public-Key Cryptography, PKC 2018, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March 2018. The 49 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 186 submissions. They are organized in topical sections such as Key-Dependent-Message and Selective-Opening Security; Searchable and Fully Homomorphic Encryption; Public-Key Encryption; Encryption with Bad Randomness; Subversion Resistance; Cryptanalysis; Composable Security; Oblivious Transfer; Multiparty Computation; Signatures; Structure-Preserving Signatures; Functional Encryption; Foundations; Obfuscation-Based Cryptographic Constructions; Protocols; Blockchain; Zero-Knowledge; Lattices.

This proceedings volume presents a diverse collection of high-quality, state-of-the-art research and survey articles written by top experts in low-dimensional topology and its applications. The focal topics include the wide range of historical and contemporary invariants of knots and links and related topics such as three- and four-dimensional manifolds, braids, virtual knot theory, quantum invariants, braids, skein modules and knot algebras, link homology, quandles and their homology; hyperbolic knots and geometric structures of three-dimensional manifolds; the mechanism of topological surgery in physical processes, knots in Nature in the sense of physical knots with applications to polymers, DNA enzyme mechanisms, and protein structure and function. The contents is based on contributions presented at the International Conference on Knots, Low-Dimensional Topology and Applications – Knots in Hellas 2016, which was held at the International Olympic Academy in Greece in July 2016. The goal of the international conference was to promote the exchange of methods and ideas across disciplines and generations, from graduate students to senior researchers, and to explore fundamental research problems in the broad fields of knot theory and low-dimensional topology. This book will benefit all researchers who wish to take their research in new directions, to learn about new tools and methods, and to discover relevant and recent literature for future study.