Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Martin Palmer

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Palmer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Embedding groups into acyclic groups

We show that labelled Thompson groups and twisted Brin--Thompson groups are all acyclic. This allows us to prove several new embedding results for groups. First, every group of type $F_n$ embeds quasi-isometrically as a subgroup of an acyclic group of type $F_n$ that has no proper finite-index subgroups. This improves results of Baumslag--Dyer--Heller ($n=1$) and Baumslag--Dyer--Miller ($n=2$) from the early 80s, as well as a more recent result of Bridson ($n=2$). Second, we show that every finitely generated group embeds quasi-isometrically as a subgroup of a $2$-generated, simple, acyclic group. Our results also allow us to produce, for each $n\geqslant 2$, the first known example of an acyclic group that is of type $F_n$ but not $F_{n+1}$. These examples can moreover be taken to be simple. Furthermore, our examples provide a rich source of universally boundedly acyclic groups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2024

Compact and finite-type support in the homology of big mapping class groups

For any infinite-type surface $S$, a natural question is whether the homology of its mapping class group contains any non-trivial classes that are supported on (i) a compact subsurface or (ii) a finite-type subsurface. Our purpose here is to study this question, in particular giving an almost-complete answer when the genus of $S$ is positive (including infinite) and a partial answer when the genus of $S$ is zero. Our methods involve the notion of shiftable subsurfaces as well as homological stability for mapping class groups of finite-type surfaces.

math.GT↗
arXiv2023

Homology stability for asymptotic monopole moduli spaces

We prove homological stability for two different flavours of asymptotic monopole moduli spaces, namely moduli spaces of framed Dirac monopoles and moduli spaces of ideal monopoles. The former are Gibbons-Manton torus bundles over configuration spaces whereas the latter are obtained from them by replacing each circle factor of the fibre with a monopole moduli space by the Borel construction. They form boundary hypersurfaces in a partial compactification of the classical monopole moduli spaces. Our results follow from a general homological stability result for configuration spaces equipped with non-local data.

math.AT↗
arXiv2023

Action of subgroups of the mapping class group on Heisenberg homologies

In previous work we constructed twisted representations of mapping class groups of surfaces, depending on a choice of representation $V$ of the Heisenberg group $\mathcal{H}$. For certain $V$ we were able to untwist these mapping class group representations. Here, we study the restrictions of our twisted representations to different subgroups of the mapping class group. In particular, we prove that these representations may be untwisted on the Torelli group for any given representation $V$ of $\mathcal{H}$. When $V$ is the Schr\"odinger representation, we also construct untwisted representations of subgroups defined as kernels of crossed homomorphisms studied by Earle and Morita.

math.GT↗
arXiv2023

Polynomiality of surface braid and mapping class group representations

We study a wide range of homologically-defined representations of surface braid groups and of mapping class groups of surfaces, including the Lawrence-Bigelow representations of the classical braid groups. These representations naturally come in families, defining homological representation functors on categories associated to surface braid groups or all mapping class groups. We prove that many of these homological representation functors are polynomial. This has applications to twisted homological stability and to understanding the structure of the representation theory of the associated families of groups. Our polynomiality results are consequences of more fundamental results establishing relations amongst the coherent representations that we consider via short exact sequences of functors. As well as polynomiality, these short exact sequences also have applications to understanding the kernels of the homological representations under consideration.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

Big mapping class groups with uncountable integral homology

We prove that, for any infinite-type surface $S$, the integral homology of the closure of the compactly-supported mapping class group $\overline{\mathrm{PMap}_c(S)}$ and of the Torelli group $\mathcal{T}(S)$ is uncountable in every positive degree. By our results in arXiv:2211.07470 and other known computations, such a statement cannot be true for the full mapping class group $\mathrm{Map}(S)$ for all infinite-type surfaces $S$. However, we are still able to prove that the integral homology of $\mathrm{Map}(S)$ is uncountable in all positive degrees for a large class of infinite-type surfaces $S$. The key property of this class of surfaces is, roughly, that the space of ends of the surface $S$ contains a limit point of topologically distinguished points. Our result includes in particular all finite-genus surfaces having countable end spaces with a unique point of maximal Cantor-Bendixson rank $\alpha$, where $\alpha$ is a successor ordinal. We also observe an order-$10$ element in the first homology of the pure mapping class group of any surface of genus $2$, answering a recent question of G. Domat.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

On the homology of big mapping class groups

We prove that the mapping class group of the one-holed Cantor tree surface is acyclic. This in turn determines the homology of the mapping class group of the once-punctured Cantor tree surface (i.e. the plane minus a Cantor set), in particular answering a recent question of Calegari and Chen. We in fact prove these results for a general class of infinite-type surfaces called binary tree surfaces. To prove our results we use two main ingredients: one is a modification of an argument of Mather related to the notion of dissipated groups; the other is a general homological stability result for mapping class groups of infinite-type surfaces.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

The pro-nilpotent Lawrence-Krammer-Bigelow representation

We construct a 3-variable enrichment of the Lawrence-Krammer-Bigelow (LKB) representation of the braid groups, which is the limit of a pro-nilpotent tower of representations having the original LKB representation as its bottom layer. We also construct analogous pro-nilpotent towers of representations of surface braid groups and loop braid groups.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

The Burau representations of loop braid groups

We give a simple topological construction of the Burau representations of the loop braid groups. There are four versions: defined either on the non-extended or extended loop braid groups, and in each case there is an unreduced and a reduced version. Three are not surprising, and one could easily guess the correct matrices to assign to generators. The fourth is more subtle, and does not seem combinatorially obvious, although it is topologically very natural.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

When the lower central series stops: a comprehensive study for braid groups and their relatives

Understanding the lower central series of a group is, in general, a difficult task. It is, however, a rewarding one: computing the lower central series and the associated Lie algebras of a group or of some of its subgroups can lead to a deep understanding of the underlying structure of that group. Our goal here is to showcase several techniques aimed at carrying out part of this task. In particular, we seek to answer the following question: when does the lower central series stop? We introduce a number of tools that we then apply to various groups related to braid groups: the braid groups themselves, surface braid groups, groups of virtual and welded braids, and partitioned versions of all of these groups. The path from our general techniques to their application is far from being a straight one, and some astuteness and tenacity is required to deal with all of the cases encountered along the way. Nevertheless, we arrive at an answer to our question for each and every one of these groups, save for one family of partitioned braid groups on the projective plane. In several cases, we even compute completely the lower central series. Some results about the lower central series of Artin groups are also included.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

Point-pushing actions for manifolds with boundary

Given a manifold $M$ and a point in its interior, the point-pushing map describes a diffeomorphism that pushes the point along a closed path. This defines a homomorphism from the fundamental group of $M$ to the group of isotopy classes of diffeomorphisms of $M$ that fix the basepoint. This map is well-studied in dimension $d = 2$ and is part of the Birman exact sequence. Here we study, for any $d \geqslant 3$ and $k \geqslant 1$, the map from the $k$-th braid group of $M$ to the group of homotopy classes of homotopy equivalences of the $k$-punctured manifold $M \smallsetminus z$, and analyse its injectivity. Equivalently, we describe the monodromy of the universal bundle that associates to a configuration $z$ of size $k$ in $M$ its complement, the space $M \smallsetminus z$. Furthermore, motivated by our work on the homology of configuration-mapping spaces, we describe the action of the braid group of $M$ on the fibres of configuration-mapping spaces.

math.AT↗
arXiv2021

Heisenberg homology on surface configurations

Motivated by the Lawrence-Krammer-Bigelow representations of the classical braid groups, we study the homology of unordered configurations in an orientable genus-$g$ surface with one boundary component, over non-commutative local systems defined from representations of the discrete Heisenberg group. Mapping classes act on the local systems and for a general representation of the Heisenberg group we obtain a representation of the mapping class group that is twisted by this action. For the linearisation of the affine translation action of the Heisenberg group we obtain a genuine, untwisted representation of the mapping class group. In the case of the generic Schr\"odinger representation, by composing with a Stone-von Neumann isomorphism we obtain a projective representation by bounded operators on a Hilbert space, which lifts to a representation of the stably universal central extension of the mapping class group. We also discuss the finite dimensional Schr\"odinger representations, especially in the even case. Based on a natural intersection pairing, we show that our representations preserve a sesquilinear form.

math.GT↗
arXiv2021

Configuration-mapping spaces and homology stability

For a given bundle $ξ\colon E \to M$ over a manifold, configuration-section spaces on $ξ$ parametrise finite subsets $z \subseteq M$ equipped with a section of $ξ$ defined on $M \smallsetminus z$, with prescribed "charge" in a neighbourhood of the points $z$. These spaces may be interpreted physically as spaces of fields that are permitted to be singular at finitely many points, with constrained behaviour near the singularities. As a special case, they include the Hurwitz spaces, which parametrise branched covering spaces of the $2$-disc with specified deck transformation group. We prove that configuration-section spaces are homologically stable (with integral coefficients) whenever the underlying manifold $M$ is connected and has non-empty boundary and the charge is "small" in a certain sense. This has a partial intersection with the work on Hurwitz spaces of Ellenberg, Venkatesh and Westerland.

math.AT↗
arXiv2020

Lawrence-Bigelow representations, bases and duality

We study homological representations of mapping class groups, including the braid groups. These arise from the twisted homology of certain configuration spaces, and come in many different flavours. Our goal is to give a unified general account of the fundamental relationships (non-degenerate pairings, embeddings, isomorphisms) between the many different flavours of homological representations. Our motivating examples are the Lawrence-Bigelow representations of the braid groups, which are of central importance in the study of the braid groups themselves, as well as their connections with quantum invariants of knots and links.

math.GT↗
arXiv2020

Stability for moduli spaces of manifolds with conical singularities

The homology of configuration spaces of point-particles in manifolds has been studied intensively since the 1970s; in particular it is known to be stable if the underlying manifold is connected and open. Closely related to configuration spaces are moduli spaces of manifolds with marked points, and in [Tillmann, 2016] this relation was used to show that the homology of these moduli spaces is also stable as the number of marked points goes to infinity. Since a disc neighbourhood of a marked point may be viewed as the cone on its boundary sphere, we may think of marked points as inessential conical singularities in the underlying manifold. In this paper, we prove stability for the homology of moduli spaces of manifolds with conical singularities, allowing more general -- essential -- singularities. This is deduced as a special case of a more general homological stability result for classifying spaces of symmetric diffeomorphism groups of manifolds, with respect to parametric connected sum, an operation generalising ordinary connected sum and surgery (including Dehn surgery). The key input for the proof is stability for the homology of moduli spaces of disconnected submanifolds [Palmer, 2018], which generalises configurations of point-particles to configurations of higher-dimensional submanifolds. Along the way, we extend this result further to homology with polynomially twisted coefficients and configurations of labelled submanifolds.

math.AT↗
arXiv2020

Homological stability for moduli spaces of disconnected submanifolds, I

A well-known property of unordered configuration spaces of points (in an open, connected manifold) is that their homology stabilises as the number of points increases. We generalise this result to moduli spaces of submanifolds of higher dimension, where stability is with respect to the number of components having a fixed diffeomorphism type and isotopy class. As well as for unparametrised submanifolds, we prove this also for partially-parametrised submanifolds -- where a partial parametrisation may be thought of as a superposition of parametrisations related by a fixed subgroup of the mapping class group. In a companion paper (arXiv:1807.07558), this is further generalised to submanifolds equipped with labels in a bundle over the embedding space, from which we deduce corollaries for the stability of diffeomorphism groups of manifolds with respect to parametrised connected sum and addition of singularities.

math.AT↗
arXiv2019

Topological representations of motion groups and mapping class groups -- a unified functorial construction

For groups of a topological origin, such as braid groups and mapping class groups, an important source of interesting and highly non-trivial representations is given by their actions on the twisted homology of associated spaces; these are known as homological representations. Representations of this kind have proved themselves especially important for the question of linearity, a key example being the family of topologically-defined representations introduced by Lawrence and Bigelow, and used by Bigelow and Krammer to prove that braid groups are linear. In this paper, we give a unified foundation for the construction of homological representations using a functorial approach. Namely, we introduce homological representation functors encoding a large class of homological representations, defined on categories containing all mapping class groups and motion groups in a fixed dimension. These source categories are defined using a topological enrichment of the Quillen bracket construction applied to categories of decorated manifolds. This approach unifies many previously-known constructions, including those of Lawrence-Bigelow, and yields many new representations.

math.AT↗