Invariable generation and the chebotarev invariant of a finite group

A subset S of a finite group G invariably generates G if G = <hsg(s) j s 2 Si > for each choice of g(s) 2 G; s 2 S. We give a tight upper bound on the minimal size of an invariable generating set for an arbitrary finite group G. In response to a question in [KZ] we also bound the size of a randomly chosen set of elements of G that is likely to generate G invariably. Along the way we prove that every finite simple group is invariably generated by two elements.Comment: Improved versio

Braids: A Survey

This article is about Artin's braid group and its role in knot theory. We set ourselves two goals: (i) to provide enough of the essential background so that our review would be accessible to graduate students, and (ii) to focus on those parts of the subject in which major progress was made, or interesting new proofs of known results were discovered, during the past 20 years. A central theme that we try to develop is to show ways in which structure first discovered in the braid groups generalizes to structure in Garside groups, Artin groups and surface mapping class groups. However, the literature is extensive, and for reasons of space our coverage necessarily omits many very interesting developments. Open problems are noted and so-labelled, as we encounter them.Comment: Final version, revised to take account of the comments of readers. A review article, to appear in the Handbook of Knot Theory, edited by W. Menasco and M. Thistlethwaite. 91 pages, 24 figure

Conway groupoids, regular two-graphs and supersimple designs

A $2-(n,4,\lambda)$ design $(\Omega, \mathcal{B})$ is said to be supersimple if distinct lines intersect in at most two points. From such a design, one can construct a certain subset of Sym$(\Omega)$ called a "Conway groupoid". The construction generalizes Conway's construction of the groupoid $M_{13}$. It turns out that several infinite families of groupoids arise in this way, some associated with 3-transposition groups, which have two additional properties. Firstly the set of collinear point-triples forms a regular two-graph, and secondly the symmetric difference of two intersecting lines is again a line. In this paper, we show each of these properties corresponds to a group-theoretic property on the groupoid and we classify the Conway groupoids and the supersimple designs for which both of these two additional properties hold.Comment: 17 page