Identifying Half-Twists Using Randomized Algorithm Methods

Since the braid group was discovered by E. Artin, the question of its conjugacy problem has been solved by Garside and Birman, Ko and Lee. However, the solutions given thus far are difficult to compute with a computer, since the number of operations needed is extremely large. Meanwhile, random algorithms used to solve difficult problems such as primality of a number were developed, and the random practical methods have become an important tool. We give a random algorithm, along with a conjecture of how to improve its convergence speed, in order to identify elements in the braid group, which are conjugated to its generators for a given power. These elements of the braid group, the half-twists, are important in themselves, as they are the key players in some geometrical and algebraical methods, the building blocks of quasipositive braids and they construct endless sets of generators for the group.Comment: 18 pages, 4 Postscript figures; Last proof read corrections before printing - Paper accepted for publicatio

Braid Monodromy Factorization and Diffeomorphism Types

In this manuscript we prove that if two cuspidal plane curves have equivalent braid monodromy factorizations, then they are smoothly isotopic in the plane. As a consequence of this and the Chisini conjecture, we obtain that if two discriminant curves (or branch curves in other terminology) of generic projections (to the plane) of surfaces of general type imbedded in a projective space by means of a multiple canonical class have equivalent braid monodromy factorizations, then the surfaces are diffeomorphic (if we consider them as real 4-folds).Comment: 2 files: TEX file of text and file of figures (gzipped