Burau representation of braid groups and $q$-rationals

TL;DR

This paper connects $q$-deformed rational numbers with the Burau representation of braid groups, offering new insights into the classification of faithful specializations and establishing faithfulness outside a specific annulus.

Contribution

It introduces a novel link between $q$-rationals and the Burau representation, solving an open problem on faithful complex specializations.

Findings

Faithfulness of Burau representation outside a specific annulus

Classification of faithful specializations via $q$-rationals

New link between $q$-deformed numbers and braid group representations

Abstract

We establish a link between the new theory of $q$-deformed rational numbers and the classical Burau representation of the braid group $\mathrm{B}_3$. We apply this link to the open problem of classification of faithful complex specializations of this representation. As a result we provide an answer to this problem in terms of the singular set of the $q$-rationals and prove the faithfulness of the Burau representation specialized at complex $t\in \mathbb{C}^*$ outside the annulus $3-2\sqrt2 \leq |t| \leq 3+2\sqrt2.$