Braid Groups can arise naturally in a number of different ways. Intuitively one may view braid groups as 'strands' between some finite sets of points with some naturally defined composition. More formally, one can define braid groups as the fundamental group of some configuration spaces. In turn, these are isomorphic to the mapping class group of the n-punctured disc.

In tonight's discussion group Paul Mortimer will give an introduction to braid groups along with what he covered in his project. This talk may unfortunately not be for the faint hearted. The material was described to us by Paul as "PhD level". He did go on to clarify, "the most difficult aspect of the project was presenting it in a fashion understandable to fellow fourth years." There is therefore some hope that the talk will be an understandable account of Paul's wonderful achievements over the past two terms. Stay Categorical!