Abstract
We show that reducible braids which are, in a Garside-theoretical sense, as simple as possible within their conjugacy class, are also as simple as possible in a geometric sense. More precisely, if a braid belongs to a certain subset of its conjugacy class which we call the stabilized set of sliding circuits, and if it is reducible, then its reducibility is geometrically obvious: it has a round or almost round reducing curve. Moreover, for any given braid, an element of its stabilized set of sliding circuits can be found using the well-known cyclic sliding operation. This leads to a polynomial time algorithm for deciding the Nielsen–Thurston type of any braid, modulo one well-known conjecture on the speed of convergence of the cyclic sliding operation.
Citation
Juan González-Meneses. Bert Wiest. "Reducible braids and Garside Theory." Algebr. Geom. Topol. 11 (5) 2971 - 3010, 2011. https://doi.org/10.2140/agt.2011.11.2971
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