Infinite Groups Seminar: González-Meneses -- Growth functions of braid monoids and generation of random braids

In April there will not be a full Infinite Groups seminar, since I will be overseas.  

However, the following talk on 11 April by Juan González-Meneses, who will be visiting
Volker Gebhardt at UWS, may well be of interest.  

The talk can be viewed in Carslaw 829, the Access Grid Room.  If you plan to attend,
please contact Robert Pearson to let him know that you will be in the audience.  

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Date: Monday 11 April 

Time: 9:30-11am 

Place: University of Western Sydney and broadcast over the Access Grid 

Speaker: 

Juan González-Meneses, University of Seville 

Title: 

Growth functions of braid monoids and generation of random braids.  

Abstract: 

In most papers concerning cryptographic protocols using braid groups, or cryptanalysis
of these protocols, the method for generating braids of a given length is not
satisfactory, as distinct braids do not appear with the same probability.  We will
explain an efficient method to generate random positive braids of a given length.  Along
the way, we will discover new properties of the growth functions of positive braid
monoids, which can be generalized to Artin-Tits monoids of finite type and to certain
Garside monoids.  This talk will be accessible to non-specialists.  

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