A journey through loop braid groups

Abstract

In this paper we introduce distinct approaches to loop braid groups, a generalization of braid groups, and unify all the definitions that have appeared so far in the literature, with a complete proof of the equivalence of these definitions. These groups have in fact been an object of interest in different domains of mathematics and mathematical physics, and have been called, in addition to loop braid groups, with several names such as of motion groups, groups of permutation-conjugacy automorphisms, braid–permutation groups, welded braid groups and untwisted ring groups. In parallel to this, we introduce an extension of these groups that appears to be a more natural generalization of braid groups from the topological point of view. Throughout the text we motivate the interest in studying loop braid groups and give references to some of their applications.