Linear-central filtrations and the image of the Burau representation

Abstract

The Burau representation is a fundamental bridge between the braid group and diverse other topics in mathematics. A 1974 question of Birman asks for a description of the image; in this paper we give an approximate answer. Since a 1984 paper of Squier it has been known that the Burau representation preserves a certain Hermitian form. We show that the Burau image is dense in this unitary group relative to a topology induced by a naturally-occurring filtration. We expect that the methods of the paper should extend to many other representations of the braid group.