Kerodon

$\Newextarrow{\xRightarrow}{5,5}{0x21D2}$ $\newcommand\empty{}$
$\Newextarrow{\xhookrightarrow}{10,10}{0x21AA}$

Construction 2.4.7.5 (The Braid Group). Let $(W,S)$ be a Coxeter system. We let $\mathrm{Br}(W)$ denote the quotient of the free group generated by $S$ by the relations

2.19
\begin{equation} \label{equation:braid-group-relation} s \cdot t \cdot s \cdots = t \cdot s \cdot t \cdots ; \end{equation}

here $s$ and $t$ range over distinct elements of $S$ satisfying $m_{s,t} < \infty $ (where $m_{s,t}$ is the order of $st$ in the group $W$), and the product appearing on each side of (2.19) has $m_{s,t}$-factors. We will refer to $\mathrm{Br}(W)$ as the braid group of the Coxeter system $(W,S)$. By construction, the braid group $\mathrm{Br}(W)$ is equipped with a surjective group homomorphism $\mathrm{Br}(W) \twoheadrightarrow W$, which exhibits $W$ as the quotient of $\mathrm{Br}(W)$ by the relations $s^2 = 1$ for $s \in S$.

Let $\mathrm{Br}^{+}(W)$ denote the submonoid of $\mathrm{Br}(W)$ generated by the elements of $S$. We will refer to $\mathrm{Br}^{+}(W)$ as the braid monoid of the Coxeter system $(W,S)$.