We study the density of the Burau representation from the perspective of a non-semisimple topological quantum field theory (TQFT) at a fourth root of unity. This gives a TQFT construction of Squier’s Hermitian form on the Burau representation with possibly mixed signature. We prove that the image of the braid group in the space of possibly indefinite unitary representations is dense. We also argue for the potential applications of non-semisimple TQFTs toward topological quantum computation.

A complete description of all possible multiplicative groups of finite skew left braces whose additive group has trivial centre is given. As a consequence, some earlier results of Tsang can be improved and an answer to an open question set by Tsang at Ischia Group Theory 2024 Conference is provided.

We present a construction of left braces of right nilpotency class at most two based on suitable actions of an abelian group on itself with an invariance condition. This construction allows us to recover the construction of a free right nilpotent one-generated left brace of class two.

We introduce the notions of quasi-Laurent and Laurent families of simple modules over quiver Hecke algebras of arbitrary symmetrizable types. We prove that such a family plays a similar role of a cluster in quantum cluster algebra theory and exhibits a quantum Laurent positivity phenomenon similar to the basis of the quantum unipotent coordinate ring $\mathcal {A}_q(\mathfrak {n}(w))$, coming from the categorification. Then we show that the families of simple modules categorifying Geiß–Leclerc–Schröer (GLS) clusters are Laurent families by using the Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt (PBW) decomposition vector of a simple module $X$ and categorical interpretation of (co)degree of $[X]$. As applications of such $\mathbb {Z}\mspace {1mu}$-vectors, we define several skew-symmetric pairings on arbitrary pairs of simple modules, and investigate the relationships among the pairings and $\Lambda$-invariants of $R$-matrices in the quiver Hecke algebra theory.

We describe the one-generator braces A satisfying the condition $A^3 = \langle 0 \rangle$.

Let G be a compact quantum group. We show that given a G-equivariant $\textrm {C}^*$-correspondence E, the Pimsner algebra $\mathcal {O}_E$ can be naturally made into a G-$\textrm {C}^*$-algebra. We also provide sufficient conditions under which it is guaranteed that a G-action on the Pimsner algebra $\mathcal {O}_E$ arises in this way, in a suitable precise sense. When G is of Kac type, a KMS state on the Pimsner algebra, arising from a quasi-free dynamics, is G-equivariant if and only if the tracial state obtained from restricting it to the coefficient algebra is G-equivariant, under a natural condition. We apply these results to the situation when the $\textrm {C}^*$-correspondence is obtained from a finite, directed graph and draw various conclusions on the quantum automorphism groups of such graphs, both in the sense of Banica and Bichon.

We establish an equivalence between two approaches to quantization of irreducible symmetric spaces of compact type within the framework of quasi-coactions, one based on the Enriquez–Etingof cyclotomic Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov (KZ) equations and the other on the Letzter–Kolb coideals. This equivalence can be upgraded to that of ribbon braided quasi-coactions, and then the associated reflection operators (K-matrices) become a tangible invariant of the quantization. As an application we obtain a Kohno–Drinfeld type theorem on type $\mathrm {B}$ braid group representations defined by the monodromy of KZ-equations and by the Balagović–Kolb universal K-matrices. The cases of Hermitian and non-Hermitian symmetric spaces are significantly different. In particular, in the latter case a quasi-coaction is essentially unique, while in the former we show that there is a one-parameter family of mutually nonequivalent quasi-coactions.

Skew left braces arise naturally from the study of non-degenerate set-theoretic solutions of the Yang–Baxter equation. To understand the algebraic structure of skew left braces, a study of the decomposition into minimal substructures is relevant. We introduce chief series and prove a strengthened form of the Jordan–Hölder theorem for finite skew left braces. A characterization of right nilpotency and an application to multipermutation solutions are also given.

Set-theoretic solutions to the Yang–Baxter equation can be classified by their universal coverings and their fundamental groupoids. Extending previous results, universal coverings of irreducible involutive solutions are classified in the degenerate case. These solutions are described in terms of a group with a distinguished self-map. The classification in the nondegenerate case is simplified and compared with the description in the degenerate case.

An unexpected relationship between indecomposable involutive set-theoretic solutions to the Yang–Baxter equation and one-generator braces has recently been discovered by Agata and Alicja Smoktunowicz. We extend these results and answer three open questions which arose in this context.

In this paper we study consequences of the results of Kang et al. [Monoidal categorification of cluster algebras, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 31 (2018), 349–426] on a monoidal categorification of the unipotent quantum coordinate ring $A_{q}(\mathfrak{n}(w))$ together with the Laurent phenomenon of cluster algebras. We show that if a simple module $S$ in the category ${\mathcal{C}}_{w}$ strongly commutes with all the cluster variables in a cluster $[\mathscr{C}]$, then $[S]$ is a cluster monomial in $[\mathscr{C}]$. If $S$ strongly commutes with cluster variables except for exactly one cluster variable $[M_{k}]$, then $[S]$ is either a cluster monomial in $[\mathscr{C}]$ or a cluster monomial in $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{k}([\mathscr{C}])$. We give a new proof of the fact that the upper global basis is a common triangular basis (in the sense of Qin [Triangular bases in quantum cluster algebras and monoidal categorification conjectures, Duke Math. 166 (2017), 2337–2442]) of the localization $\widetilde{A}_{q}(\mathfrak{n}(w))$ of $A_{q}(\mathfrak{n}(w))$ at the frozen variables. A characterization on the commutativity of a simple module $S$ with cluster variables in a cluster $[\mathscr{C}]$ is given in terms of the denominator vector of $[S]$ with respect to the cluster $[\mathscr{C}]$.

We answer a question of Skalski and Sołan (2016) about inner faithfulness of the Curran’s map of extending a quantum increasing sequence to a quantum permutation. Roughly speaking, we find a inductive setting in which the inner faithfulness of Curran’s map can be boiled down to inner faithfulness of similar map for smaller algebras and then rely on inductive generation result for quantum permutation groups of Brannan, Chirvasitu and Freslon (2018).

Let $\mathbb{L}\subset A\times I$ be a link in a thickened annulus. We show that its sutured annular Khovanov homology carries an action of $\mathfrak{sl}_{2}(\wedge )$ , the exterior current algebra of $\mathfrak{sl}_{2}$ . When $\mathbb{L}$ is an $m$ -framed $n$ -cable of a knot $K\subset S^{3}$ , its sutured annular Khovanov homology carries a commuting action of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_{n}$ . One therefore obtains a ‘knotted’ Schur–Weyl representation that agrees with classical $\mathfrak{sl}_{2}$ Schur–Weyl duality when $K$ is the Seifert-framed unknot.

A quantum Frobenius map a la Lusztig for $\mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{l}_{2}$ is categorified at a prime root of unity.

We prove that, for simple modules $M$ and $N$ over a quantum affine algebra, their tensor product $M\otimes N$ has a simple head and a simple socle if $M\otimes M$ is simple. A similar result is proved for the convolution product of simple modules over quiver Hecke algebras.

We introduce and study a category of representations of the Borel algebra associated with a quantum loop algebra of non-twisted type. We construct fundamental representations for this category as a limit of the Kirillov–Reshetikhin modules over the quantum loop algebra and establish explicit formulas for their characters. We prove that general simple modules in this category are classified by n-tuples of rational functions in one variable which are regular and non-zero at the origin but may have a zero or a pole at infinity.

We identify the Poisson boundary of the dual of the universal compact quantum group Au(F) with a measurable field of ITPFI (infinite tensor product of finite type I) factors.

We describe a general setting for the definition of semi-infinite cohomology of finite-dimensional graded algebras, and provide an interpretation of such cohomology in terms of derived categories. We apply this interpretation to compute semi-infinite cohomology of some modules over the small quantum group at a root of unity, generalizing an earlier result of Arkhipov (posed as a conjecture by B. Feigin).

In this paper we give a re-normalization of the Reshetikhin–Turaev quantum invariants of links, using modified quantum dimensions. In the case of simple Lie algebras these modified quantum dimensions are proportional to the usual quantum dimensions. More interestingly, we give two examples where the usual quantum dimensions vanish but the modified quantum dimensions are non-zero and lead to non-trivial link invariants. The first of these examples is a class of invariants arising from Lie superalgebras previously defined by the first two authors. These link invariants are multivariable and generalize the multivariable Alexander polynomial. The second example is a hierarchy of link invariants arising from nilpotent representations of quantized at a root of unity. These invariants contain Kashaev’s quantum dilogarithm invariants of knots.

We give an interpretation of the energy function and classically restricted one-dimensional sums associated to tensor products of level-zero fundamental representations of quantum affine algebras in terms of Lakshmibai–Seshadri paths of level-zero shape.