Low Dimensional Topology and Ordering Groups

Abstract

This expository paper explores the interaction of group ordering with topological questions, especially in dimensions 2 and 3. Among the topics considered are surfaces, braid groups, 3-manifolds and their structures such as foliations and mappings between them. A final section explores currently ongoing research regarding spaces of homeomorphisms and their orderability properties. This is not meant to be a comprehensive survey, but rather just a taste of the rich relationship between topology and the theory of ordered groups.