Braid groups and quiver mutation

Abstract

We describe presentations of braid groups of type ADE and show how these presentations are compatible with mutation of quivers, building on work of Barot and Marsh for Coxeter groups. In types A and D these presentations can be understood geometrically using triangulated surfaces. We then give a categorical interpretation of the presentations, with the new generators acting as spherical twists at simple modules on derived categories of Ginzburg dg-algebras of quivers with potential.