The explicit algebraic autonomy of Artin presentation theory and the Fox calculus. I (Q265465)

Given an Artin presentation \(r\) on \(n\) generators \(x_1,\ldots,x_n\), the Fox calculus is used to obtain a short purely algebraic computation, of the second homotopy group \(\pi_2(r) := \pi_2(M^3(r))\) of the manifold \(M^3(r)\) associated to \(r\). \(\pi_2(r) = \text{Nul}(r)/\langle V(r) \rangle,\) where \(\langle V(r) \rangle\) is generated by \[ V(r) = (x_1 - 1, x_1(x_2-1), x_1x_2(x_3-1),\ldots, x_1x_2\cdots x_{n-1}(x_n-1)) \] in the integral group ring \(\mathbb{Z}\pi_1(r)\) of the group \(\pi_1(r)\) and where \(\text{Nul}(r)\) denotes the set of horizontal \(n\)-vectors \(v\) in \(\mathbb{Z}\pi_1(r)\) such that \(v \text{Jac} r = 0\) in \(\mathbb{Z}\pi_1(r)\).