Free group automorphisms, invariant orderings and topological applications (Q5934074)

The authors call a group \(G\) endowed with a strict total ordering \(<\) of its elements left-ordered provided \(x<y\) if and only if \(zx<zy\) for every \(x,y,z\) in \(G\), and bi-ordered provided the ordering is also right-invariant. The goal of the paper is to establish certain orderability results for several families of groups which arise in topology. It is shown that: (1) The fundamental group of every closed surface is bi-orderable, with the exceptions of the fundamental groups of the projective plane and the Klein bottle. (2) The pure braid groups associated with nonorientable surfaces distinct from the projective plane are left-orderable. (3) The fundamental groups of certain punctured-torus bundles over the circle are bi-orderable, for example the figure eight knot group.