Generalization of Artin’s Theorem on the Isotopy of Closed Braids. I

A classical theorem of braid theory, dating back to Artin’s work, says that two closed braids in a solid torus are ambient isotopic if and only if they represent the same conjugacy class of the braid group. This theorem can be reformulated in the framework of link theory without referring to the group structure. A link in a surface bundle over the circle is transversal whenever it covers the circle. In this terminology, Artin’s theorem states that in a solid torus trivially fibered over the circle transversal links are ambient isotopic if and only if they are isotopic in the class of transversal links. We generalize this result by proving that (in the piecewise linear category) transversal links in an arbitrary compact orientable \( 3 \)-manifold fibered over the circle with a compact fiber are ambient isotopic if and only if they are isotopic in the class of transversal links.