In this talk we’ll present some results on configuration spaces of points in surfaces with a view towards generalizing Stephen Bigelow’s intersection theoretic approach to the Jones polynomial by considering an intersection number of two submanifolds in a cover of an associated space. We use an interesting homomorphism sending braids on a punctured torus to a group which is a central extension of Z x Z by Z (very similar to the discrete Heisenberg group). This map can be used to construct two layers of covering spaces analogous to Bigelow’s covering spaces.

There will also be a pretalk at 2 p.m. in the same room.