Bordered surfaces in the 3-sphere with maximum symmetry (Q1748106)

Consider \((S^3,\Sigma)\) where \(\Sigma\) denotes a compact, closed, bordered surface. The authors study smooth, faithful actions of finite groups on such pairs. Assuming that the action on \(S^3\) preserves orientations, one may assume that the group is a subgroup of \(SO(4)\). Let \(\alpha_\Sigma\) denote the algebraic genus of \(\Sigma\). Only surfaces with \(\alpha_\Sigma > 1\) are considered. Let \(m_\alpha\) denote the maximal order of such a group \(G\) acting on the pair \((S^3,\Sigma)\) for all embeddings of bordered surfaces \(\Sigma\) of a given algebraic genus \(\alpha\). The main theorem determines \(m_\alpha\) as a function of \(\alpha\) and lists surfaces that realize \(m_\alpha\).