Explicit generators of the Steinberg module of the mapping class group

MaRDI QIDQ6865955zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Ingrid Irmer

Publication date 30 January 2026

Published in Journal of Mathematical Sciences. University of Tokyo (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://www.ms.u-tokyo.ac.jp/journal/abstract/jms330101.html

zbMATH Keywords

Broaddus spherecurve complexmapping class groupsmoduli spaceMorse theory

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

2-dimensional topology (including mapping class groups of surfaces, Teichmüller theory, curve complexes, etc.) (57K20) Critical points and critical submanifolds in differential topology (57R70)

Review text

\textit{J. L. Harer} showed that the complex of curves \(\mathcal{C}_g\) of a closed, orientable topological surface \(S_g\) of genus \(g \geq 2\) has the homotopy type of an infinite wedge of spheres of dimension \(2g-2\), see [Invent. Math. 84, 157--176 (1986; Zbl 0592.57009)]. Much later, N. Broaddus gave an algorithm for constructing a homotopically nontrivial sphere in this infinite wedge, and provided an explicit example in genus 2, see [\textit{N. Broaddus}, Duke Math. J. 161, No. 10, 1943--1969 (2012; Zbl 1250.57032)]. In the paper under review, the author proves a conjecture raised by Broaddus in his paper, showing that one may use a considerably simpler construction of spheres which she calls ``Broaddus spheres, of which there is one in each genus. She gives a simple characterization of a representative of the unique orbit of the action of the mapping class group on the homology of the curve complex. She shows that the kernel of the action of the mapping class group of any surface of genus \(g\geq 2\) on the Steinberg module, that is, the reduced homology group \(\tilde{H}_{2g-2}(\mathcal{C}_g;\mathbb{Z})\), is trivial. The results obtained in this paper are valuable and substantially improve our knowledge of the homology of the curve complex, a basic object in low-dimensional topology.

Cites work

• A primer on mapping class groups
• Foundations of Hyperbolic Manifolds
• Geodesic length functions and the Nielsen problem
• Groups with homological duality generalizing Poincaré duality
• Homology of the curve complex and the Steinberg module of the mapping class group
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 4038222 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3208810 (Why is no real title available?)
• Nielsen extensions of Riemann surfaces
• On Marden's universal constant of Fuchsian groups
• Systoles and topological Morse functions for Riemann surfaces.
• SYSTOLIC FILLINGS OF SURFACES
• The associahedron and triangulations of the \(n\)-gon
• The Morse-Smale property of the Thurston spine
• The virtual cohomological dimension of the mapping class group of an orientable surface
• Topological singularities of generalized systoles
• Topologically non-degenerate functions on a compact n-manifold M

Cited in

(1)

• The Morse-Smale property of the Thurston spine

This page was built for publication: Explicit generators of the Steinberg module of the mapping class group

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q6865955)