Automorphisms of complexes of curves on punctured spheres and on punctured tori (Q1296304)

The complex \(C(S)\) of curves of a connected orientable surface \(S\) of genus \(g\) with \(n\) punctures (or boundary components) is an abstract simplicial complex whose vertices are the isotopy classes of nontrivial simple closed curves on the surface; a \(q\)-simplex is determined by \(q\) distinct isotopy classes of curves with pairwise disjoint representatives. Ivanov has shown that if the genus of the surface is at least two, then the natural homomorphism of the extended mapping class group of the surface (diffeomorphisms modulo isotopy) to the automorphism group of the simplicial complex \(C(S)\) is surjective, and in fact an isomorphism if there is at least one puncture. In the present carefully and well-written paper the same is proved (i.e. the isomorphism) for the sphere with at least five punctures and the torus with at least three punctures (for the remaining surfaces the result is not true or still open). As applications it is shown that such surfaces are determined by their complexes of curves, that any isomorphism between finite index subgroups of the mapping class group is the restriction of an inner automorphism, and that the outer automorphism group of such a finite index subgroup is finite (generalizing again results of Ivanov for surfaces of genus at least two).