Embedding of polynomial algebras in the cohomology of the mapping class groups (Q1297976)

Choose a sequence \((S_{g,1})_{g\geq 1}\) of compact, connected, orientable surfaces with nonempty connected boundary such that \(S_{g,1}\) has genus \(g\) and \(S_{1,1}\subset S_{2,1}\subset S_{3,1}\subset\cdots \). Let \(\Gamma_{g,1}\) be the mapping class group of \(S_{g,1}\), i.e., the group of isotopy classes of orientation preserving homeomorphisms of \(S_{g,1}\) which keep the boundary pointwise fixed. By extending every such homeomorphism to a homeomorphism of \(S_{g+1,1}\) which fixes the points outside \(S_{g,1}\) we obtain a map \(\Gamma_{g,1}\to \Gamma_{g+1,1}\). Denote by \(\Gamma\) the corresponding direct limit of the groups \(\Gamma_{g,1}\). Assigning to each \(\gamma\in\Gamma_{g,1}\) its action on the homology group \(H_1(S_{g,1})\) equipped with its intersection form defines a homomorphism \(\Gamma_{g,1}\to\text{Sp}_{2g}(\mathbb Z)\), and these homomorphisms give rise to a homomorphism \(\psi\colon\Gamma\to \text{Sp}(\mathbb Z)\), which composes with \(\zeta\colon\text{Sp}(\mathbb Z) \hookrightarrow\text{Sp}(\mathbb R)\) to a homomorphism \(\Psi\colon\Gamma \to\text{Sp}(\mathbb R)\). The cohomology \(H^*(B \text{Sp}(\mathbb R);\mathbb F_p)\), where \(p\) is a prime and \(\mathbb F_p\) is the field of \(p\) elements, is known to be a polynomial algebra \(\mathbb F_p[d_1,d_2,\dots]\) with \(\deg d_i=2i\), and the purpose of the paper under review is to investigate the homomorphisms \(\Psi^*\colon H^*(B \text{Sp}(\mathbb R); \mathbb F_p)\to H^*(B\Gamma;\mathbb F_p)\) and \(\zeta^*\colon H^*(B \text{Sp} (\mathbb R);\mathbb F_p)\to H^*(B \text{Sp}(\mathbb Z);\mathbb F_p)\). The author proves that both \(\Psi^*\) and \(\zeta^*\) are injective on the polynomial subalgebra of \(H^*(B \text{Sp}(\mathbb R);\mathbb F_p)\) generated by the \(d_i\) with \(i\) either odd or divisible by \(p-1\) (and hence \(\Psi^*\) and \(\zeta^*\) are injective for \(p=2,3\)).