Small torsion generating sets for hyperelliptic mapping class groups (Q1764663)

The problem of finding certain generating sets for the groups \(M_{g}\) and \(M_{g}^{\pm }\) has been studied extensively. In this paper the authors show that both groups, the hyperelliptic mapping class group \(M_{g}^{h}\) and the extended hyperelliptic mapping class group \(M_{g}^{h\pm }\), are generated by two torsion elements and they also prove that the extended hyperelliptic mapping class group is generated by three orientation reversing involutions. They compute the index \([M_{g}^{h}:I_{g}]\) of the proper subgroup \(I_{g}\) of \(M_{g}^{h}\) which is generated by involutions. The importance of torsion elements in the groups \(M_{g}\) and \(M_{g}^{\pm }\) follows from the fact that any such element could be realized as an analytic (dianalytic) automorphism of some Riemann surface (in this case a hyperelliptic Riemann surface).