An application of homotopy theory to mapping class groups (Q1822095)

Let \(M_ g\) be the mapping class group of a closed orientable surface of genus g and \(H^ k(M):=H^ k(M_ g; {\mathbb{Z}})\) be its cohomology in the stable range, i.e. \(g\gg k\), where it is independent of g by results of Harer. In the present paper, using homotopy-theoretic methods, it is proved that the stable cohomology \(H^ k(M; {\mathbb{Z}}[])\) contains as a direct summand the cohomology H(Im J; \({\mathbb{Z}}[])\) of the image of the J- homomorphism of homotopy theory. ''Thus the cohomology of the infinite mapping class group M has a very complicated pattern, and we can produce odd torsion classes in addition to those related to Bernoulli numbers as in the paper by \textit{H. Glover} and \textit{G. Mislin} [ibid. 44, 177-189 (1987; see the previous review)].''