\(K\)-theory of mapping class groups: General \(p\)-adic \(K\)-theory for punctured spheres (Q1895765)

Let \(\Gamma^n\) be the mapping class group of the \(n\)-punctured sphere, where \(n \geq 3\), and let \(p\) be a prime. The author computes the \(p\)-adic component of \(K^* (B \Gamma^n)\) by using a formula of Adem. This allows him to describe the classifying spaces. He had previously conjectured that \(K^* (B \Gamma^n)\) is torsion free. He shows here that this is not true.