Homomorphisms between mapping class groups (Q1938768)

In the article under review, the authors continue their work (initiated in a joint paper with Leininger) concerning homomorphisms between mapping class groups. They prove a result which is analogous to super-rigidity for lattices in higher rank semisimple Lie groups, namely that nontrivial homomorphisms between mapping class groups, at least within certain ranges, are induced by maps of the underlying surfaces. Precisely, they prove that if \(X\) has genus \(g\geq 6\) and if \(Y\) has genus \(g'< 2g-1\) then every nontrivial homomorphism from the mapping class group of \(X\) to the mapping class group of \(Y\) is induced by an embedding from \(X\) to \(Y\). The authors show that the conclusion also holds when \(g'=2g-1\) and \(Y\) is not closed. The main result has some strong corollaries. For instance if \(X\) is closed then any nontrivial homomorphism from the mapping class group of \(X\) to that of \(Y\) is an isomorphism. The most labor intensive part of the paper is showing that under nontrivial homomorphisms between mapping class groups in the range under consideration, Dehn twists about nonseparating curves must be sent to Dehn twists about nonseparating curves. The authors note that in order to develop a strict analogy with lattices in higher rank Lie groups, one should consider maps between finite index subgroups of mapping class groups, though that such an approach seems out of reach with current techniques.