Mapping class group is generated by three involutions (Q1996264)

The main result of the paper states that the mapping class group \(\mathrm{Mod}(\Sigma_g)\) of a closed orientable surface \(\Sigma_g\) of genus \(g \ge 8\) is generated by three involutions (which is best possible), and by four involutions if \(g \ge 3\). As a consequence, also the symplectic group \(\mathrm{Sp}(2g, \mathbb Z)\) is generated by three or four involutions. As the author carefully surveys in the introduction, the problem of finding small generating sets of mapping class groups has a long and interesting history, starting with Dehn in 1938 who showed that \(\mathrm{Mod}(\Sigma_g)\) is generated by finitely many Dehn twists (the minimal number is \(2g+1\)). \textit{C. Maclachlan} proved [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 29, 85--86 (1971; Zbl 0222.32012)] that \(\mathrm{Mod}(\Sigma_g)\) is generated by finitely many elements of finite order (as a consequence and motivating objective, the moduli space of Riemann surfaces of genus \(g\) is simply connected); by a result of the present author, it is generated by two elements of finite order \(4g+2\) [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 357, No. 8, 3299--3310 (2005; Zbl 1079.57018)].