Factoring periodic maps into Dehn twists (Q2161122)

Dehn and Lickorish proved that the mapping class groups of oriented closed surfaces are generated by Dehn twists. On the other hand, Nielsen showed that conjugacy classes of periodic maps on oriented closed surfaces are described by certain data sets on the orbit spaces of periodic maps. In this paper, an algorithm to find Dehn twist presentations for the periodic maps from the above data sets is introduced. This algorithm is based on the work by \textit{S. Parsad} et al. [J. Topol. Anal. 11, No. 4, 929--964 (2019; Zbl 1432.57047)], chain relations, generalized star relations, and the Bestvina-Handel algorithm [\textit{M. Bestvina} and \textit{M. Handel}, Topology 34, No. 1, 109--140 (1995; Zbl 0837.57010)]. As an application, some results on roots of Dehn twists and pseudo-Anosov homeomorphisms are obtained.