The abelianization of the Johnson kernel (Q2449826)

The Johnson group \(K_g\) of a closed oriented surface \(S_g\) of genus \(g\geq 2\) is the subgroup of the mapping class group \(\Gamma_g\) of \(S_g\) that is generated by the Dehn twists around separating essential simple closed curves of \(S\). It is a subgroup of the Torelli group \(T_g\) of the surface. The goal of the authors in the paper under review is to describe the \(\Gamma_g/K_g\)-module \(H_1(K_g,\mathbb{C})\). They prove that in the case where \(g\geq 4\), \(H_1(K_g,\mathbb{C})\) is a nontrivial unipotent \(H_1(T_g)\)-module and that \(H_1(T_g,\mathbb{C}_{\rho})\) vanishes for all non-trivial characters \(\rho\) in the identity component \(\mathrm{Hom}_{\mathbb{Z}}(V_{\mathbb{Z}},\mathbb{C}^*)\) of \(H^1(T_g,\mathbb{C}^*)\). For \(g\geq 6\), they give an explicit presentation of this subgroup as a \(\mathrm{Sym}_{\bullet} H_1(T_g,\mathbb{C})\)-module. In doing this, the authors prove that for a finitely generated group \(G\) satisfying an assumption close to formality, the triviality of the restricted characteristic variety implies that the first homology of its Johnson kernel is a nilpotent module over the corresponding Laurent polynomial ring, isomorphic to the infinitesimal Alexander invariant of the associated graded Lie algebra of \(G\).