The mapping class group and the Meyer function for plane curves (Q957876)

Let \(\Sigma_g\) be a closed oriented surface of genus \(g\geq 0\) and let \(\Gamma_g\) be the mapping class group of \(\Sigma_g\). W. Meyer defined a 2-cocycle \(\tau_g:\Gamma_g\times \Gamma_g\rightarrow \mathbb Z\). This cocycle has some applications in the theory of hyperelliptic fibrations. In this paper the author introduces the mapping class group for plane curves of degree \(d\) where \(d\geq 2\), denoted by \(\Pi(d)\). It can be considered as the fundamental group of the classifying space for isotopy classes of continuous families of non-singular plane curves of degree \(d\). For \(g=1/2(d-1)(d-2)\) there is a morphism \(\rho_g:\Pi(d)\rightarrow \gamma_g\); the author shows that \(\rho^*([\tau_g])=0\), he also shows that there exists a unique 1-cochain \(\phi_d\) called the Meyer function for plane curves of degree \(d\) whose boundary is equal to \(\rho^*(\tau_g)\).