Every mapping class group is generated by 6 involutions

dc.creatorBrendle, Tara E.
dc.creatorFarb, Benson
dc.date2003-07-02
dc.date2004-02-19
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T04:59:23Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T04:59:23Z
dc.descriptionLet Mod_{g,b} denote the mapping class group of a surface of genus g with b punctures. Feng Luo asked in a recent preprint if there is a universal upper bound, independent of genus, for the number of torsion elements needed to generate Mod_{g,b}. We answer Luo's question by proving that 3 torsion elements suffice to generate Mod_{g,0}. We also prove the more delicate result that there is an upper bound, independent of genus, not only for the number of torsion elements needed to generate Mod_{g,b} but also for the order of those elements. In particular, our main result is that 6 involutions (i.e. orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of order two) suffice to generate Mod_{g,b} for every genus g >= 3, b = 0, and g >= 4, b = 1.
dc.description15 pages, 7 figures; slightly improved main result; minor revisions. to appear in J. Alg
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/math/0307039
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/math/0307039
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/67961
dc.subjectGeometric Topology
dc.subjectGroup Theory
dc.subject20F65 (Primary) 57M07, 20F38 (Secondary)
dc.titleEvery mapping class group is generated by 6 involutions
dc.typetext

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