Related papers: The mapping class group of connect sums of $S^2 \t…

The mapping class group of a surface with one boundary component admits numerous interesting representations including as a group of automorphisms of a free group and as a group of symplectic transformations. Insofar as the mapping class…

Several elementary properties of the symmetric group $S_n$ extend in a nice way to the full transformation monoid $M_n$ of all maps of the set $X:=\{1,2,3,\dots,n\}$ into itself. The group $S_n$ turns out to be in some sense the torsion…

A major barrier in semiclassical calculations is the sheer number of terms that contribute as time increases; for classically chaotic dynamics, the proliferation is exponential. We have been able to overcome this ``exponential wall'' for…

Let Gamma be a group generated by two positive multi-twists. We give some sufficient conditions for Gamma to be free or have no `unexpectedly reducible' elements. For a group Gamma generated by two Dehn twists, we classify the elements in…

The fundamental group of $M = \sharp_n (S^2\times S^1)$ is $F_n$, the free group with $n$ generators. There is a 1-1 correspondence between the equivalence classes of $\mathbb{Z}$-- splittings of $F_n$ and homotopy classes of embedded…

In this paper we compute the homotopy groups of the symplectomorphism groups of the 3-, 4- and 5-point blow-ups of the projective plane (considered as monotone symplectic Del Pezzo surfaces). Along the way, we need to compute the homotopy…

For every $n\ge 2$, the {\em surface Houghton group} $\mathcal B_n$ is defined as the asymptotically rigid mapping class group of a surface with exactly $n$ ends, all of them non-planar. The groups $\mathcal B_n$ are analogous to, and in…

Any modality in homotopy type theory gives rise to an orthogonal factorization system of which the left class is stable under pullbacks. We show that there is a second orthogonal factorization system associated to any modality, of which the…

We develop a theory of type semigroups for arbitrary twisted, not necessarily Hausdorff \'etale groupoids. The type semigroup is a dynamical version of the Cuntz semigroup. We relate it to traces, ideals, pure infiniteness, and stable…

From the viewpoint of higher homological algebra, we introduce pure semisimple $n$-abelian category, which is analogs of pure semisimple abelian category. Let $\Lambda$ be an Artin algebra and $\mathcal{M}$ be an $n$-cluster tilting…

We study representations of the mapping class group of the punctured torus on the double of a finite dimensional possibly non-semisimple Hopf algebra that arise in the construction of universal, extended topological field theories. We…

Let $M=H_1\cup_S H_2$ be a Heegaard splitting of a closed orientable 3-manifold $M$ (or a bridge decomposition of a link exterior). Consider the subgroup $\mathrm{MCG}^0(H_j)$ of the mapping class group of $H_j$ consisting of mapping…

In this article we compute the mapping class group of the total space $S(\xi)$ of the sphere bundle of a 3-dimensional real vector bundle $\xi$ over the complex projective plane $\mathbb{P}^2$ with $\langle p_1(\xi), [\mathbb{P}^2] \rangle…

We use elementary skein theory to prove a version of a result of Stylianakis who showed that under mild restrictions on m and n, the normal closure of the m-th power of a half-twist has infinite index in the mapping class group of a sphere…

We consider finite group-actions on 3-manifolds $\cal H_g$ obtained as the connected sum of $g$ copies of $S^2 \times S^1$, with free fundamental group $F_g$ of rank $g$. We prove that, for $g > 1$, a finite group of diffeomorphisms of…

Let $S$ be a surface of finite type which is not a sphere with at most four punctures, a torus with at most two punctures, or a closed surface of genus two. Let $\mathcal{MF}$ be the space of equivalence classes of measured foliations of…

Extending classical algebro-geometric constructions to arbitrary matroids, we construct a $K$-class $T_M\in K(M)$ for every loopless matroid $M$. When $M$ is realizable by a linear subspace $L$, $T_M$ recovers the $K$-class of the tangent…

We study the real components of modular curves. Our main result is an abstract group-theoretic description of the real components of a modular curve defined by a congruence subgroup of level N in terms of the corresponding subgroup of…

Dehn twists around simple closed curves in oriented surfaces satisfy the braid relations. This gives rise to a group theoretic from the braid group to the mapping class group. We prove here that this map is trivial in stable homology with…

We calculate the Dehn twist action on the spaces of conformal blocks of a not necessarily semisimple modular category. In particular, we give the order of the Dehn twists under the mapping class group representations of closed surfaces. For…