English

Finite index subgroups of mapping class groups

Geometric Topology 2014-02-26 v1 Group Theory

Abstract

Let g3g\geq3 and n0n\geq0, and let Mg,n{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n} be the mapping class group of a surface of genus gg with nn boundary components. We prove that Mg,n{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n} contains a unique subgroup of index 2g1(2g1)2^{g-1}(2^{g}-1) up to conjugation, a unique subgroup of index 2g1(2g+1)2^{g-1}(2^{g}+1) up to conjugation, and the other proper subgroups of Mg,n{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n} are of index greater than 2g1(2g+1)2^{g-1}(2^{g}+1). In particular, the minimum index for a proper subgroup of Mg,n{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n} is 2g1(2g1)2^{g-1}(2^{g}-1).

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1105.2468,
  title  = {Finite index subgroups of mapping class groups},
  author = {Luis Paris and Jon A Berrick and Volker Gebhardt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1105.2468},
  year   = {2014}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T18:06:20.913Z