A Primer on Mapping Class Groups

A Primer on Mapping Class Groups PDF Author: Benson Farb
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691147949
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 490

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Book Description
The study of the mapping class group Mod(S) is a classical topic that is experiencing a renaissance. It lies at the juncture of geometry, topology, and group theory. This book explains as many important theorems, examples, and techniques as possible, quickly and directly, while at the same time giving full details and keeping the text nearly self-contained. The book is suitable for graduate students. A Primer on Mapping Class Groups begins by explaining the main group-theoretical properties of Mod(S), from finite generation by Dehn twists and low-dimensional homology to the Dehn-Nielsen-Baer theorem. Along the way, central objects and tools are introduced, such as the Birman exact sequence, the complex of curves, the braid group, the symplectic representation, and the Torelli group. The book then introduces Teichmüller space and its geometry, and uses the action of Mod(S) on it to prove the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface homeomorphisms. Topics include the topology of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, the connection with surface bundles, pseudo-Anosov theory, and Thurston's approach to the classification.

A Primer on Mapping Class Groups

A Primer on Mapping Class Groups PDF Author: Benson Farb
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691147949
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 490

Get Book Here

Book Description
The study of the mapping class group Mod(S) is a classical topic that is experiencing a renaissance. It lies at the juncture of geometry, topology, and group theory. This book explains as many important theorems, examples, and techniques as possible, quickly and directly, while at the same time giving full details and keeping the text nearly self-contained. The book is suitable for graduate students. A Primer on Mapping Class Groups begins by explaining the main group-theoretical properties of Mod(S), from finite generation by Dehn twists and low-dimensional homology to the Dehn-Nielsen-Baer theorem. Along the way, central objects and tools are introduced, such as the Birman exact sequence, the complex of curves, the braid group, the symplectic representation, and the Torelli group. The book then introduces Teichmüller space and its geometry, and uses the action of Mod(S) on it to prove the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface homeomorphisms. Topics include the topology of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, the connection with surface bundles, pseudo-Anosov theory, and Thurston's approach to the classification.

Problems on Mapping Class Groups and Related Topics

Problems on Mapping Class Groups and Related Topics PDF Author: Benson Farb
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 0821838385
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
The appearance of mapping class groups in mathematics is ubiquitous. The book presents 23 papers containing problems about mapping class groups, the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, Teichmuller geometry, and related areas. Each paper focusses completely on open problems and directions. The problems range in scope from specific computations, to broad programs. The goal is to have a rich source of problems which have been formulated explicitly and accessibly. The book is divided into four parts. Part I contains problems on the combinatorial and (co)homological group-theoretic aspects of mapping class groups, and the way in which these relate to problems in geometry and topology. Part II concentrates on connections with classification problems in 3-manifold theory, the theory of symplectic 4-manifolds, and algebraic geometry. A wide variety of problems, from understanding billiard trajectories to the classification of Kleinian groups, can be reduced to differential and synthetic geometry problems about moduli space. Such problems and connections are discussed in Part III. Mapping class groups are related, both concretely and philosophically, to a number of other groups, such as braid groups, lattices in semisimple Lie groups, and automorphism groups of free groups. Part IV concentrates on problems surrounding these relationships. This book should be of interest to anyone studying geometry, topology, algebraic geometry or infinite groups. It is meant to provide inspiration for everyone from graduate students to senior researchers.

Office Hours with a Geometric Group Theorist

Office Hours with a Geometric Group Theorist PDF Author: Matt Clay
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400885396
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
Geometric group theory is the study of the interplay between groups and the spaces they act on, and has its roots in the works of Henri Poincaré, Felix Klein, J.H.C. Whitehead, and Max Dehn. Office Hours with a Geometric Group Theorist brings together leading experts who provide one-on-one instruction on key topics in this exciting and relatively new field of mathematics. It's like having office hours with your most trusted math professors. An essential primer for undergraduates making the leap to graduate work, the book begins with free groups—actions of free groups on trees, algorithmic questions about free groups, the ping-pong lemma, and automorphisms of free groups. It goes on to cover several large-scale geometric invariants of groups, including quasi-isometry groups, Dehn functions, Gromov hyperbolicity, and asymptotic dimension. It also delves into important examples of groups, such as Coxeter groups, Thompson's groups, right-angled Artin groups, lamplighter groups, mapping class groups, and braid groups. The tone is conversational throughout, and the instruction is driven by examples. Accessible to students who have taken a first course in abstract algebra, Office Hours with a Geometric Group Theorist also features numerous exercises and in-depth projects designed to engage readers and provide jumping-off points for research projects.

Mostly Surfaces

Mostly Surfaces PDF Author: Richard Evan Schwartz
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 0821853686
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
The goal of the book is to present a tapestry of ideas from various areas of mathematics in a clear and rigorous yet informal and friendly way. Prerequisites include undergraduate courses in real analysis and in linear algebra, and some knowledge of complex analysis. --from publisher description.

Moduli Spaces of Riemann Surfaces

Moduli Spaces of Riemann Surfaces PDF Author: Benson Farb
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 0821898876
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Mapping class groups and moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces were the topics of the Graduate Summer School at the 2011 IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute. This book presents the nine different lecture series comprising the summer school, covering a selection of topics of current interest. The introductory courses treat mapping class groups and Teichmüller theory. The more advanced courses cover intersection theory on moduli spaces, the dynamics of polygonal billiards and moduli spaces, the stable cohomology of mapping class groups, the structure of Torelli groups, and arithmetic mapping class groups. The courses consist of a set of intensive short lectures offered by leaders in the field, designed to introduce students to exciting, current research in mathematics. These lectures do not duplicate standard courses available elsewhere. The book should be a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers interested in the topology, geometry and dynamics of moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces and related topics. Titles in this series are co-published with the Institute for Advanced Study/Park City Mathematics Institute. Members of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) receive a 20% discount from list price.

Thurston's Work on Surfaces (MN-48)

Thurston's Work on Surfaces (MN-48) PDF Author: Albert Fathi
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691147353
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book provides a detailed exposition of William Thurston's work on surface homeomorphisms, available here for the first time in English. Based on material of Thurston presented at a seminar in Orsay from 1976 to 1977, it covers topics such as the space of measured foliations on a surface, the Thurston compactification of Teichmüller space, the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface homeomorphisms, and dynamical properties of pseudo-Anosov diffeomorphisms. Thurston never published the complete proofs, so this text is the only resource for many aspects of the theory. Thurston was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal in 1982 as well as many other prizes and honors, and is widely regarded to be one of the major mathematical figures of our time. Today, his important and influential work on surface homeomorphisms is enjoying continued interest in areas ranging from the Poincaré conjecture to topological dynamics and low-dimensional topology. Conveying the extraordinary richness of Thurston's mathematical insight, this elegant and faithful translation from the original French will be an invaluable resource for the next generation of researchers and students.

Foliations and the Geometry of 3-Manifolds

Foliations and the Geometry of 3-Manifolds PDF Author: Danny Calegari
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN: 0191524638
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
This unique reference, aimed at research topologists, gives an exposition of the 'pseudo-Anosov' theory of foliations of 3-manifolds. This theory generalizes Thurston's theory of surface automorphisms and reveals an intimate connection between dynamics, geometry and topology in 3 dimensions. Significant themes returned to throughout the text include the importance of geometry, especially the hyperbolic geometry of surfaces, the importance of monotonicity, especially in 1-dimensional and co-dimensional dynamics, and combinatorial approximation, using finite combinatorical objects such as train-tracks, branched surfaces and hierarchies to carry more complicated continuous objects.

Metric Spaces of Non-Positive Curvature

Metric Spaces of Non-Positive Curvature PDF Author: Martin R. Bridson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662124947
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 665

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Book Description
A description of the global properties of simply-connected spaces that are non-positively curved in the sense of A. D. Alexandrov, and the structure of groups which act on such spaces by isometries. The theory of these objects is developed in a manner accessible to anyone familiar with the rudiments of topology and group theory: non-trivial theorems are proved by concatenating elementary geometric arguments, and many examples are given. Part I provides an introduction to the geometry of geodesic spaces, while Part II develops the basic theory of spaces with upper curvature bounds. More specialized topics, such as complexes of groups, are covered in Part III.

Self-Similar Groups

Self-Similar Groups PDF Author: Volodymyr Nekrashevych
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 0821838318
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Self-similar groups (groups generated by automata) initially appeared as examples of groups that are easy to define but have exotic properties like nontrivial torsion, intermediate growth, etc. This book studies the self-similarity phenomenon in group theory and shows its intimate relationship with dynamical systems and more classical self-similar structures, such as fractals, Julia sets, and self-affine tilings. This connection is established through the central topics of the book, which are the notions of the iterated monodromy group and limit space. A wide variety of examples and different applications of self-similar groups to dynamical systems and vice versa are discussed. In particular, it is shown that Julia sets can be reconstructed from the respective iterated monodromy groups and that groups with exotic properties can appear not just as isolated examples, but as naturally defined iterated monodromy groups of rational functions. The book offers important, new mathematics that will open new avenues of research in group theory and dynamical systems. It is intended to be accessible to a wide readership of professional mathematicians.

Ordered Groups and Topology

Ordered Groups and Topology PDF Author: Adam Clay
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 1470431068
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
This book deals with the connections between topology and ordered groups. It begins with a self-contained introduction to orderable groups and from there explores the interactions between orderability and objects in low-dimensional topology, such as knot theory, braid groups, and 3-manifolds, as well as groups of homeomorphisms and other topological structures. The book also addresses recent applications of orderability in the studies of codimension-one foliations and Heegaard-Floer homology. The use of topological methods in proving algebraic results is another feature of the book. The book was written to serve both as a textbook for graduate students, containing many exercises, and as a reference for researchers in topology, algebra, and dynamical systems. A basic background in group theory and topology is the only prerequisite for the reader.