We show that if $\cal S$ is a compact Riemann surface of genus $g = p+1$, where $p$ is prime, with a group of automorphisms $G$ such that $|G|\geqλ(g-1)$ for some real number $λ>6$, then for all sufficiently large $p$ (depending on $λ$), $\cal S$ and $G$ lie in one of six infinite sequences of examples. In particular, if $λ=8$ then this holds for all $p\geq 17$ and we obtain the largest groups of automorphisms of Riemann surfaces of genenera $g=p+1$.
Let S be a connected, compact and orientable surface of genus two having exactly one boundary component. We study automorphisms of the Torelli complex for S, and describe any isomorphism between finite index subgroups of the Torelli group for S. More generally, we study superinjective maps from the Torelli complex for S into itself, and show that any finite index subgroup of the Torelli group for S is co-Hopfian.
We classify compact Riemann surfaces of genus $g$, where $g-1$ is a prime $p$, which have a group of automorphisms of order $ρ(g-1)$ for some integer $ρ\ge 1$, and determine isogeny decompositions of the corresponding Jacobian varieties. This extends results of Belolipetzky and the second author for $ρ>6$, and of the first and third authors for $ρ=3, 4, 5$ and $6$. As a corollary we classify the orientably regular hypermaps (including maps) of genus $p+1$, together with the non-orientable regular hypermaps of characteristic $-p$, with automorphism group of order divisible by the prime $p$; thi…
In this paper, we prove that each automorphism of the Torelli group of a surface is induced by a diffeomorphism of the surface, provided that the surface is a closed, connected, orientable surface of genus at least 3. This result was previously announced by Benson Farb for genus at least 4 and has recently been announced by Benson Farb and Nikolai Ivanov for subgroups of finite index in the Torelli group for surfaces of genus at least 5. This result is also directly analogous to previous results established for classical braid groups, mapping class groups, and surface braid groups.
We define an integer-valued invariant of special cube complexes called the genus, and prove that having genus one characterizes special cube complexes with abelian fundamental group. Using the genus, we obtain a new proof that the fundamental group of a special cube complex is either free abelian or surjects onto a non-cyclic free group. We also investigate automorphisms of special cube complexes, and give a new geometric proof that the Torelli subgroup for a right-angled Artin group is torsion-free.
Recently there has been renewed interest in the mapping-class group of a compact surface of genus $g \ge 2$ and also in its finite order elements. A finite order element of the mapping-class group will be a conformal automorphisms on some Riemann surface of genus $g$. Here we give the details of the proof that there is an {\sl adapted basis} for any conformal automorphism of prime order on a surface of genus $g$ and extend the original result to apply to fixed point free automorphisms. An adapted basis is one that reflects the action of the automorphism in the optimal manner described below. T…
Motivated by the theory of Riemann surfaces, we classify all possibilities for finite simple groups acting faithfully on a compact Riemann surface of genus at least 2 in such a way that all non-trivial elements have at most three fixed points on each non-regular orbit and at most four fixed points in total. In each case we also give information about the branching datum of the surface. There is a shorter version of this article (submitted for publication), and in this extended version we give many more details about the GAP code that we use for the calculations. We also explicitly include a le…
We show that for every g > 1 there is a compact arithmetic Riemann surface of genus g with at least 4(g-1) automorphisms, and that this lower bound is attained by infinitely many genera, the smallest being 24.
In this article we prove that the full automorphism group of a cyclic $p$-gonal pseudo-real Riemann surface of genus $g$ is either a semidirect product $C_{n}\ltimes C_{p}$ or a cyclic group, where $p$ is a prime $>2$ and $g>(p-1)^{2}$. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a cyclic $p$-gonal pseudo-real Riemann surface with full\ automorphism group isomorphic to a given finite group. Finally we describe some families of cyclic $p$-gonal pseudo-real Riemann surfaces where the order of the full automorphism group is maximal and show that such families determine some…
Dessins d'enfants are combinatorial structures on compact Riemann surfaces defined over algebraic number fields, and regular dessins are the most symmetric of them. If G is a finite group, there are only finitely many regular dessins with automorphism group G. It is shown how to enumerate them, how to represent them all as quotients of a single regular dessin U(G), and how certain hypermap operations act on them. For example, if G is a cyclic group of order n then U(G) is a map on the Fermat curve of degree n and genus (n-1)(n-2)/2. On the other hand, if G=A_5 then U(G) has genus 2742188300472…
If $p$ is prime, a compact Riemann surface $X$ of genus $g\geq 2$ is called cyclic $p$-gonal if it admits a cyclic group of automorphisms $C_{p}$ of order $p$ such that the quotient space $X/C_{p}$ has genus 0. If in addition $C_{p}$ is not normal in the full automorphism $G$, then we call $G$ a non-normal cyclic $p$-gonal group. In the following we classify all non-normal $p$-gonal groups.
This note uses some recent calculations of Conder and Bujalance (on classifying finite index group extensions of Fuchsian groups with abelian quotient and torsion free kernel) in order to determine the full automorphism groups of some cylic coverings of the line (including curves of Fermat and Lefschetz type). The answer is complete for cyclic covers that branch over three points.
In positive characteristic, algebraic curves can have many more automorphisms than expected from the classical Hurwitz's bound. There even exist algebraic curves of arbitrary high genus g with more than 16g^4 automorphisms. It has been observed on many occasions that the most anomalous examples invariably have zero p-rank. In this paper, the K-automorphism group Aut(X) of a zero 2-rank algebraic curve X defined over an algebraically closed field K of characteristic 2 is investigated. The main result is that if the curve has genus g greater than or equal to 2, and |Aut(X)|>24g^2, then Aut(X) ha…
We derive double coset formulae for the genus and extended genus of a finitely generated nilpotent group G, using the notions of bounded and bounded above automorphisms of $\prod G_S$, which are defined relative to a fixed fracture square for G.
The strong symmetric genus of a finite group G is the smallest genus of a closed orientable topological surface on which G acts faithfully as a group of orientation preserving automorphisms. In this paper we complete the calculation of the strong symmetric genus for each finite Coxeter group excluding the group E8.
The concept of an adapted homology basis for a prime order conformal automorphism of a compact Riemann surface extends to arbitrary finite groups of conformal automorphisms. Here we compute some examples of adapted homology bases for some groups of automorphisms. The method is to begin by apply the Schreier-Reidemeister rewriting process along with the Schreier-Reidemeister Theorem and then to eliminate generators and relations until there is one single large defining relation for the fundamental group in which every generator and its inverse occurs. We are then able to compute the action of t…
Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface of genus $g\geq 2$, and let $G$ be a subgroup of $Aut(X)$. We show that if the Sylow $2$-subgroups of $G$ are cyclic, then $|G|\leq 30(g-1)$. If all Sylow subgroups of $G$ are cyclic, then, with two exceptions, $|G|\leq 10(g-1)$. More generally, if $G$ is metacyclic, then, with one exception, $|G|\leq 12(g-1)$. Each of these bounds is attained for infinitely many values of $g$.
Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface of genus $g\geq 2$, and let $Aut(X)$ be its group of automorphims. We show that the exponent of $Aut(X)$ is bounded by $42(g-1)$. We also determine explicitly the infinitely many values of $g$ for which this bound is reached and the corresponding groups. Finally we discuss related questions for subgroups $G$ of $Aut(X)$ that are subject to additional conditions, for example being solvable.
We consider translation surfaces with poles on surfaces. We shall prove that any finite group appears as the automorphism group of some translation surface with poles. As a direct consequence we obtain the existence of structures achieving the maximal possible number of automorphisms allowed by their genus and we finally extend the same results to branched projective structures.
Let S be a compact, connected, orientable surface of positive genus. Let HT(S) be the Hatcher-Thurston complex of S. We prove that Aut(HT(S)) is isomorphic to the extended mapping class group of S modulo its center.
A Mumford curve of genus g (>1) over a non-archimedean valued field k of positive characteristic has at most max{12(g-1), 2 g^(1/2) (g^(1/2)+1)^2} automorphisms. This bound is sharp in the sense that there exist Mumford curves of arbitrary high genus that attain it (they are fibre products of suitable Artin-Schreier curves). The proof provides (via its action on the Bruhat-Tits tree) a classification of discontinuous subgroups of PGL(2,k) that are normalizers of Schottky groups of Mumford curves with more than 12(g-1) automorphisms. As an application, it is shown that all automorphisms of the …
Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface of genus $g\geq 2$. Let $Aut(X)$ be its group of automorphisms and $G\subseteq Aut(X)$ a subgroup. Sharp upper bounds for $|G|$ in terms of $g$ are known if $G$ belongs to certain classes of groups, e.g. solvable, supersolvable, nilpotent, metabelian, metacyclic, abelian, cyclic. We refine these results by finding similar bounds for groups of odd order that are of these types. We also add more types of solvable groups to that long list by establishing the optimal bounds for, among others, groups of order $p^m q^n$. Moreover, we show that Zomorrodian's bound…
