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 compute the automorphism groups of the Torelli complex and the complex of separating curves for all but finitely many compact orientable surfaces. As an application, we show that the abstract commensurators of the Torelli group and the Johnson kernel for such surfaces are naturally isomorphic to the extended mapping class group.
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.
For each closed orientable surface we introduce a simplical complex with some additional structure which is a version of the complex of curves of this surface adjusted to investigation of its Torelli group. We call this complex the Torelli geometry of our surface and prove that every automorphism of the Torelli geometry is induced by a diffeomorphism of the surface in question. We also provide an intrinsic algebraic characterization of some natural elements of the Torelli group and of some geometric relations between them. When combined, these results allow us to compute the automorphism group…
In this paper we introduce, for each closed orientable surface, an analogue of Tits buildings adjusted to investigation of the Torelli group of this surface. It is a simplicial complex with some additional structure. We call this complex with its additional structure the Torelli building of the surface in question. The main result of this paper shows that Torelli buildings of surfaces of genus at least 5 have only obvious automorphisms, and identifies its group of automorphisms. Namely, we prove that for such a surface every automorphism of its Torelli building is induced by a diffeomorphism o…
A palindrome in a free group F_n is a word on some fixed free basis of F_n that reads the same backwards as forwards. The palindromic automorphism group ΠA_n of the free group F_n consists of automorphisms that take each member of some fixed free basis of F_n to a palindrome; the group ΠA_n has close connections with hyperelliptic mapping class groups, braid groups, congruence subgroups of GL(n,Z), and symmetric automorphisms of free groups. We obtain a generating set for the subgroup of ΠA_n consisting of those elements acting trivially on the abelianisation of F_n, the palindromic Torelli gr…
We introduce the palindromic automorphism group and the palindromic Torelli group of a right-angled Artin group A_G. The palindromic automorphism group Pi A_G is related to the principal congruence subgroups of GL(n,Z) and to the hyperelliptic mapping class group of an oriented surface, and sits inside the centraliser of a certain hyperelliptic involution in Aut(A_G). We obtain finite generating sets for Pi A_G and for this centraliser, and determine precisely when these two groups coincide. We also find generators for the palindromic Torelli group.
We prove that each Torelli group of an orientable surface with any number of boundary components is at least exponentially distorted in the mapping class group by using Broaddus-Farb-Putman's techniques. Further we show that the distortion of each Torelli group in the level $d$ mapping class group is the same as that of in the mapping class group.
In this paper, we prove that each automorphism of a surface braid group is induced by a homeomorphism of the underlying surface, provided that this surface is a closed, connected, orientable surface of genus at least 2, and the number of strings is at least three. This result generalizes previous results for classical braid groups, mapping class groups, and Torelli groups.
We prove that the cohomological dimension of the Torelli group for a closed connected orientable surface of genus g at least 2 is equal to 3g-5. This answers a question of Mess, who proved the lower bound and settled the case of g=2. We also find the cohomological dimension of the Johnson kernel (the subgroup of the Torelli group generated by Dehn twists about separating curves) to be 2g-3. For g at least 2, we prove that the top dimensional homology of the Torelli group is infinitely generated. Finally, we give a new proof of the theorem of Mess that gives a precise description of the Torelli…
Proving a conjecture of Dennis Johnson, we show that the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group has a finite generating set whose size grows cubically with respect to the genus of the surface. Our main tool is a new space called the handle graph on which the Torelli group acts cocompactly.
We prove that the handlebody subgroup of the Torelli group of an orientable surface is generated by genus one BP-maps. As an application, we give a normal generating set for the handlebody subgroup of the level $d$ mapping class group of an orientable surface.
We introduce machinery to allow ``cut-and-paste''-style inductive arguments in the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group. In the past these arguments have been problematic because restricting the Torelli group to subsurfaces gives different groups depending on how the subsurfaces are embedded. We define a category $\TSur$ whose objects are surfaces together with a decoration restricting how they can be embedded into larger surfaces and whose morphisms are embeddings which respect the decoration. There is a natural ``Torelli functor'' on this category which extends the usual definition of…
For all but finitely many compact orientable surfaces, we show that any superinjective map from the complex of separating curves into itself is induced by an element of the extended mapping class group. We apply this result to proving that any finite index subgroup of the Johnson kernel is co-Hopfian. Analogous properties are shown for the Torelli complex and the Torelli group.
We give a new proof of the theorem of Birman-Powell that the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group of a closed orientable surface of genus at least 3 is generated by simple homeomorphisms known as bounding pair maps. The key ingredient is a proof that the subcomplex of the curve complex of the surface spanned by curves within a fixed homology class is connected.
We show that for all but finitely many compact orientable surfaces, any superinjective map from the complex of separating curves into the Torelli complex is induced by an element of the extended mapping class group. As an application, we prove that any injective homomorphism from a finite index subgroup of the Johnson kernel into the Torelli group for such a surface is induced by an element of the extended mapping class group.
We bound the value of the Casson invariant of any integral homology 3-sphere $M$ by a constant times the distance-squared to the identity, measured in any word metric on the Torelli group $\T$, of the element of $\T$ associated to any Heegaard splitting of $M$. We construct examples which show this bound is asymptotically sharp.
We develop an analogue of the Birman exact sequence for the Torelli subgroup of Aut(F_n). This builds on earlier work of the authors who studied an analogue of the Birman exact sequence for the entire group Aut(F_n). These results play an important role in the authors' recent work on the second homology group of the Torelli group.
In this paper, we construct an infinite presentation of the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group of a surface whose generators consist of the set of all "separating twists", all "bounding pair maps", and all "commutators of simply intersecting pairs" and whose relations all come from a short list of topological configurations of these generators on the surface. Aside from a few obvious ones, all of these relations come from a set of embeddings of groups derived from surface groups into the Torelli group. In the process of analyzing these embeddings, we derive a novel presentation for th…
For a compact surface $S$, let $\mathcal{I}(S)$ denote the Torelli group of $S$. For a compact orientable surface $Σ$, $\mathcal{I}(Σ)$ is generated by BSCC maps and BP maps. For a non-orientable closed surface $N$, $\mathcal{I}(N)$ is generated by BSCC maps and BP maps. In this paper, we give an explicit normal generating set for $\mathcal{I}(N_g^b)$, where $N_g^b$ is a genus-$g$ compact non-orientable surface with $b$ boundary components for $g\geq4$ and $b\geq1$.
Let S be a closed oriented surface of genus g > 1, and let T denote its Torelli group. First, given a set E of homotopically nontrivial, pairwise disjoint, pairwise nonisotopic simple closed curves on S, we determine precisely when a multitwist on E is an element of T by defining an equivalence relation on E and then applying graph theory. Second, we prove that an arbitrary Abelian subgroup of T has rank < 2g-4.
We give a new proof of a celebrated theorem of Dennis Johnson that asserts that the kernel of the Johnson homomorphism on the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group is generated by separating twists. In fact, we prove a more general result that also applies to "subsurface Torelli groups". Using this, we extend Johnson's calculation of the rational abelianization of the Torelli group not only to the subsurface Torelli groups, but also to finite-index subgroups of the Torelli group that contain the kernel of the Johnson homomorphism.
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.
For any surface $Σ$ of infinite topological type, we study the Torelli subgroup ${\mathcal I}(Σ)$ of the mapping class group ${\rm MCG}(Σ)$, whose elements are those mapping classes that act trivially on the homology of $Σ$. Our first result asserts that ${\mathcal I}(Σ)$ is topologically generated by the subgroup of ${\rm MCG}(Σ)$ consisting of those elements in the Torelli group which have compact support. In particular, using results of Birman, Powell, and Putman we deduce that ${\mathcal I}(Σ)$ is topologically generated by separating twists and bounding pair maps. Next, we prove the abstr…
The Magnus representation of the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group of a surface is a homomorphism r: I_{g,1} -> GL_{2g}(Z[H]). Here H is the first homology group of the surface. This representation is not faithful; in particular, Suzuki previously described precisely when the commutator of two Dehn twists about separating curves is in the kernel of r. Using the trace of the Magnus representation, we apply a new method of showing that two endomorphisms generate a free group to prove that the images of two positive separating multitwists under the Magnus representation either commute o…
We prove a representation stability result for the second homology groups of Torelli subgroups of mapping class groups and automorphism groups of free groups. This strengthens the results of Boldsen-Hauge Dollerup and Day-Putman. We also prove a new representation stability result for the homology of certain congruence subgroups, partially improving upon the work of Putman-Sam. These results follow from a general theorem on syzygies of certain modules with finite polynomial degree.
We develop a theory of equivariant group presentations and relate them to the second homology group of a group. Our main application says that the second homology group of the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group is finitely generated as an $Sp(2g,\mathbb{Z})$-module.
We study the complex of partial bases of a free group, which is an analogue for $\Aut(F_n)$ of the curve complex for the mapping class group. We prove that it is connected and simply connected, and we also prove that its quotient by the Torelli subgroup of $\Aut(F_n)$ is highly connected. Using these results, we give a new, topological proof of a theorem of Magnus that asserts that the Torelli subgroup of $\Aut(F_n)$ is finitely generated.
Let T_n be the kernel of the natural map from Out(F_n) to GL(n,Z). We use combinatorial Morse theory to prove that T_n has an Eilenberg-MacLane space which is (2n-4)-dimensional and that H_{2n-4}(T_n,Z) is not finitely generated (n at least 3). In particular, this recovers the result of Krstic-McCool that T_3 is not finitely presented. We also give a new proof of the fact, due to Magnus, that T_n is finitely generated.
We examine groups whose resonance varieties, characteristic varieties and Sigma-invariants have a natural arithmetic group symmetry, and we explore implications on various finiteness properties of subgroups. We compute resonance varieties, characteristic varieties and Alexander polynomials of Torelli groups, and we show that all subgroups containing the Johnson kernel have finite first Betti number, when the genus is at least four. We also prove that, in this range, the $I$-adic completion of the Alexander invariant is finite-dimensional, and the Kahler property for the Torelli group implies t…
We prove that the hyperelliptic Torelli group is generated by Dehn twists about separating curves that are preserved by the hyperelliptic involution. This verifies a conjecture of Hain. The hyperelliptic Torelli group can be identified with the kernel of the Burau representation evaluated at t=-1 and also the fundamental group of the branch locus of the period mapping, and so we obtain analogous generating sets for those. One application is that each component in Torelli space of the locus of hyperelliptic curves becomes simply connected when curves of compact type are added.
We examine the Johnson filtration of the (outer) automorphism group of a finitely generated group. In the case of a free group, we find a surprising result: the first Betti number of the second subgroup in the Johnson filtration is finite. Moreover, the corresponding Alexander invariant is a non-trivial module over the Laurent polynomial ring. In the process, we show that the first resonance variety of the outer Torelli group of a free group is trivial. We also establish a general relationship between the Alexander invariant and its infinitesimal counterpart.
The contraction of the image of the Johnson homomorphism is called the Chillingworth class. In this paper, we derive a combinatorial description of the Chillingworth class for Putman's subsurface Torelli groups. We also prove the naturality and uniqueness properties of the map whose image is the dual of the Chillingworth classes of the subsurface Torelli groups. Moreover, we relate the Chillingworth class of the subsurface Torelli group to the partitioned Johnson homomorphism.
In the 1970s, Birman-Craggs-Johnson used Rochlin's invariant for homology 3-spheres to construct a remarkable surjective homomorphism sigma:I_{g,1}->B_3, where I_{g,1} is the Torelli group and B_3 is a certain F_2-vector space of Boolean (square-free) polynomials. By pulling back cohomology classes and evaluating them on abelian cycles, we construct 16g^4 + O(g^3) dimensions worth of nontrivial elements of H^2(I_{g,1}, F_2) which cannot be detected rationally. These classes in fact restrict to nontrivial classes in the cohomology of the subgroup K_{g,1} < I_{g,1} generated by Dehn twists about…
We introduce an embedding of the Torelli group of a compact connected oriented surface with non-empty connected boundary into the completed Kauffman bracket skein algebra of the surface, which gives a new construction of the first Johnson homomorphism.
We show that, for any (symmetric) finite generating set of the Torelli group of a closed surface, the probability that a random word is not pseudo-Anosov decays exponentially in terms of the length of the word.
These are the lecture notes for my course at the 2011 Park City Mathematics Graduate Summer School. The first two lectures covered the basics of the Torelli group and the Johnson homomorphism, and the third and fourth lectures discussed the second cohomology group of the level p congruence subgroup of the mapping class group, following my papers "The second rational homology group of the moduli space of curves with level structures" and "The Picard group of the moduli space of curves with level structures".
Let IA_n be the Torelli subgroup of Aut(F_n). We give an explicit finite set of generators for H_2(IA_n) as a GL_n(Z)-module. Corollaries include a version of surjective representation stability for H_2(IA_n), the vanishing of the GL_n(Z)-coinvariants of H_2(IA_n), and the vanishing of the second rational homology group of the level l congruence subgroup of Aut(F_n). Our generating set is derived from a new group presentation for IA_n which is infinite but which has a simple recursive form.
Let {a,b} and {c,d} be two pairs of bounding simple closed curves on an oriented surface which intersect nontrivialy. We prove that if these pairs are invariant under the action of an orientation reversing involution, then the corresponding bounding pair maps generate a free group. This supports the conjecture stated by C. Leininger and D. Margalit that any pair of elements of the Torelli group either commute or generate a free group.
By Torelli topology the author understands aspects of the topology of surfaces (potentially) relevant to the study of Torelli groups. The present paper is devoted to a new approach to the results of W. Vautaw about Dehn multi-twists in Torelli groups and abelian subgroups of Torelli groups. The new proofs are more transparent and lead to stronger estimates of the rank of an abelian subgroup when some additional information is available. An unexpected application of our methods is a new proof of the algebraic characterization of the Dehn twist about separating circles and the Dehn-Johnson twist…
We determine the action of the Torelli group on the equivariant cohomology of the space of flat SL(2,C) connections on a closed Riemann surface. We show that the trivial part of the action contains the equivariant cohomology of the even component of the space of flat PSL(2,C) connections. The non-trivial part consists of the even alternating products of degree two Prym representations, so that the kernel of the action is precisely the Prym-Torelli group. We compute the Betti numbers of the ordinary cohomology of the moduli space of flat SL(2,C) connections. Using results of Cappell-Lee-Miller …
For a closed surface $S$, its Torelli group $\mathcal{I}(S)$ is the subgroup of the mapping class group of $S$ consisting of elements acting trivially on $H_1(S;\mathbb{Z})$. When $S$ is orientable, a generating set for $\mathcal{I}(S)$ is known. In this paper, we give a normal generating set of $\mathcal{I}(N_g)$ for $g\geq4$, where $N_g$ is a genus-$g$ non-orientable closed surface.
Combinatorial aspects of the Torelli-Johnson-Morita theory of surface automorphisms are extended to certain subgroups of the mapping class groups. These subgroups are defined relative to a specified homomorphism from the fundamental group of the surface onto an arbitrary group $K$. For $K$ abelian, there is a combinatorial theory akin to the classical case, for example, providing an explicit cocycle representing the first Johnson homomophism with target $Λ^3 K$. Furthermore, the Earle class with coefficients in $K$ is represented by an explicit cocyle.
For each g > 2 and h > 1, we explicitly construct (1) fiber sum indecomposable relatively minimal genus g Lefschetz fibrations over genus h surfaces whose monodromies lie in the Torelli group, (2) fiber sum indecomposable genus g surface bundles over genus h surfaces whose monodromies are in the Torelli group (provided g > 3), and (3) infinitely many genus g Lefschetz fibrations over genus h surfaces that are not fiber sums of holomorphic ones.
Putman introduced a notion of a partitioned surface which is a surface with boundary with decoration restricting how the surface can be embedded into larger surfaces, and defined the Torelli group of the partitioned surfaces. In this paper, we study some topological and dynamical aspects of the Torelli groups of partitioned surfaces. More precisely, first we obtain upper and lower bounds on the cohomological dimension of Torelli groups of partitioned surfaces and show that those two bounds coincide when at most three boundary components are grouped together in the partition of the boundary. Se…
The hyperelliptic Torelli group is the subgroup of the mapping class group consisting of elements that act trivially on the homology of the surface and that also commute with some fixed hyperelliptic involution. The authors and Putman proved that this group is generated by Dehn twists about separating curves fixed by the hyperelliptic involution. In this paper, we introduce an algorithmic approach to factoring a wide class of elements of the hyperelliptic Torelli group into such Dehn twists, and apply our methods to several basic elements.
The mapping class group of a closed surface of genus $g$ is an extension of the Torelli group by the symplectic group. This leads to two natural problems: (a) compute (stably) the symplectic decomposition of the lower central series of the Torelli group and (b) compute (stably) the Poincaré polynomial of the cohomology of the mapping group with coefficients in a symplectic representation $V$. Using ideas from graph cohomology, we give an effective computation of the symplectic decomposition of the quadratic dual of the lower central series of the Torelli group, and assuming the later is Kozsul…
We show that many normal subgroups of the braid group modulo its centre, and of the mapping class group of a sphere with marked points, have the property that their automorphism and abstract commensurator groups are mapping class groups of such spheres. As one application, we establish the automorphism groups of each term in the lower central series and derived series of the pure braid group. We also obtain new proofs of results of Dyer-Grossman and Orevkov, showing that the automorphism groups of the braid group and of its commutator subgroup are isomorphic. We then calculate the automorphism…
