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.

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.

Automorphism groups of Riemann surfaces have been widely studied for almost 150 years. This area has persisted in part because it has close ties to many other topics of interest such as number theory, graph theory, mapping class groups, and geometric and computational group theory. In recent years there has been a major revival in this area due in part to great advances in computer algebra systems and progress in finite group theory. This volume provides a concise but thorough introduction for newcomers to the area while at the same time highlighting new developments for established researchers. The volume starts with two expository articles. The first of these articles gives a historical perspective of the field with an emphasis on highly symmetric surfaces, such as Hurwitz surfaces. The second expository article focuses on the future of the field, outlining some of the more popular topics in recent years and providing 78 open research problems across all topics. The remaining articles showcase new developments in the area and have specifically been chosen to cover a variety of topics to illustrate the range of diversity within the field.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 2017 Georgia International Topology Conference, held from May 22–June 2, 2017, at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. The papers contained in this volume cover topics ranging from symplectic topology to classical knot theory to topology of 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds to geometric group theory. Several papers focus on open problems, while other papers present new and insightful proofs of classical results. Taken as a whole, this volume captures the spirit of the conference, both in terms of public lectures and informal conversations, and presents a sampling of some of the great new ideas generated in topology over the preceding eight years.

This book highlights the latest advances in algebraic topology, from homotopy theory, braid groups, configuration spaces and toric topology, to transformation groups and the adjoining area of knot theory. It consists of well-written original research papers and survey articles by subject experts, most of which were presented at the “7th East Asian Conference on Algebraic Topology” held at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, Punjab, India, from December 1 to 6, 2017. Algebraic topology is a broad area of mathematics that has seen enormous developments over the past decade, and as such this book is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers working in the field.

The central theme of this study is Artin's braid group and the many ways that the notion of a braid has proved to be important in low-dimensional topology. In Chapter 1 the author is concerned with the concept of a braid as a group of motions of points in a manifold. She studies structural and algebraic properties of the braid groups of two manifolds, and derives systems of defining relations for the braid groups of the plane and sphere. In Chapter 2 she focuses on the connections between the classical braid group and the classical knot problem. After reviewing basic results she proceeds to an exploration of some possible implications of the Garside and Markov theorems. Chapter 3 offers discussion of matrix representations of the free group and of subgroups of the automorphism group of the free group. These ideas come to a focus in the difficult open question of whether Burau's matrix representation of the braid group is faithful. Chapter 4 is a broad view of recent results on the connections between braid groups and mapping class groups of surfaces. Chapter 5 contains a brief discussion of the theory of "plats." Research problems are included in an appendix.

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.