Trying to understand mapping class groups of algebraic surfaces from the Thurstonian point of view

Seminar series

Topology Seminar

Date

Mon, 01 Jun 2020
15:45

Location

Virtual

Speaker

Benson Farb

Organisation

University of Chicago

In some ways the theory of mapping class groups of 4-manifolds is in 2020 at the same place where the theory of mapping class groups of 2-manifolds was in 1973, before Thurston changed everything. In this talk I will describe some first steps in an ongoing joint project with Eduard Looijenga where we are trying to understand mapping class groups of certain algebraic surfaces (e.g. rational elliptic surfaces, and also K3 surfaces) from the Thurstonian point of view.