arXiv research

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 Joh…

This paper has two main goals. First, we give a complete, explicit, and computable solution to the problem of when two simple closed curves on a surface are equivalent under the Johnson kernel. Second, we show that the Johnson filtration and the Johnson homomorphism can be defined intrinsically on subsurfaces and prove…

Proves properties of Torelli Lie algebra for surfaces.

Two references added and the introduction slightly expanded. We show that the tree-level part of a recent theory of invariants of 3-manifolds (due, independently, to Goussarov and Habiro) is essentially given by classical algebraic topology in terms of the Johnson homomorphism and Massey products, for arbitrary 3-manif…

For k >= 1, let Torelli_g^1(k) be the k-th term in the Johnson filtration of the mapping class group of a genus g surface with one boundary component. We prove that for all k, there exists some G_k >= 0 such that Torelli_g^1(k) is generated by elements which are supported on subsurfaces whose genus is at most G_k. We a…

New parametrization of 3-spheres using Johnson subgroups.

The Johnson kernel is the subgroup of the mapping class group of a surface generated by Dehn twists along bounding simple closed curves, and has the second Johnson homomorphism as a free abelian quotient. In terms of the representation theory of the symplectic group, we give a complete description of cup products of tw…

Study 2-loop part of Johnson cokernel using trace map.

We consider two mod-p central series of the free group given by Stallings and Zassenhaus. Applying these series to definitions of Dennis Johnson's filtration of the mapping class group we obtain two mod-p Johnson filtrations. Further, we adapt the definition of the Johnson homomorphisms to obtain mod-p Johnson homomorp…

The Johnson filtration of the mapping class group of a compact, oriented surface is the descending series consisting of the kernels of the actions on the nilpotent quotients of the fundamental group of the surface. Each term of the Johnson filtration admits a Johnson homomorphism, whose kernel is the next term in the f…

We propose an approach to study non-Abelian Iwasawa theory, using the idea of Johnson homomorphisms in low dimensional topology. We introduce arithmetic analogues of Johnson homomorphisms/maps, called the p-Johnson homomorphisms/maps, associated to the Zassenhaus filtration of a pro-p Galois group over a Z_p-extension …

Let $Φ\in\mathbb{R}^{m\times n}$ be a sparse Johnson-Lindenstrauss transform [KN14] with $s$ non-zeroes per column. For a subset $T$ of the unit sphere, $\varepsilon\in(0,1/2)$ given, we study settings for $m,s$ required to ensure $\mathop{\mathbb{E}}_Φ\sup_{x\in T} \left|\|Φx\|_2^2 - 1 \right| < \varepsilon ,$ i.e…

The paper finds torsion in Johnson homomorphisms' cokernels for large genus surfaces.

We prove the existence of homeomorphisms of a closed, orientable surface of genus 3 or greater that do not extend to any handlebody bounded by the surface. We show that such homeomorphisms exist arbitrarily deep in the Johnson filtration of the mapping class group. The second and third terms of the Johnson filtration a…

Let $Σ$ be a compact connected oriented surface with one boundary component and let $\mathcal{M}$ denote the mapping class group of $Σ$. By considering the action of $\mathcal{M}$ on the fundamental group of $Σ$ it is possible to define different filtrations of $\mathcal{M}$ together with some homomorphisms on each ter…

The paper develops a new theory of double Johnson filtrations for mapping class groups.

Lagrangian traces help understand Johnson filtration in handlebody groups.

Paper proves non-triviality of Johnson kernel torsion subgroup.

We survey a geometric approach to the Johnson homomorphisms using the Goldman-Turaev Lie bialgebra.

Let $N$ be at least 4. We prove that every injective homomorphism from the Torelli subgroup into $Out(F_N)$ differs from the inclusion by a conjugation in $Out(F_N)$. This applies more generally to the following subgroups: every finite-index subgroup of $Out(F_N)$ (recovering a theorem of Farb and Handel); every subgro…

The paper extends Johnson's characterization of amenable groups to homomorphisms and acyclicity in bounded cohomology.

Johnson kernel generated by specific Dehn twists on surfaces.

Extended logarithm for solvable elements in mapping class groups.

Study on cohomological dimension of surface terms, answering Farb's question.

Study on bending deformations in hyperbolic manifolds, generalizing Johnson and Millson's work.

This paper surveys work on generalized Johnson homomorphisms and tools for studying them. The goal is to unite several related threads in the literature and to clarify existing results and relationships among them using Hodge theory. We survey the work of Alekseev, Kawazumi, Kuno and Naef on the Goldman--Turaev Lie bia…

Johnson has defined a surjective homomorphism from the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group of the surface of genus $g$ with one boundary component to $\wedge^3 H$, the third exterior product of the homology of the surface. Morita then extended Johnson's homomorphism to a homomorphism from the entire mapping cla…

Study subgroup of mapping class group related to handlebody, answering a question about Johnson homomorphism.

Study on Casson invariant and its variants in mapping class groups.

We apply mapping class group techniques and trisections to study intersection forms of smooth 4-manifolds. Johnson defined a well-known homomorphism from the Torelli group of a compact surface. Morita later showed that every homology 3-sphere can be obtained from the standard Heegaard decomposition of $S^3$ by regluing…

Answering a question of Farb-Leininger-Margalit, we give explicit lower bounds for the dilatations of pseudo-Anosov mapping classes lying in the kth term of the Johnson filtration of the mapping class group.

The paper extends Johnson's result on Torelli group homology.

We define new bordism and spin bordism invariants of certain subgroups of the mapping class group of a surface. In particular, they are invariants of the Johnson filtration of the mapping class group. The second and third terms of this filtration are the well-known Torelli group and Johnson subgroup, respectively. We i…

Let M denote the mapping class group of S, a compact connected oriented surface with one boundary component. The action of M on the nilpotent quotients of the fundamental group of S allows to define the so-called Johnson filtration and the Johnson homomorphisms. J. Levine introduced a new filtration of M, called the La…

New group-theoretic Johnson classes applied to curves with torsion Ceresa classes.

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…

We prove that every term of the lower central series and Johnson filtrations of the Torelli subgroups of the mapping class group and the automorphism group of a free group are finitely generated in a stable range. This was originally proved for the commutator subgroup by Ershov-He.

We prove that every term of the lower central series and Johnson filtrations of the Torelli subgroups of the mapping class group and the automorphism group of a free group is finitely generated in a linear stable range. This was originally proved for the second terms by Ershov and He.

Non-trivial action on surface configuration homology.

Characterizes periods of abelian differentials on surfaces.

We prove that every trivalent marked bordered fatgraph comes equipped with a canonical generalized Magnus expansion in the sense of Kawazumi. This Magnus expansion is used to give canonical lifts of the higher Johnson homomorphisms $τ_m$, for $m\geq 1$, to the Torelli groupoid, and we provide a recursive combinatorial …

Proves Congruence Subgroup Property for two types of groups.

Unified analysis simplifies Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma for data reduction.

In the late 1980's, it was shown that the Casson invariant appears in the difference between the two filtrations of the Torelli group: the lower central series and the Johnson filtration, and that its core part was identified with the secondary characteristic class $d_1$ associated with the fact that the first $\mathrm…

The main goal of this note is to provide evidence that the first rational homology of the Johnson subgroup $K_{g,1}$ of the mapping class group of a genus g surface with one marked point is finite-dimensional. Building on work of Dimca-Papadima, we use symplectic representation theory to show that, for all $g > 3$, the…

The action of the mapping class group $\mathrm{Mod}_g$ of an oriented surface $Σ_g$ on the lower central series of $π_1(Σ_g)$ defines the descending filtration in $\mathrm{Mod}_g$ called the Johnson filtration. The first two terms of it are the Torelli group $\mathcal{I}_g$ and the Johnson kernel $\mathcal{K}_g$. By a …

In the present paper, we study the Sp-module structure of the cokernel of the Johnson homomorphism of the mapping class groups of surfaces. We detect the Sp-irreducible components with highest weight [1^k] (and [k]) in the cokernel. We also show that the multiplicities of them is equal to one.

We prove that the first complex homology of the Johnson subgroup of the Torelli group $T_g$ is a non-trivial unipotent $T_g$-module for all $g\ge 4$ and give an explicit presentation of it as a $\Sym H_1(T_g,\C)$-module when $g\ge 6$. We do this by proving that, for a finitely generated group $G$ satisfying an assumpti…