3/12/2009
Ben McReynolds
University of Chicago
Congruence subgroup problem for mapping class groups
I will discuss the congruence subgroup problem for mapping class groups, a problem that generalizes the classical one for arithmetic groups. I will discuss an unpublished proof by W. Thurston for an affirmative answer to this problem for genus zero mapping class groups. Time permitting, I will discuss the current state of this problem.