Tuesday, March 2
Allen Hatcher, Cornell University
The Madsen–Weiss theorem computes in homotopy-theoretic terms the homology of mapping class groups of surfaces in a stable range of dimensions. In this talk I will sketch the simpler proof of this theorem that has evolved over the past few years through the work of several people, particularly Soren Galatius. The arguments are elementary, using only pre-1970 results, apart from Harer's 1985 homology stability theorem.
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