Triviality conjecture for the bounded cohomology of the stable mapping class group

Let Γ\Gamma_{\infty} be the stable mapping class group, obtained as the direct limit of mapping class groups under the standard stabilization maps. Its bounded cohomology Hb(Γ)H_b^*(\Gamma_{\infty}) is the bounded cohomology of this group.

Stable bounded-cohomology conjecture. The bounded cohomology of Γ\Gamma_{\infty} is trivial:

Hb(Γ)=0.H_b^*(\Gamma_{\infty})=0.

The authors note that the image of the comparison map Hb(Γ)H(Γ)H_b^*(\Gamma_{\infty})\to H^*(\Gamma_{\infty}) is trivial and, in particular, that Hb2(Γ)=0H_b^2(\Gamma_{\infty})=0. They present the full triviality claim as a conjecture, while acknowledging that there is no more compelling evidence for it.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Jonathan Bowden, “On closed leaves of foliations, multisections and stable commutator lengths”, arXiv:1105.4444 (2011).

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