Cofinality conjecture for products of boundary Dehn twists

Let g2g\geq 2 and let b1,,bnb_1,\ldots,b_n be curves isotopic to the boundary components of the surface Σgn\Sigma_g^n. For positive exponents k1,,knk_1,\ldots,k_n, consider the product

i=1nTbiki.\prod_{i=1}^n T_{b_i}^{k_i}.

Here TbiT_{b_i} denotes the Dehn twist about bib_i, and an element of a left-ordered group is cofinal if its positive and negative powers are unbounded in the ordering. Cofinality conjecture. Any element of the form

i=1nTbiki\prod_{i=1}^n T_{b_i}^{k_i}

for positive exponents k1,,knk_1,\ldots,k_n is cofinal in every left ordering of Mod(Σgn)\operatorname{Mod}(\Sigma_g^n). This strengthens the preceding result for Σg2\Sigma_g^2, where the product of the Dehn twists about curves isotopic to the boundary components is cofinal and central in every left ordering.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Adam Clay and Tyrone Ghaswala, “Cofinal elements and fractional Dehn twist coefficients”, arXiv:2210.07044 (2023).

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