4/26/2006

Yair Minsky
Yale University

The mapping class group of a compact surface can be studied from the point of view of geometric group theory, in which coarse or large-scale properties of its Cayley graph can be related to algebraic properties of the group.  I will give a partial picture of this coarse geometry, including a distance formula, a description of some quasi-isometrically embedded subgroups, and a solution of the Brock-Farb rank conjecture. This represents joint work with Masur and with Behrstock.