Mapping class groups and moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces were the topics of the Graduate Summer School at the 2011 IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute. This book presents the nine different lecture series comprising the summer school, covering a selection of topics of current interest. The introductory courses treat mapping class groups and Teichmüller theory. The more advanced courses cover intersection theory on moduli spaces, the dynamics of polygonal billiards and moduli spaces, the stable cohomology of mapping class groups, the structure of Torelli groups, and arithmetic mapping class groups. The courses consist of a set of intensive short lectures offered by leaders in the field, designed to introduce students to exciting, current research in mathematics. These lectures do not duplicate standard courses available elsewhere. The book should be a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers interested in the topology, geometry and dynamics of moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces and related topics. Titles in this series are co-published with the Institute for Advanced Study/Park City Mathematics Institute. Members of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) receive a 20% discount from list price.

The study of mapping class groups and moduli spaces of compact Riemann surfaces is currently a central topic in topology, algebraic geometry, and conformal field theory. This book contains proceedings from two workshops held in the summer of 1991, one at the University of G\"ottingen and the other at the University of Washington at Seattle. The papers gathered here represent diverse approaches and contain several important new results. With both research and survey articles, the book appeals to mathematicians and physicists.

The appearance of mapping class groups in mathematics is ubiquitous. The book presents 23 papers containing problems about mapping class groups, the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, Teichmuller geometry, and related areas. Each paper focusses completely on open problems and directions. The problems range in scope from specific computations, to broad programs. The goal is to have a rich source of problems which have been formulated explicitly and accessibly. The book is divided into four parts. Part I contains problems on the combinatorial and (co)homological group-theoretic aspects of mapping class groups, and the way in which these relate to problems in geometry and topology. Part II concentrates on connections with classification problems in 3-manifold theory, the theory of symplectic 4-manifolds, and algebraic geometry. A wide variety of problems, from understanding billiard trajectories to the classification of Kleinian groups, can be reduced to differential and synthetic geometry problems about moduli space. Such problems and connections are discussed in Part III. Mapping class groups are related, both concretely and philosophically, to a number of other groups, such as braid groups, lattices in semisimple Lie groups, and automorphism groups of free groups. Part IV concentrates on problems surrounding these relationships. This book should be of interest to anyone studying geometry, topology, algebraic geometry or infinite groups. It is meant to provide inspiration for everyone from graduate students to senior researchers.

The study of the mapping class group Mod(S) is a classical topic that is experiencing a renaissance. It lies at the juncture of geometry, topology, and group theory. This book explains as many important theorems, examples, and techniques as possible, quickly and directly, while at the same time giving full details and keeping the text nearly self-contained. The book is suitable for graduate students. A Primer on Mapping Class Groups begins by explaining the main group-theoretical properties of Mod(S), from finite generation by Dehn twists and low-dimensional homology to the Dehn-Nielsen-Baer theorem. Along the way, central objects and tools are introduced, such as the Birman exact sequence, the complex of curves, the braid group, the symplectic representation, and the Torelli group. The book then introduces Teichmüller space and its geometry, and uses the action of Mod(S) on it to prove the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface homeomorphisms. Topics include the topology of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, the connection with surface bundles, pseudo-Anosov theory, and Thurston's approach to the classification.

Automorphism groups of Riemann surfaces have been widely studied for almost 150 years. This area has persisted in part because it has close ties to many other topics of interest such as number theory, graph theory, mapping class groups, and geometric and computational group theory. In recent years there has been a major revival in this area due in part to great advances in computer algebra systems and progress in finite group theory. This volume provides a concise but thorough introduction for newcomers to the area while at the same time highlighting new developments for established researchers. The volume starts with two expository articles. The first of these articles gives a historical perspective of the field with an emphasis on highly symmetric surfaces, such as Hurwitz surfaces. The second expository article focuses on the future of the field, outlining some of the more popular topics in recent years and providing 78 open research problems across all topics. The remaining articles showcase new developments in the area and have specifically been chosen to cover a variety of topics to illustrate the range of diversity within the field.

This monograph is a self-contained introduction to the geometry of Riemann Surfaces of constant curvature –1 and their length and eigenvalue spectra. It focuses on two subjects: the geometric theory of compact Riemann surfaces of genus greater than one, and the relationship of the Laplace operator with the geometry of such surfaces. Research workers and graduate students interested in compact Riemann surfaces will find here a number of useful tools and insights to apply to their investigations.

The goal of the book is to present a tapestry of ideas from various areas of mathematics in a clear and rigorous yet informal and friendly way. Prerequisites include undergraduate courses in real analysis and in linear algebra, and some knowledge of complex analysis. --from publisher description.