A note on the normal subgroups of mapping class groups

Abstract

0. If F g is a closed, orientable surface of genus g , then the mapping class group of F g is the group whose elements are orientation preserving self homeomorphisms of F g modulo isotopy. We shall denote this group by M g . Recall that a group is said to be linear if it admits a faithful representation as a group of matrices (where the entries for this purpose will be in some field).