The non-peripheral curve graph and divergence in big mapping class groups

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bar-Natan, Assaf, Qing, Yulan, Rafi, Kasra
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Bar-Natan, Assaf
Qing, Yulan
Rafi, Kasra
author_facet Bar-Natan, Assaf
Qing, Yulan
Rafi, Kasra
contents We introduce a numerical invariant $ζ(Σ)$ measuring the end-complexity of $Σ$ and use it to organize coarse-geometric features of Map($Σ$). Our main tool is the \emph{non-peripheral curve graph} $C_{\rm np}(Σ)$, whose vertices are those essential simple closed curves that cannot be pushed out of every compact subsurface, with edges given by disjointness. Assuming Map($Σ$) is CB-generated and $ζ(Σ)\ge 5$, we prove that $C_{\rm np}(Σ)$ is connected, has infinite diameter, is Gromov hyperbolic, and that the Map($Σ$)-action has unbounded orbits. As applications, we show that if $ζ(Σ)\ge 4$ then Map($Σ$) has infinite coarse rank, and if $ζ(Σ)\ge 5$ then Map($Σ$) has at most quadratic divergence, hence is one-ended.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_21560
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The non-peripheral curve graph and divergence in big mapping class groups
Bar-Natan, Assaf
Qing, Yulan
Rafi, Kasra
Geometric Topology
20F65, 57K20
We introduce a numerical invariant $ζ(Σ)$ measuring the end-complexity of $Σ$ and use it to organize coarse-geometric features of Map($Σ$). Our main tool is the \emph{non-peripheral curve graph} $C_{\rm np}(Σ)$, whose vertices are those essential simple closed curves that cannot be pushed out of every compact subsurface, with edges given by disjointness. Assuming Map($Σ$) is CB-generated and $ζ(Σ)\ge 5$, we prove that $C_{\rm np}(Σ)$ is connected, has infinite diameter, is Gromov hyperbolic, and that the Map($Σ$)-action has unbounded orbits. As applications, we show that if $ζ(Σ)\ge 4$ then Map($Σ$) has infinite coarse rank, and if $ζ(Σ)\ge 5$ then Map($Σ$) has at most quadratic divergence, hence is one-ended.
title The non-peripheral curve graph and divergence in big mapping class groups
topic Geometric Topology
20F65, 57K20
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.21560