Abstract
This chapter considers the Dehn–Lickorish theorem, which states that when g is greater than or equal to 0, the mapping class group Mod(Sɡ) is generated by finitely many Dehn twists about nonseparating simple closed curves. The theorem is proved by induction on genus, and the Birman exact sequence is introduced as the key step for the induction. The key to the inductive step is to prove that the complex of curves C(Sɡ) is connected when g is greater than or equal to 2. The simplicial complex C(Sɡ) is a useful combinatorial object that encodes intersection patterns of simple closed curves in Sɡ. More detailed structure of C(Sɡ) is then used to find various explicit generating sets for Mod(Sɡ), including those due to Lickorish and to Humphries.
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