Factoring periodic maps into Dehn twists

Abstract

Let $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ be the mapping class group of the closed orientable surface $S_g$ of genus $g\ge 1$. In this paper, we develop various methods for factoring periodic mapping classes into Dehn twists, up to conjugacy. As applications, we develop methods for factoring certain roots of Dehn twists as words in Dehn twists. We will also show the existence of conjugates of periodic maps of order $4g$ and $4g+2$, for $g\ge 2$, whose product is pseudo-Anosov.