Stable Mapping Class Group
One can embed the surface of genus g and 1 boundary component into by attaching an additional hole on the end (i.e., gluing together and ), and thus automorphisms of the small surface fixing the boundary extend to the larger surface. Taking the direct limit of these groups and inclusions yields the stable mapping class group, whose rational cohomology ring was conjectured by David Mumford (one of conjectures called the Mumford conjectures). The integral (not just rational) cohomology ring was computed in 2002 by Madsen and Weiss, proving Mumford's conjecture.
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