Mapping Class Groups of Trigonal Loci

Abstract

In this paper we study the topology of the stack $\mathcal{T}_g$ of smooth trigonal curves of genus g, over the complex field. We make use of a construction by the first named author and Vistoli, that describes $\mathcal{T}_g$ as a quotient stack of the complement of the discriminant. This allows us to use techniques developed by the second named author to give presentations of the orbifold fundamental group of $\mathcal{T}_g$, of its substrata with prescribed Maroni invariant and describe their relation with the mapping class group $\mathcal{M}ap_g$ of Riemann surfaces of genus g.