Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 May 2009
Let G be a finite group. The real genus p(G) [8] is the minimum algebraic genus of any compact bordered Klein surface on which G acts. There are now several results about the real genus parameter. The groups with real genus p ≤ 5 have been classified [8,9,12], and genus formulas have been obtained for several classes of groups [8,9,10,11,12]. Most notably, McCullough calculated the real genus of each finite abelian group [13]. In addition, there is a good general lower bound for the real genus of a finite group [11].