Completions of mapping class groups and the cycle $C - C^-$

In this paper we study the proalgebraic completion of mapping class relative to their maps to the symplectic group. The main result is that the natural map from the unipotent (a.k.a. Malcev) completion of the Torelli group to the prounipotent radical of the Sp_g completion of the mapping class group is a non trivial central extension with kernel isomorphic to Q, at least when g \ge 8. The theorem is proved by relating the central extension to the line bundle associated to the archemidean height of the cycle C - C- in the Jacobian of the curve C. We also develop some of the basic theory of relative completions.