Moduli spaces of quadratic differentials (Q755929): Difference between revisions

Let n and g be two non-negative integers satisfying the condition \(3g- 3+n>0\), and denote by T(g,n) the Teichmüller space of marked closed Riemann surfaces of genus g with n punctures. Then the Teichmüller modular group \(\Gamma\) (g,n), i.e., the mapping class group of the marking surface of conformal type (g,n), acts properly discontinuously on T(g,n), and the orbit space T(g,n)/\(\Gamma\) (g,n) is just the Riemann moduli space of compact Riemann surfaces of genus g with n distinguished points. As T(g,n) is, at the same time, the base space of the n-pointed universal Teichmüller curve V(g,n)\(\to T(g,n)\), which is also acted on by the modular group \(\Gamma\) (g,n), the cotangent bundle Q(g,n)\(\to T(g,n)\) on T(g,n) is defined, via Kodaira-Spencer theory, by the spaces of meromorphic quadratic differentials on the fibres of the universal family. The aim of the present paper is to describe the cotangent bundle space Q(g,n) as an analytic variety. To this end, the author introduces a symbol function \(\pi\) which assigns to any \(q\in Q(g,n)\) a triple \(\pi (q)=(k,\nu,\epsilon)\), where k is the number of poles of the quadratic differential \(\sigma\) corresponding to q, \(\nu\) (1) is the number of zeros of \(\sigma\) of order \(\ell \geq 1\), and \(\epsilon =1\) or -1 as \(\sigma\) is or is not the square of a holomorphic 1-form. Then, for any symbol \(\pi\) of a point in Q(g,n), the set \(V(\pi)=\{q\in Q(g,n)|\pi (q)=\pi \}\) is shown to be a complex analytic subvariety of Q(g,n). Consequently, Q(g,n) is foliated by complex analytic subvarieties which reflect the singular behavior of quadratic differentials on puctured Riemann surfaces. Then the folios V(\(\pi\)) are investigated more closely. It is shown that each subvariety V(\(\pi\)) can be equipped with an atlas \({\mathcal E}(\pi)\) such that (1) \({\mathcal E}(\pi)\)-transitions are locally complex affine and (2) \({\mathcal E}(\pi)\)-transitions are euclidean measure preserving, which means that the folios V(\(\pi\)) carry a natural affine structure and a volume element. If \(V_ 1(\pi)\) denotes the norm one hypersurface in V(\(\pi\)), then the (real analytic) volume element of V(\(\pi\)) induces a volume element on \(V_ 1(\pi)\), which is shown to be \(\Gamma\) (g,n)-invariant. Having this natural measure of integration on the ``moduli spaces'' \(V_ 1(\pi)/\Gamma (g,n)\), the author constructs a certain class of functions that are \(L^ p\)-integrable \((0<p<1)\) with respect to it. In particular, the moduli spaces \(V_ 1(\pi)/\Gamma (g,n)\) are seen to be of finite volume, and this generalizes a partial result by \textit{H. Masur} [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 115, 169-200 (1982; Zbl 0497.28012)], obtained for special symbols of quadratic differentials. Another generalization of H. Masur's previous results is that the moduli spaces \(V_ 1(\pi)/\Gamma (g,n)\) are, in general, not connected and, moreover, that on each connected component of \(V_ 1(\pi)/\Gamma (g,n)\) the constructed natural measure is uniquely determined, up to a constant factor, as a finite absolutely continuous measure which is invariant under the Teichmüller geodesic flow [cf. the author, Ann. Math., II. Ser. 124, 441-530 (1986; Zbl 0658.32016)].