Geometric intersection of curves on punctured disks (Q392583): Difference between revisions

The paper under review investigates integral laminations (that is, disjoint unions of finitely many essential simple closed curves modulo isotopy) on the \(n\)-punctured disk. Such integral laminations can be described by their so-called triangular coordinates, that is their intersection numbers with certain fixed arcs in the \(n\)-punctured disk. \textit{I. A. Dynnikov} [Russ. Math. Surv. 57, No. 3, 592--594 (2002); translation from Usp. Mat. Nauk 57, No. 3, 151--152 (2002; Zbl 1067.20501)] has shown that certain linear combinations of triangular coordinates yield a bijection between integral laminations and \({\mathbb Z}^{2n-4}-\left\{0\right\}\). The paper under review gives an explicit formula in terms of Dynnikov's coordinates for the intersection number of integral laminations with so-called relaxed integral laminations. (The latter are those whose components intersect the \(x\)-axis exactly twice.) Since by \textit{I. Dynnikov} and \textit{B. Wiest} [J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 9, No. 4, 801--840 (2007; Zbl 1187.20045)] any integral lamination can be mapped to a relaxed one by a suitable homeomorphism of the \(n\)-punctured disk, and since intersection number is preserved under homeomorphisms, this yields a method to compute the intersection number of arbitrary integral laminations.