Euclidean structures on simplicial surfaces and hyperbolic volume (Q1334303): Difference between revisions

This is a comprehensive survey, with sketched proofs, on the field of the foregoing review [the author, Lect. Note Pure Appl. Math. 156, 275-291 (1994)]. The author develops a deformation theory of singular Euclidean structures on finite 2-dimensional oriented simplicial complexes, homeomorphic to surfaces with or without boundary. For a given complex \(T\) the deformation space can be parametrized by the dihedral angles assigned to the angles of the faces of \(T\). From the list of results we mention only some mean topics: geometry of ideal polyhedra in \(H^ 3\), particularly that of simplices -- locally Euclidean structure on \(T\) as an assignment of positive angles \(\alpha (t)\), \(\beta (t)\), \(\gamma(t)\) to each triangle \(t\) of \(T\) such that \(\alpha (t) + \beta (t) + \gamma (t) = \pi\) -- the space of dihedral angle assignments -- volume and finding the complete structure -- incomplete structure with prescribed holonomy -- Euclidean structures with prescribed cone angles -- properties of volume on the space of Euclidean structures -- hyperbolic ideal polyhedra with maximal volume. The author mentions some further directions for applications of these ideas as deformation theory of singular graphs; infinite complexes; spectral geometry. The reviewer thinks that the author should write a monograph to elaborate his very remarkable results in full details.