On the notions of mating (Q1950977)

This article provides a survey of the different notions of matings of polynomials found in holomorphic dynamics. Beginning with discussions of equivalence relations and polynomial dynamics, it then relates all the key concepts (formal, topological and conformal matings) and proves some folklore results that may be hard to find in the literature (including a section on slow matings, first defined by \textit{J. Milnor} in [Exp. Math. 13, No. 1, 55--92 (2004; Zbl 1115.37051)]). It ends with a brief appendix on branched coverings of the sphere and Thurston equivalence [\textit{A. Douady} and \textit{J. H. Hubbard}, Acta Math. 171, No. 2, 263--297 (1993; Zbl 0806.30027)]. Informally, a mating is a way of constructing a branched covering of the Riemann sphere by combining two polynomials \(f_1, f_2 : \mathbb{C} \to \mathbb{C}\). It turns out there are a number of ways of carrying out this construction, but it is shown by the authors that the methods are all related. The key question is then whether or not the branched covering \(F\) constructed by the mating can be thought of as a rational map \(F : \widehat{\mathbb{C}} \to \widehat{\mathbb{C}}\). In the cases where it is not possible, this is due to the existence of an \textit{obstruction} in the mating. The authors describe the different type of obstructions, and pose some questions about when they occur. This paper works as a very good introduction for anyone interested in studying matings. It not only provides the relevant background, collecting it all in one resource, but also outlines a number of questions that are of interest to researchers in the field. It is a good partner to the paper [\textit{X. Buff} et al., Ann. Fac. Sci. Toulouse, Math. (6) 21, No. 5, 1149--1176 (2012; Zbl 1364.37099)] which appears in the same volume.