Geometric intersection of curves on punctured disks (Q392583)

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.