Formal Markoff maps are positive

DOI10.1007/S10711-008-9256-YMaRDI QIDQ930537zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors François Guéritaud

Publication date 30 June 2008

Published in Geometriae Dedicata (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0605735

zbMATH Keywords

Laurent polynomialsMarkoff equationonce-punctured torus

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Farey sequences; the sequences (1^k, 2^k, dots) (11B57) Markov and Lagrange spectra and generalizations (11J06) Discrete geometry (52C99)

Abstract: This note defines a family of Laurent polynomials (indexed in the rational projective line) which generalize the Markoff numbers and relate to the character variety of the one-cusped torus. We describe which monomials appear in each polynomial and prove all the coefficients are positive integers. We also conjecture a generalization of that positivity result.

Review text

The paper under review studies a particular instance of the so called Laurent phenomenon. The term was coined by \textit{S. Fomin} and \textit{A. Zelevinsky} [Adv. Appl. Math. 28, No. 2, 119--144 (2002; Zbl 1012.05012)], who noticed that certain inductively defined sequences of rational functions take only Laurent polynomial values. Moreover, based on their initial observations, they conjectured that coefficients of these Laurent polynomials are always positive integers. So far positivity of these coefficients has only been established in a special case pertaining to Markoff numbers by J. Propp, who showed that these coefficients count colorings of particular graphs. In the present paper, the author considers a certain Markoff map associated to the set of simple closed geodesics on a hyperbolic one-cusped torus. The values of this map are given by a family of Laurent polynomials \[ f_s(X,Y,Z) = \sum_{\alpha,\beta \in \mathbb Z} F_s(\alpha,\beta) \frac{X^{1+\alpha} Y^{1+\beta}}{Z^{1+\alpha+\beta}} \in \mathbb Z[X^{\pm 1}, Y^{\pm 1}, Z^{\pm 1}], \] which is indexed by \(s \in \mathbb P^1 \mathbb Q\). The author proves that the integer coefficients \(F_s(\alpha,\beta)\) are nonzero only if \((\alpha,\beta)\) satisfies a certain natural parity condition, in which case the corresponding coefficient is positive. Moreover, he shows that all monomials in the Newton polygon of \(f_s\) which satisfy this parity condition have nonzero coefficients.

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Cites work

• End invariants for SL(2,C) characters of the one-holed torus
• Generalized Markoff maps and McShane's identity
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3125787 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2149896 (Why is no real title available?)
• Markoff triples and quasifuchsian groups
• Necessary and sufficient conditions for McShane's identity and variations
• The complement of the Bowditch space in the SL(2, C) character variety
• The Laurent phenomenon

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