The dilatation function of a holomorphic isotopy (Q1032734)

Consider the nonvanishing univalent functions in the disk \[ \Delta^\ast = \{z\in \widehat{\mathbb C} =\mathbb C\cup\{\infty\} : |z| > 1\} \] with hydrodynamical normalization, i.e., of the form \[ f(z) = z + b_0 + b_1z^{-1} + b_2z^{-2} +\cdots,\quad (f(z)\neq 0). \] The collection of such functions is denoted by \(\Sigma\). Let \(\Sigma(k)\) be its subset containing the functions with \(k\)-quasiconformal extensions to the unit disk \(\Delta =\{z : |z|<1\}\), and \(\Sigma^0 =\bigcup_k\Sigma(k)\). Let \(q_f(r)=q_f\) denote the minimal dilatation among the quasiconformal extensions of \(f\) to \(\widehat{\mathbb C}\). In 1995, R.~Kühnau raised the following questions which reveal rather surprising features of the dilatation function: 1) Is the function \(q_f(r)\) real analytic? 2) Is it possible to reconstruct \(f(z)\) if \(q_f(r)\) is given? These intriguing problems still remain open. Both of them were arisen from an important example constructed by Kühnau. It is concerned with the Cassini ovals and shows that a conformal map \(f\) of the disk \(\Delta^\ast\) onto the exterior of any loop of the oval \(L_c=\{w:|w^2-c^2|=1\}\), \(0<c<1\), has the extremal quasiconformal dilatation \[ q_f=1/\text{cosh}\left[\frac{\pi}{2}\frac{K'(c^2)}{K(c^2)}\right], \] where \(K(k)\) is the complete elliptic integral of first kind. Nothing further related to solving these problems has been obtained. There is a conjecture that the analyticity must happen for most of the dilatation functions, and depends on the distribution of zeros of the corresponding quadratic differentials \(\psi\). Note that the general results on the smoothness of the Teichmüller distance provide that this distance at generic points of the universal Teichmüller space is at most \(C^2\) smooth. The goal of the paper is to prove the following {Theorem.} For every function \[ f_\ast(z)=z+b^\ast_0+b^\ast_1z^{-1}+\cdots\quad\in\Sigma^0, \] whose extremal Beltrami coefficient \(\mu_{f_\ast}=q_{f_\ast}|\psi_\ast|/\psi_\ast\) on the disk \(\Delta\) is defined by a holomorphic quadratic differential \(\psi_\ast\), which has only zeros of even order, the dilatation function \(q_{f_\ast}(r)\) is analytic on the interval \(\{0 < r < 1\}\). This theorem has two important consequences. First, it establishes the existence of a wide class of univalent functions (which contains the above conformal maps of the Cassini ovals), whose dilatation functions are analytic. Second, the proof of the theorem, provides a representation of \(q_f(r)\) as the Grunsky norm of \(f_r\), interesting by itself, and implies a negative answer to the second question. The proof involves the Grunsky coefficients of univalent functions and certain deep results of the complex geometry of the universal Teichmüller space. It reduces to the construction and comparison of metrics with appropriate curvature properties.