Monotone orbifold Hurwitz numbers (Q1687945)

Hurwitz numbers count the branched covers of the Riemann sphere with specified genus and ramification data. Equivalently, they count the factorizations of a permutation with prescribed cycle structure data. The simple Hurwitz numbers were introduced by Hurwitz already in [\textit{A. Hurwitz}, Math. Ann. XXXIX, 1--61 (1891; JFM 23.0429.01)]. In the last two decades there has been a revival of the Hurwitz theory, and there now are several variations of the simple Hurwitz numbers. For example, there are the so-called a-orbifold Hurwitz numbers and monotone Hurwitz numbers. Various results concerning the simple Hurwitz numbers, like polynomiality, topological recursion and the quantum curve equation, have their analogs in both of these cases. In the paper under review, the authors introduce the concept of a monotone orbifold Hurwitz number. These numbers are a variation of the orbifold case and they also generalize the monotone Hurwitz numbers. It is therefore natural to ask which results for the simple Hurwitz numbers have analogs in this new case. The authors start to answer the question by proving a cut-and-join recursion theorem that allows one to calculate the monotone orbifold Hurwitz numbers recursively. They then consider the wave function for these numbers and determine the quantum curve governing the wave function. The authors conclude the paper by formulating a conjecture that relates the monotone orbifold Hurwitz numbers to the topological recursion applied to an explicit spectral curve.