On type-preserving representations of thrice punctured projective plane group (Q2073266)

In this paper, the authors study type-preserving representations of a punctured surface \(S\) into the group of isometries of the hyperbolic space \({\mathbb H}^2\). More precisely, they consider the space \(\mathcal{X}(S)\) of type-preserving representations up to conjugation by \(PSL(2;{\mathbb R}) = SL(2;{\mathbb R})/\{\pm Id\}\). They are interested in questions of \textit{R. M. Kashaev} [Math. Res. Lett. 12, No. 1, 23--36 (2005; Zbl 1082.32011)] on the number of connected components of \(\mathcal{X}(S)\), of \textit{B. H. Bowditch} [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. (3) 77, No. 3, 697--736 (1998; Zbl 0928.11030)] on the existence of representations such that the image of all \(2\)-sided simple closed curves is hyperbolic but which are not discrete and faithful, and of \textit{W. M. Goldman} [Proc. Symp. Pure Math. 74, 189--214 (2006; Zbl 1304.57025)] on the ergodicity of the action of the mapping class group Mod\((S)\) on \(\mathcal{X}(S)\). They answer these three questions in the case of the thrice-punctured projective plane \(N_{1,3}\).