Counting lattice points in the moduli space of curves (Q2275708)

The subject of this paper is the counting of lattice points in the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) of a Riemann surface of genus \(g\) with \(n\) labeled points. A construction developed by Penner using fatgraphs decomposes the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) into a union of compact convex polytopes \(P_{\Gamma}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\). Here, the label \(\Gamma\) is a fatgraph, and the \(b_i\)s are positive numbers. When the \(b_i\)s are positive integers, the polytope \(P_{\Gamma}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) is an integral polytope. In the paper under review, the author defines \(N_{\Gamma}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) as the number of positive integer points of this polytope. The author defines a lattice count polynomial \(N_{g,n}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) by taking weighted sums of \(N_{\Gamma}\) over all labeled fatgraphs of genus \(g\) with \(n\) boundary components. The author notes that the lattice count polynomial \(N_{g,n}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) counts only curves defined over \(\overline{Q}\), since the integral points correspond to Grothendieck's dessins d'enfants, that is, curves defined over \(\overline{Q}\). The author proves that the number of lattice points \(N_{g,n}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) is a quasi-polynomial of degree \(3g-3+n\) in the integers \((b_1^2,\dots,b_n^2)\) depending on the parity of the \(b_i\). He gives recursion formulae for the lattice count polynomials which resemble Mirzakhani's recursion formulae between polynomials giving the Weil-Petersson volume of moduli space. He shows that the coefficients include the Euler characteristic of moduli space, as well as tautological intersection numbers on the compactified moduli space.