The Schwarzian derivative and measured laminations on Riemann surfaces (Q2461385)

Let \(Q(X)\) be the vector space of holomorphic quadratic differentials on a compact Riemann surface \(X\). Let \(\mathcal{ML}(S)\) be the PL-manifold of measured laminations on the differential surface \(S\) underling \(X\). In this paper two homeomorphisms between \(Q(X)\) and \(\mathcal{ML}(S)\) are considered. One is the foliation map \(\phi_F\), which is composed of two homeomorphisms: \(\mathcal{ML}(S) \to \mathcal{MF}(S) \to Q(X)\), where \(\mathcal{MF}(S)\) denotes the space of equivalent classes of measured foliations. The other is the Thurston map \(\phi_T\), which is composed of two homeomorphisms: \(\mathcal{ML}(S) \to P(X) \to Q(X)\), where \(P(X)\) denotes the space of marked \(\mathbb{CP}^1\)-surfaces with underling Riemann surface \(X\). Then it is shown that \(\phi_F\) is approximately \(-2\phi_T\) up to an error term of smaller order than either map with respect to \(L^1(X)\)-norm. For the proof the author uses an estimate on the Schwarzian tensor of the Thurston metric, an estimate on the difference between \(\phi_F(\lambda)\) and the grafting differential, and the Schwarzian decomposition, that is, the decomposition of \(\phi_T(\lambda)\) to a Schwarzian tensor and the grafting differential. As an application of this result, an estimate on \(| | 2c_{\gamma}+s_{\gamma}| | _{L^1(X)}\) for \(\gamma\in \mathcal{ML}_{\mathbb{Z}}(S)\) is established, where \(c_{\gamma}\in P(X)\simeq Q(X)\) denotes the Fuchsian center \(\phi_T(2\pi \gamma)\) and \(s_{\gamma}\in Q(X)\) denotes the \(2\pi\)-integral Jenkins-Strebel differential \(\phi_F(2\pi\gamma)\). Furthermore, as numerical examples the author gives figures of \(P(X)\) with the locations of Fuchsian centers and the pleating rays for the case that \(X\) is the hexagonal punctured torus or a punctured torus without symmetries. As another application, the author develops the study of compactifications of the space of \(\mathbb{CP}^1\)-structures related to the projectivized antipodal involution. The inclusion map \(P(X) \to \mathcal{ML}(S)\times \mathcal{T}(S)\) based on the Thurston's projective grafting map extends continuously to a map from the Schwarzian compactification of \(P(X)\) to the product of the projective compactification of \(\mathcal{ML}(S)\) and the Thurston compactification of \(\mathcal{T}(S)\), and the behavior of the extension map on the boundary of \(P(X)\) is described in detail.