Teichmüller curves in genus two: Discriminant and spin (Q2574909)

This paper belongs to a series of publications of the author considering Teichmüller discs in the moduli space \({\mathcal M}_2\) of genus \(2\) Riemann surfaces, i.e. curves on \({\mathcal M}_2\) parametrized by the upper half plane and with a natural action of \(\text{SL}_2({\mathbb R})\) on them, sometimes also called Veech curves. The subject of the present paper are the Weierstrass curves \(W_D\) on \({\mathcal M}_2\). They are constructed using a Riemann surface \(X \in {\mathcal M}_2\) such that \(\text{Jac} (X)\) admits real multiplication by a real quadratic order \({\mathcal O}_D\) of discriminant \(D\), and such that \(X\) has a holomorphic differential \(\omega\) with a double zero in one of its Weierstrass points, being an \({\mathcal O}_D\)-eigendifferential on \(\text{Jac} (X)\). The main result: for \(D\geq 5 \) these Weierstrass curves are either irreducible or (only for \(D \equiv 1 \bmod 8 \) and \( D \not= 9\)) split into two components which can be distinguished by the so-called spin invariant. The curves are characterized uniquely by discriminant and spin, and it turns out that -- with one exception -- all primitive Teichmüller curves (i.e. not arising by some lifting procedure) are components of these Weierstrass curves. They can be constructed as well by certain billards. The methods of proof are a highly sophisticated combination of function theory and geometry of the Teichmüller space, moduli spaces of abelian varieties in dimension \(2\), combinatorial analysis of cusps of the Weierstrass curves, and combinatorial number theory.