Systolic length of triangular modular curves (Q2672017)

The authors of this article present a method for obtaining explicit upper bounds for the systolic length of certain Riemann surfaces using computations with quaternion algebras over over totally real fields. The Riemann surfaces considered are obtained as quotients by certain subgroups of hyperbolic triangle groups. Interestingly, the latter Fuchsian groups are, in general, \textit{not} arithmetic groups. The authors' method relies on the fact that the uniformising Fuchsian group of a given Riemann surface of the type that they consider embeds into a very specific subgroup (modulo the centre) of an explicit quaternion algebra, and on the fact that the systolic length is related the trace of some hyperbolic element in the uniformising group. Careful tabulations of upper bounds, computed according to the authors' procedure, are presented.