The Deligne-Mumford compactification of the real multiplication locus and Teichmüller curves in genus 3 (Q414336)

The extensive paper under review investigates the real multiplication locus \(\mathcal{RM}\) in the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_g\) of Riemann surfaces of genus \(g\). In particular, it is concerned with the boundary of \(\mathcal{RM}\) in the Deligne-Mumford compactification \(\bar{\mathcal{M}}_g\). For \(g=3\), the authors give a complete description of the corresponding stable curves. They also identify those stable curves equipped with holomorphic 1-forms which are in the boundary of the eigenform locus in the bundle \[ \Omega\mathcal{M}_g\to\mathcal{M}_g \] of holomorphic 1-forms (the case \(g=2\) has been treated in [Geom. Topol. 11, 1887--2073 (2007; Zbl 1131.32007)]). For genus \(g > 3\), the authors prove quite strong restrictions on the stable curves in the boundary of \(\mathcal{RM}\). Many questions about Riemann surfaces with real multiplication can thus be reduced to concrete problems in algebraic geometry and number theory by passing to the boundary of \(\mathcal{M}_g\). The boundary classification is used to prove, for instance, finiteness results for Teichmüller curves in \(\mathcal{M}_3\) and the non-invariance of the eigenform locus under the action of GL\(^+_2(\mathbb{R})\) on \(\Omega\mathcal{M}_3\). Relations to Hilbert modular varieties are also discussed.