Effective bounds for Faltings's delta function (Q476079)

The Faltings's delta function \(\delta_{\mathrm{Fal}}(X)\) is an interesting invariant associated to a compact Riemann surface \(X\). It was introduced by \textit{G. Faltings} [Ann. Math. (2) 119, 387--424 (1984; Zbl 0559.14005)], and it appears in many fundamental arithmetic theorems and formulas, like the arithmetic Riemann-Roch theorem, the arithmetic Noether's formula, and the arithmetic Hodge index theorem. Roughly speaking, for a compact Riemann surface \(X\) of genus \(g\), \(\delta_{\mathrm{Fal}}(X)\) is given as minus the logarithm of the distance with respect to the Weil-Petersson metric of the point in the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_g\) of genus \(g\) curves determined by \(X\) to its boundary \(\partial\mathcal{M}_g\). In the paper under review, the authors give effective bounds for \(\delta_{\mathrm{Fal}}(X)\) in terms of basic information associated to the hyperbolic geometry of \(X\) provided that \(g>1\). Explicitly, they deduce effective bounds for \(\delta_{\mathrm{Fal}}(X)\) in terms of the smallest non-zero eigenvalue of the hyperbolic Laplacian acting on smooth functions on \(X\) as well as the length of the shortest closed geodesic on \(X\). The paper concludes with an application to Parshin's covering construction.