Sum of Lyapunov exponents of the Hodge bundle with respect to the Teichmüller geodesic flow (Q483509)

Given a matrix cocycle over a flow, the Lyapunov exponents are, to quote from the paper under review, ``logarithms of mean eigenvalues of monodromy''. In nature, it is often extremely difficult to compute Lyapunov exponents except in very special (usually homogeneous) situations. Here, in the setting of the Kontsevich-Zorich cocycle over the Teichmüller geodesic flow on a stratum of the moduli space of quadratic differentials, the \textit{sum} of the (non-trivial) Lyapunov exponents is computed, and shown to have an extraordinarily simple form in terms of the combinatorics of the stratum. Moreover, this sum is computed for any \(\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb R)\)-invariant submanifolds contained in hyperelliptic loci, under a regularity assumption which has since been verified. The methods involve linking the sum of exponents to certain integrals of the determinant of the Laplacian of singular flat metrics, and a comparison of these to the determinant of the Laplacian of conformally equivalent hyperbolic metrics. This involves a careful study of work of Polyakov, and uses work of Rafi on comparison of flat and hyperbolic metrics.