Simple curves on surfaces (Q5955166)

Let \(S\) be a hyperbolic surface of genus \(g\) with \(c\) cusps and \(b\) boundary components. Let \(N(L,S)\) denote the number of simple (that is, not self-intersecting) closed geodesics on \(S\) of length \(\leq L\). The author shows that \(N(L,S)\) is of order \(L^{6g+2b+2c-6}\). In order to put this inequality into a proper perspective a historical summary on the study of simple closed curves on surfaces is given.