A symplectic map between hyperbolic and complex Teichmüller theory (Q602056)

In this paper, \(S\) is a closed connected orientable surface of genus \(\geq 2\), \(\mathcal{T}\) is its Teichmüller space and \(\mathcal{ML}\) its space of measured geodesic laminations. The authors consider a real symplectic form on the product space \(\mathcal{T}\times \mathcal{ML}\), by identifying this space with the cotangent bundle to Teichmüller space, using geodesic length functions. More precisely, for each \(l\in \mathcal{ML}\), the authors consider the geodesic length function \(m\mapsto L_m(l)\) defined on \(\mathcal{T}\). Then, for each \(m_0\in \mathcal{T}\), the differential of \(m\mapsto L_m(l)\) at \(m_0\) becomes a vector in the cotangent space \(T^*_{m_{0}} \mathcal{T}\) to \(\mathcal{T}\) at \(m_0\), which the authors call \(\delta(m,l)\). This defines a map \(\delta: \mathcal{T}\times \mathcal{ML}\to T^*\mathcal{T}\), and this map is used to pull back the canonical symplectic structure on the cotangent bundle \(T^*\mathcal{T}\) to a symplectic structure \(\omega_H\) on \( \mathcal{T}\times \mathcal{ML}\), making this space a symplectic manifold. The space \(\mathcal{CP}\) of complex projective structures on \(S\) is equipped with a complex symplectic form, which is defined classically using the Schwarzian derivatives of complex maps, and which can also be defined (work of Goldman) through the holonomy representation of complex projective structures, using the cup-product on cohomology \(1\)-classes with values in an appropriate Lie algebra bundle over \(S\). The authors denote by \(\omega_C\) the real part of this symplectic form on \(\mathcal{CP}\). Thurston's grafting map \(\mathrm{Gr}: \mathcal{T}\times \mathcal{ML} \to \mathcal{CP}\) provides a relation between the two spaces \(\mathcal{T}\times \mathcal{ML}\) and \(\mathcal{CP}\). In the paper under review, the authors prove that the pullback of the symplectic form \(\omega_C\) on \(\mathcal{CP}\) by the grafting map is the form \(\omega_H\) on \(\mathcal{T}\times \mathcal{ML}\), up to a factor \(2\): \(\mathrm{Gr}^*\omega_C=2 \omega_H\). The proof of this result is geometrical and it uses \(3\)-manifolds. The authors use their previous work on renormalized volume of hyperbolic \(3\)-manifolds, and more precisely, a variant of this renormalized volume defined for hyperbolic ends.