Mutation invariant functions on cluster ensembles (Q6051111)

This paper studies in a unified way functions on cluster algebras invariant under the cluster mapping class group. Well-known equations like the Markov equation or the Somos sequences are examples. The main result is a classification of these functions for cluster algebras associated to affine Dynkin diagrams of type ADE using a link to Teichmüller spaces. A cluster algebra is an algebra associated to an oriented graph \(Q\), undergoing certain transformations known as mutations. There are two versions for mutations leading to two algebras denoted by \(\mathcal{X}_Q\) and \(\mathcal{A}_Q\). The pair \((\mathcal{X}_Q,\mathcal{A}_Q)\) is called a cluster ensemble. They appear in geometry as coordinate systems for Grassmannians (via Plücker coordinates) or for character varieties (via Fock--Goncharov coordinates). The latter includes Teichmüller spaces of surfaces. The automorphism group of a cluster ensemble is called the cluster mapping class group. It acts on the function fields of \(\mathcal{X}_Q\) and \(\mathcal{A}_Q\) by pull-back. The paper studies functions invariant under the cluster mapping class group or subgroups thereof. The paper presents a large list of examples coming mostly from Geometry or Number Theory. For cluster algebras associated to Teichmüller spaces of surfaces, examples are given by lengths of horocycles (for \(\mathcal{A}_Q\)) and traces of monodromy matrices (for \(\mathcal{X}_Q\)). The Markov equation comes from the horocycle length of a once punctured torus. The main theorem of the paper classifies functions invariant under the puncture preserving mapping class group for cluster ensembles associated to affine Dynkin diagrams of type ADE. The proof uses a special representative in the mutation class of the quiver and the link to Teichmüller spaces and hyperbolic geometry of surfaces. The paper concludes with some conjectures for the general structure of invariant functions on cluster ensembles, linked to the duality conjectures of Fock and Goncharov.