Computing Euclidean Belyi maps (Q6072961)

This article studies the Belyi maps \(\varphi : X \to \mathbb{P}^1_{\mathbb{C}}\), that is, those finite coverings of \(\mathbb{P}^1_{\mathbb{C}}\) whose ramification locus is contained in \(\{ 0, 1, \infty \}\), which arise from finite index subgroups \(\Gamma\) of Euclidean triangle groups. The latter groups are those triangle groups \(\Delta = \Delta (a, b, c) \subset \text{PSL}_2 (\mathbb{R}))\) for which \(1 / a + 1 / b + 1 / c = 1\). Algorithmically, such Belyi maps \(\varphi\), as well as the corresponding groups \(\Gamma\), are most efficiently encoded by transitive permutation triples \(\sigma = (\sigma_0, \sigma_1, \sigma_{\infty}) \in S_n^3\); this article shows how \(\Gamma\) and \(\varphi\) can be calculated once such a triple \(\sigma\) is specified. After showing how it can be checked whether a given permutation triple \(\sigma\) is Euclidean, the authors give an explicit description of both the group \(\Delta\) and the subgroup \(\Gamma\) corresponding to \(\sigma\). This is accomplished by means of a semidirect product of a group of translations (respectively called \(T (\Delta)\) and \(T (\Gamma)\)) and the finite cyclic stabilizer of a special point, called a vertex of maximal rotation. Using such vertices, one obtains fundamental domains for \(\Gamma\) and \(\Delta\) that are both aesthetically pleasing and algorithmically easy to describe. On the level of algebraic curves, the inclusion of translation subgroups \(T (\Gamma) \subset T (\Delta)\) corresponds to an isogeny of elliptic curves \(E (\Gamma) \to E (\Delta)\); the authors show how to compute a corresponding field of definition, and explain how an application of Vélu's formulas can then be used to obtain explicit equations for this isogeny. Finally, the original Belyi map \(\varphi : X (\Gamma) \to X (\Delta)\) is obtained by an elegant Galois-theoretic argument; this describes \(X (\Gamma)\) as a quotient of \(E (\Gamma)\) (or one of its translates) by an explicit cyclic group of automorphisms, and similarly for \(E (\Delta)\) and \(X (\Delta)\). In this way, one obtains an expression for \(\varphi : X (\Gamma) \to X (\Delta) = \mathbb{P}^1_{\mathbb{C}}\) by writing the composition \(E (\Gamma) \to E (\Delta) \to X (\Delta)\) of the aforementioned isogeny with the quotient map for \(\Delta\) as a rational function in the generator of the fixed field \(X (\Gamma)\) of \(E (\Gamma)\). The authors give clear and unambiguous descriptions of their algorithms and include many illustrative examples.