Euler characteristics of moduli spaces of curves (Q621856)

Let us denote by \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) the moduli space of complex non-singular curves (equivalently, of compact Riemann surfaces) of genus \(g\) with \(n\) marked points, and by \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}\) its Deligne--Mumford compactification, which is the moduli space of complex stable \(n\)-pointed genus \(g\) curves, i.e., nodal curves with \(n\) distinct marked non-singular points and such that the group of automorphisms preserving the punctures is finite. In the fundamental paper [Invent. Math. 85, 457--485 (1986; Zbl 0616.14017)], \textit{J. Harer} and \textit{D. Zagier} gave a formula expressing the orbifold Euler characteristic of \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) in terms of the Riemann zeta function. Moreover, they computed the ordinary Euler characteristics of \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) for any \(g\) and \(n=0,1\). In the paper under review, these results are extended by giving formulas for both the orbifold and the ordinary Euler characteristics of \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) and \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}\) for all \(g\) and \(n\) with \(2g-2+n>0\), thus covering all possible cases. The formulas and their proofs rely on techniques from the theory of generating functions and integral representations. The relationship between the Euler characteristics of the \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) and of their compactifications \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}\) is given by using the stratification of \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}\) by topological type of the stable curves. This stratification is indexed by stable graphs; each stratum can be reconstructed from the corresponding graph as being the quotient of a product of moduli spaces of the form \({\mathcal{M}}_{h,m}\) by the stabilizer of the graph. Finally, as in the previous work of Harer and Zagier, the ordinary Euler characteristic is computed from orbifold ones using a formula by Brown and Serre from [\textit{K. S. Brown}, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 24, 103--121 (1982; Zbl 0493.20033)]. The paper under review includes many tables in which the values of the Euler characteristics are given explicitly for \(g\) and \(n\) small. This makes it easy to check that the results agree with the known results in these cases. The authors of the paper already performed this check with most known evidence on the Euler characteristics of moduli spaces of curves. Furthermore, I checked that the results also agree with \textit{J. Bergström}'s results for \(g=3, n\leq 5\) in [J. Reine Angew. Math. 622, 155--187 (2008; Zbl 1158.14025)] and the computation of the cohomology of \(\overline{\mathcal M}_4\) in [\textit{J. Bergström} and \textit{O. Tommasi}, Math. Ann. 338, No. 1, 207--239 (2007; Zbl 1126.14030)].