The shapes of complementary subsurfaces to simple closed hyperbolic multi-geodesics (Q6918521)

\textit{M. Mirzakhani} proved in [Ann. Math. (2) 168, No. 1, 97--125 (2008; Zbl 1177.37036)] that the number of simple closed multi-geodesics of a given topological type and length \(\geq L\) on a closed, connected, oriented hyperbolic surface \(X\) of genus \(g \leq 2\) is asymptotically polynomial of degree \(6g - 6\). Each one of these multi-geodesics gives rise to a (maybe disconnected) compact, oriented hyperbolic surface with totally geodesic boundary obtained by cutting the original surface \(X\) along the multi-geodesic. In the paper under review, the authors note that the geometry of these subsurfaces can be encoded by an associated object called a ``spine'', represented as a metric ribbon graph, and they show that these metric ribbon graphs, appropriately rescaled, are equidistributed according to the Kontsevich measure on a corresponding moduli space of metric ribbon graphs. In particular, random subsurfaces look like random ribbon graphs, an association which does not depend on the initial choice of the surface \(X\).