Counting lattice points in the moduli space of curves

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Publication:2275708



Abstract: We show how to define and count lattice points in the moduli space modmg,n of genus g curves with n labeled points. This produces a polynomial with coefficients that include the Euler characteristic of the moduli space, and tautological intersection numbers on the compactified moduli space.


The subject of this paper is the counting of lattice points in the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) of a Riemann surface of genus \(g\) with \(n\) labeled points. A construction developed by Penner using fatgraphs decomposes the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) into a union of compact convex polytopes \(P_{\Gamma}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\). Here, the label \(\Gamma\) is a fatgraph, and the \(b_i\)s are positive numbers. When the \(b_i\)s are positive integers, the polytope \(P_{\Gamma}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) is an integral polytope. In the paper under review, the author defines \(N_{\Gamma}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) as the number of positive integer points of this polytope. The author defines a lattice count polynomial \(N_{g,n}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) by taking weighted sums of \(N_{\Gamma}\) over all labeled fatgraphs of genus \(g\) with \(n\) boundary components. The author notes that the lattice count polynomial \(N_{g,n}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) counts only curves defined over \(\overline{Q}\), since the integral points correspond to Grothendieck's dessins d'enfants, that is, curves defined over \(\overline{Q}\). The author proves that the number of lattice points \(N_{g,n}(b_1,\dots,b_n)\) is a quasi-polynomial of degree \(3g-3+n\) in the integers \((b_1^2,\dots,b_n^2)\) depending on the parity of the \(b_i\). He gives recursion formulae for the lattice count polynomials which resemble Mirzakhani's recursion formulae between polynomials giving the Weil-Petersson volume of moduli space. He shows that the coefficients include the Euler characteristic of moduli space, as well as tautological intersection numbers on the compactified moduli space.




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