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I was studying the proof of Teichmuller's uniqueness theorem from the note/book " A Primer on Mapping Class Groups " by Farb-Margalit and I got struck at a couple of points, mainly because I am new to the subject. It would be great if you answer some of my questions :

Here are some questions I might like to ask: $\DeclareMathOperator{\Teich}{Teich}$

Let $X$ be a closed Riemann surface, $ S_g $ be topological closed oriented genus g surface, $q_X $ be a holomorphic quadratic differential on $X$.

  1. Why $[(X, \phi )]$ should be an element in $\Teich(S_g)$ ? ( P. 291 of Farb-Margalit ) . I mean why should we put phi there ? Different phi just gives different laminations of X , so why should we put it there ?

  2. What exactly is meant by " projective classes of $ q_X $" ? ( P 291 of Farb-Margalit ) Why does it give a tangent direction in the tangent space $T_X(\Teich(S_g))$ of $\Teich(S_g)$ at $X$ ?

  3. ( P. 292 of Farb-Margalit ) Given $X, q_X, K > 1$, we can cook up a new closed Riemann surface $Y$ such that there is a Teichmller map f with initial QD $q_X$, terminal QD $q_Y$, and stretch factor K > 1 in the following way :

First puncture $X$ at the zeros of $ q_X$, take natural coordinate chart , and then compose with the affine map $f (x,y) = ( \sqrt{K}x, \sqrt{1/K}y $). But then the new transition maps become $f \circ (z_1) \circ (z_2^{-1}) \circ f^{-1}$. This new map is NOT holomorphic, although the rest except the f-parts is holomorphic . So how do we get a Riemann surface structure ?

  1. How exactly can we think of a teichmuller map as a map from $QD(X)$, space of holomorphic quadratic differentials on $X$, to $\Teich(S_g) $ ?

  2. Finally, what is/are really good reference for this topic ?

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  • $\begingroup$ Teichmuller space is the space of marked Riemann surfaces, and the homeomorphism $\phi$ is the marking for the point $[(X,\phi)]$. $\endgroup$ Jan 17, 2011 at 22:25
  • $\begingroup$ Also, which version of the book are you using? Those page numbers don't match with the version I have. $\endgroup$ Jan 17, 2011 at 22:25
  • $\begingroup$ I searched the latest version for "projective class" and they don't seem to talk about projective classes of quadratic differentials at all, so maybe you should look at the latest version: math.utah.edu/~margalit/primer $\endgroup$ Jan 17, 2011 at 22:31
  • $\begingroup$ @ Richard Kent : I am using version 4.03, if you are interested, I can send you the PDF file. $\endgroup$ Jan 17, 2011 at 22:35
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, I didn't know there is a more modern version 5.0, may be I would use it, thanks ! $\endgroup$ Jan 17, 2011 at 22:36

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Answer to your last question:

Quasiconformal Maps and Teichmüller Theory (Oxford Graduate Texts in Mathematics) [Hardcover] Alastair Fletcher (Author), Vladimir Markovic (Author)

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks Dr Rivin, I hope that book has a pretty clear explanation . $\endgroup$ Jan 17, 2011 at 20:50

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