Overview
This study investigates the properties of closed translation surfaces, specifically focusing on the construction of homology bases and the identification of short homologically independent simple closed curves. The research addresses surfaces of genus $g\ge 2$ with a defined area of $4\pi g$. Two primary results are presented: one concerning the existence of a specified number of short, homologically independent curves, and another detailing a method for constructing a complete homology basis.
Research Context
The research operates within the field of translation surfaces, a specific class of Riemann surfaces equipped with a flat metric. The focus is on closed translation surfaces with a genus $g\ge 2$. A key parameter for these surfaces in this study is their area, which is set to $4\pi g$. The concept of homology, particularly homologically independent simple closed curves and homology bases, is central to the investigation. The problem addresses fundamental topological and geometric properties of these surfaces.
Approach
The first result, concerning the existence of short homologically independent simple closed curves, is derived from a novel methodological approach. This approach involves a "mixed graph construction". This construction is predicated on two components: a Voronoi graph of the surface and its dual graph. The Voronoi graph is specifically constructed using the cone points of the surface as its "seeds".
For the second result, which pertains to the construction of a homology basis, a different aspect of the graph theory approach is employed. This construction exclusively utilizes the Voronoi graph. However, this particular construction method is explicitly stated to be dependent on a geometric property of the surface: the length of its shortest saddle connection.
Findings
For a closed translation surface $S$ of genus $g\ge 2$ with $\mathop{area}(S)= 4\pi g$, the following findings are reported:
- For any given $\lambda \in (0, 1)$, there exist $\lfloor \lambda \cdot g\rfloor$ homologically independent simple closed curves.
- The length of these homologically independent simple closed curves is at most $ C(\lambda) \cdot \log(g)$. The constant $C(\lambda)$ is stated to depend only on $\lambda$.
- A complementary result, utilizing only the Voronoi graph (constructed with cone points as seeds), produces $2g$ short loops. These $2g$ loops are identified as forming a homology basis.
- The construction of this homology basis using only the Voronoi graph is dependent on the length of a shortest saddle connection of the surface $S$.