Publications Meetings The Profession Membership Programs Math Samplings Policy & Advocacy In the News About the AMS
|
   
Available in electronic format
Available in print format
Journal of the American Mathematical Society
Journal of the American Mathematical Society
ISSN 1088-6834(e) ISSN 0894-0347(p)

     

Weil-Petersson volumes and intersection theory on the moduli space of curves

Author(s): Maryam Mirzakhani
Journal: J. Amer. Math. Soc. 20 (2007), 1-23.
MSC (2000): Primary 32G15, 14H15
Posted: March 8, 2006
MathSciNet review: 2257394
Retrieve article in: PDF

Abstract | References | Similar articles | Additional information

Abstract: In this paper, we establish a relationship between the Weil- Petersson volume $ V_{g,n}(b)$ of the moduli space $ \mathcal{M}_{g,n}(b)$ of hyperbolic Riemann surfaces with geodesic boundary components of lengths $ b_{1},\ldots, b_{n}$, and the intersection numbers of tautological classes on the moduli space $ \overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}$ of stable curves. As a result, by using the recursive formula for $ V_{g,n}(b)$ obtained in the author's Simple geodesics and Weil-Petersson volumes of moduli spaces of bordered Riemann surfaces, preprint, 2003, we derive a new proof of the Virasoro constraints for a point. This result is equivalent to the Witten-Kontsevich formula.


References:

1.
E. Arbarello, Sketches of kdv, Symposium in Honor of C. H. Clemens (Salt Lake City, UT, 2000), Contemp. Math., vol. 312, Amer. Math. Soc., 2002, pp. 9-69.MR 1941573 (2004i:14039)

2.
L. Bers, Spaces of degenerating Riemann surfaces, Discontinuous groups and Riemann surfaces, Annals of Math. Studies, vol. 76, Princeton University Press, 1974, pp. 43-55.MR 0361051 (50:13497)

3.
M. Boggi and M. Pikaart, Galois covers of moduli of curves, Compositio Math. 120 (2000), 171-191.MR 1739177 (2002a:14025)

4.
P. Buser, Geometry and spectra of compact Riemann surfaces, Birkhäuser Boston, 1992.MR 1183224 (93g:58149)

5.
R. Dijkgraaf, E. Verlinde, and H. Verlinde, Loop equations and Virasoro constraints in nonperturbative two-dimensional quantum gravity, Nuclear Phys. B 384 (1991), 435-456.MR 1083914 (92a:81171)

6.
W. Goldman, The symplectic nature of fundamental groups of surfaces, Adv. Math. 54 (1984), 200-225.MR 0762512 (86i:32042)

7.
-, Ergodic theory on moduli spaces, Ann. of Math. 146 (1997), 475-507.MR 1491446 (99a:58024)

8.
V. Guillemin, Moment maps and combinatorial invariants of Hamiltonian $ t\sp n$-spaces, Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994. MR 1301331 (96e:58064)

9.
J. Harris and I. Morrison, Moduli of curves, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, vol. 187, Springer-Verlag, 1998. MR 1631825 (99g:14031)

10.
Y. Imayoshi and M. Taniguchi, An introduction to Teichmüller spaces, Springer-Verlag, 1992.MR 1215481 (94b:32031)

11.
C. Itzykson and J. Zuber, Combinatorics of the modular group. II. The Kontsevich integrals, Internat. J. Modern Phys. A 7 (1992), 5661-5705.MR 1180858 (94m:32029)

12.
R. Kaufmann, Y. Manin, and D. Zagier, Higher Weil-Petersson volumes of moduli spaces of stable $ n$-pointed curves, Comm. Math. Phys. 181 (1996), 736-787.MR 1414310 (98i:14029)

13.
F. Kirwan, Momentum maps and reduction in algebraic geometry, Differential Geom. Appl. 9 (1998), 135-171. MR 1636303 (99e:58072)

14.
M. Kontsevich, Intersection on the moduli space of curves and the matrix Airy function., Comm. Math. Phys. 147 (1992). MR 1171758 (93e:32027)

15.
E. Looijenga, Intersection theory on Deligne-Mumford compactifications (after Witten and Kontsevich), Séminaire Bourbaki, 1992/93, Astérisque, volume 216, 1993, pp. 187-212. MR 1246398 (95b:32033)

16.
-, Smooth Deligne-Mumford compactification by means of Prym level structures, J. Algebraic Geom. 3 (1994), 283-293. MR 1257324 (94m:14029)

17.
Y. Manin and P. Zograf, Invertible cohomological field theories and Weil-Petersson volumes, Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble) 50 (2000), 519-535.MR 1775360 (2001g:14046)

18.
H. Masur, The extension of the Weil-Petersson metric to the boundary of Teichmüller space, Duke Math. J. 43 (1976), 623-635. MR 0417456 (54:5506)

19.
D. McDuff, Introduction to symplectic topology, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 1999. MR 1702941 (2000e:53099)

20.
G. McShane, Simple geodesics and a series constant over Teichmüller space, Invent. Math. 132 (1998), 607-632. MR 1625712 (99i:32028)

21.
J. Milnor and J. Stasheff, Characteristic classes, Annals of Mathematics Studies.MR 0440554 (55:13428)

22.
M. Mirzakhani, Simple geodesics and Weil-Petersson volumes of moduli spaces of bordered Riemann surfaces, Preprint, 2003.

23.
T. Nakanishi and M. Näätänen, Areas of two-dimensional moduli spaces, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 129 (2001), 3241-3252. MR 1844999 (2002e:32020)

24.
A. Okounkov, Random trees and moduli of curves, Asymptotic combinatorics with applications to mathematical physics, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol. 1815, Springer-Verlag, 2003, pp. 89-126. MR 2009837 (2004m:14049)

25.
A. Okounkov and R. Pandharipande, Gromov-Witten theory, Hurwitz theory, and matrix models, I, Preprint.

26.
R. Penner, Weil-Petersson volumes, J. Differential Geom. 35 (1992), 559-608.MR 1163449 (93d:32029)

27.
J. Weitsman, Geometry of the intersection ring of the moduli space of flat connections and the conjectures of Newstead and Witten, Topology 37 (1998).MR 1480881 (99m:57030)

28.
E. Witten, Two-dimensional gravity and intersection theory on moduli space, Surveys in differential geometry, Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA, 1991. MR 1144529 (93e:32028)

29.
-, Two dimensional gauge theories revisited, J. Geom. Phys. 9 (1992), 303-368.MR 1185834 (93m:58017)

30.
S. Wolpert, An elementary formula for the Fenchel-Nielsen twist, Comment. Math. Helv. 56 (1981), 132-135.MR 0615620 (82k:32053)

31.
-, On the homology of the moduli space of stable curves, Ann. of Math.(2) 118 (1983), 491-523.MR 0727702 (86h:32036)

32.
-, On obtaining a positive line bundle from the Weil-Petersson class, Amer. J. Math. 107 (1985), 1485-1507. MR 0815769 (87f:32058)

33.
-, On the Weil-Petersson geometry of the moduli space of curves, Amer. J. Math. 107 (1985), 969-997.MR 0796909 (87b:32040)

34.
P. Zograf, The Weil-Petersson volume of the moduli space of punctured spheres, Mapping class groups and moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces, Contemp. Math., vol. 150, Amer. Math. Soc., 1993, pp. 367-372. MR 1234274 (94g:32030)

Similar Articles:

Retrieve articles in Journal of the American Mathematical Society with MSC (2000): 32G15, 14H15

Retrieve articles in all Journals with MSC (2000): 32G15, 14H15


Additional Information:

Maryam Mirzakhani
Affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544

DOI: 10.1090/S0894-0347-06-00526-1
PII: S 0894-0347(06)00526-1
Received by editor(s): April 6, 2004
Posted: March 8, 2006
Additional Notes: The author is supported by a Clay fellowship.
Copyright of article: Copyright 2006, American Mathematical Society
The copyright for this article reverts to public domain after 28 years from publication.




AMS and Social Media LinkedIn Facebook Podcasts Twitter YouTube RSS Feeds Blogs Wikipedia