Unmarked simple length spectral rigidity for covers

Abstract

We prove that every closed orientable surface S of negative Euler characteristic admits a pair of finite-degree covers which are length isospectral over S but generically not simple length isospectral over S. To do this, we first characterize when two finite-degree covers of a connected, orientable surface of negative Euler characteristic are isomorphic in terms of which curves have simple elevations. We also construct hyperbolic surfaces X and Y with the same full unmarked length spectrum but so that for each k, the sets of lengths associated to curves with at most k self-intersections differ.