Fields of definition for triangle groups as Fuchsian groups

Frank Calegari; Qiankang Chen

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arXiv · 2501.01780

Fields of definition for triangle groups as Fuchsian groups

Frank Calegari·Qiankang Chen

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Abstract

The compact hyperbolic triangle group $\Delta(p,q,r)$ admits a canonical representation to $\mathrm{PSL}_2(\mathbf{R})$ with discrete image which is unique up to conjugation. The trace field of this representation is \[K = \mathbf{Q}(\cos(\pi/p), \cos(\pi/q), \cos(\pi/r)).\] We prove that there are exactly eleven such groups which are conjugate to subgroups of $\mathrm{PSL}_2(K)$. Moreover, we prove that there are no additional compact hyperbolic triangle groups which are conjugate to subgroups of $\mathrm{PSL}_2(L)$ for any totally real field $L$. This answers a question first raised by Waterman and Machlachlan, and also resolves (in the positive) five (interrelated) recent conjectures of McMullen.

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Frank Calegari, Qiankang Chen. 2025-01-03. Fields of definition for triangle groups as Fuchsian groups. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.01780

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