Remarks on quadratic rational maps

Abstract

This will is an expository description of quadratic rational maps. Sections 2 through 6 are concerned with the geometry and topology of such maps. Sections 7--10 survey of some topics from the dynamics of quadratic rational maps. There are few proofs. Section 9 attempts to explore and picture moduli space by means of complex one-dimensional slices. Section 10 describes the theory of real quadratic rational maps. For convenience in exposition, some technical details have been relegated to appendices: Appendix A outlines some classical algebra. Appendix B describes the topology of the space of rational maps of degree \[d\]. Appendix C outlines several convenient normal forms for quadratic rational maps, and computes relations between various invariants.\break Appendix D describes some geometry associated with the curves \[\Per_n(\mu)\subset\M\]. Appendix E describes totally disconnected Julia sets containing no critical points. Finally, Appendix F, written in collaboration with Tan Lei, describes an example of a connected quadratic Julia set for which no two components of the complement have a common boundary point.