arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Dimitri Zvonkine.
We define Strebel differentials for stable complex curves, prove the existence and uniqueness theorem that generalizes Strebel's theorem for smooth curves, prove that Strebel differentials form a continuous family over the moduli space of stable curves, and show how this construction can be applied to clarify a delicate point in Kontsevich's proof of Witten's conjecture.
The Hurwitz space is a compactification of the space of rational functions of a given degree. We study the intersection of various strata of this space with its boundary. A study of the cohomology ring of the Hurwitz space then allows us to obtain recurrence relations for certain numbers of ramified coverings of a sphere by a sphere with prescribed ramifications. Generating functions for these numbers belong to a very particular subalgebra of the algebra of power series.
The Hurwitz space is a compactification of the space of rational functions of a given degree. The Lyashko-Looijenga map assigns to a rational function the set of its critical values. It is known that the number of ramified coverings of CP^1 by CP^1 with prescribed ramification points and ramification types is related to the degree of the Lyashko--Looijenga map on various strata of the Hurwitz space. Here we explain how the degree of the Lyashko-Looijenga map is related to the intersection theory on this space. We describe the cohomology algebra of the Hurwitz space and prove several relations between the homology classes represented by various strata.
We study the number of meromorphic functions on a Riemann surface with given critical values and prescribed multiplicities of critical points and values. When the Riemann surface is $\CP^1$ and the function is a polynomial, we give an elementary way of finding this number. In the general case, we show that, as the multiplicities of critical points tend to infinity, the asymptotic for the number of meromorphic functions is given by the volume of some space of graphs glued from circles. We express this volume as a matrix integral.