Origami edge-paths in the curve graph
Abstract
An "origami" (or flat structure) on a closed oriented surface, , of genus is obtained from a finite collection of unit Euclidean squares by gluing each right edge to a left one and each top edge to a bottom one. The main objects of study in this note are "origami pairs of curves" -- filling pairs of simple closed curves, , in such that their minimal intersection is equal to their algebraic intersection -- they are "coherent". An origami pair of curves is naturally associated with an origami on . Our main result establishes that for any origami pair of curves there exists an "origami edge-path", a sequence of curves, , such that: intersects at exactly once; any pair is coherent; and thus, any filling pair, , is also an origami. With their existence established, we offer shortest origami edge-paths as an area of investigation.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2008.09179,
title = {Origami edge-paths in the curve graph},
author = {Hong Chang and Xifeng Jin and William W. Menasco},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.09179},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
14 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Topology & Its Applications. This final version before publication includes numerous minor edits to the text and figures that were suggested by referee