English

The complex projective plane as a ball quotient

Geometric Topology 2026-07-21 v1 Algebraic Geometry Differential Geometry

Abstract

In 1986, Deligne and Mostow constructed a ball quotient B2/Γ\mathbb{B}^2 / \Gamma biholomorphic to the complex projective plane P2\mathbb{P}^2 whose branch locus is a line arrangement. In this paper, we show that if P2\mathbb{P}^2 is realized as a ball quotient whose branch divisor DD is an arrangement of smooth pairwise normal-crossing curves, then the orbifold (P2,D)(\mathbb{P}^2,D) is isomorphic to either the Deligne-Mostow example or a certain degree 9 cover of it. This classification of "ball quotient structures" on P2\mathbb{P}^2 generalizes the P1\mathbb{P}^1 case due to Poincar\'e.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.18710,
  title  = {The complex projective plane as a ball quotient},
  author = {Cindy Tan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.18710},
  year   = {2026}
}