Abstract
We show that both Teichmüller space (with the Teichmüller metric) and the mapping class group (with a word metric) have geodesic divergence that is intermediate between the linear rate of flat spaces and the exponential rate of hyperbolic spaces. For every two geodesic rays in Teichmüller space, we find that their divergence is at most quadratic. Furthermore, this estimate is shown to be sharp via examples of pairs of rays with exactly quadratic divergence. The same statements are true for geodesic rays in the mapping class group. We explicitly describe efficient paths “near infinity” in both spaces.
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Duchin, M., Rafi, K. Divergence of Geodesics in Teichmüller Space and the Mapping Class Group. Geom. Funct. Anal. 19, 722–742 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00039-009-0017-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00039-009-0017-3