The Geometric P=W conjecture and Thurston's compactification

Abstract

In this paper, we use new results together with established facts about Thurston's compactification of Teichmüller space to address the geometric P=W conjecture for $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$, which concerns projective compactifications of character varieties of closed surfaces. In particular, we construct a projective compactification of the $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$-character variety of any closed surface of genus $g>1$, in which the boundary divisors are toric varieties and the dual intersection complex is a sphere. A main technical step, of independent interest, is the derivation of an explicit formula for a well-known embedding of the set of isotopy classes of multicurves on a closed surface of genus $g$ into ${\mathbb{N}}^{9g-9}$.

Second version (38 pages). The paper has been substantially revised. The introduction is now shorter and more concise, the sections have been rearranged to improve readability, an example in genus 2 has been added, and some misstatements have been corrected