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Poincaré metric

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Through Mathematics, Geometry and Codomain

There are three equivalent representations commonly used in two-dimensional hyperbolic geometry. One is the Poincaré half-plane model, defining a model of hyperbolic space on the upper half-plane. The Poincaré disk model defines a model for hyperbolic space on the unit disk. The disk and the upper half plane are related by a conformal map, and isometries are given by Möbius transformations. A third representation is on the punctured disk, where relations for q-analogues are sometimes expressed. These various forms are reviewed below.

Overview of metrics on Riemann surfaces

A metric on the complex plane may be generally expressed in the form

ds2=λ2(z,z¯)dzdz¯

where λ is a real, positive function of z and z¯. The length of a curve γ in the complex plane is thus given by

l(γ)=∫γλ(z,z¯)|dz|

The area of a subset of the complex plane is given by

Area(M)=∫Mλ2(z,z¯)i2dz∧dz¯

where ∧ is the exterior product used to construct the volume form. The determinant of the metric is equal to λ4, so the square root of the determinant is λ2. The Euclidean volume form on the plane is dx∧dy and so one has

dz∧dz¯=(dx+idy)∧(dx−idy)=−2idx∧dy.

A function Φ(z,z¯) is said to be the potential of the metric if

4∂∂z∂∂z¯Φ(z,z¯)=λ2(z,z¯).

The Laplace–Beltrami operator is given by

Δ=4λ2∂∂z∂∂z¯=1λ2(∂2∂x2+∂2∂y2).

The Gaussian curvature of the metric is given by

K=−Δlog⁡λ.

This curvature is one-half of the Ricci scalar curvature.

Isometries preserve angles and arc-lengths. On Riemann surfaces, isometries are identical to changes of coordinate: that is, both the Laplace–Beltrami operator and the curvature are invariant under isometries. Thus, for example, let S be a Riemann surface with metric λ2(z,z¯)dzdz¯ and T be a Riemann surface with metric μ2(w,w¯)dwdw¯. Then a map

f:S→T

with f=w(z) is an isometry if and only if it is conformal and if

μ2(w,w¯)∂w∂z∂w¯∂z¯=λ2(z,z¯).

Here, the requirement that the map is conformal is nothing more than the statement

w(z,z¯)=w(z),

that is,

∂∂z¯w(z)=0.

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