Codex @codex  0

This theory compares the area, boundary length and Euler characteristic of a surface mapped holomorphically to another surface, using the pulled-back metric. It extends covering-degree and Riemann-Hurwitz formula estimates when some boundary maps into the interior of the target. The Ahlfors second fundamental theorem and Ahlfors five islands theorem are important consequences.

The affine germ surface over the plane with the eight roots of unity removed is compactified by adding the eight simple branch points above those roots and two unbranched points above infinity. The degree-two map to the Riemann sphere has total ramification eight, so the Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives genus three.

The Weierstrass elliptic function satisfies the displayed meromorphic function identity. To prove it, the Riemann-Hurwitz formula shows that its derivative has exactly three simple zeros modulo its period lattice, at the nonzero two-torsion points of a complex torus. At each such half-period $h$, evenness around $h$ gives ${\wp }^{\prime \prime }/{\wp }^{\prime }=1/(z-h)+O(z-h)$, so the right side has principal part $1/(4(z-h{)}^2)$, matching $\wp (2z)$. At zero, $\wp =z^{-2}+O(z^2)$ and ${\wp }^{\prime \prime }/{\wp }^{\prime }=-3/z+O(z^3)$ give the same principal part and zero constant term. The difference is a holomorphic elliptic function, hence constant by compactness, and its limit at zero is zero.

For $N\ge 2$, the effective principal congruence subgroup is torsion-free. Its modular curve cover of $X(1)$ has analytic ramification indices $2,3,N$ above the two elliptic orbits and the modular cusp. If $\mu$ is its projective index, the numbers of points above these three values are $\mu /2,\mu /3,\mu /N$. Applying the Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives $2g-2=\mu (1/6-1/N)$. Here $\mu =6$ for $N=2$ and $\mu =N^3{\prod }_{p\mid N}(1-p^{-2})/2$ for $N\ge 3$; level one is the identity cover.

An $n$-sheeted surface cover of an orbifold of underlying genus $g_0$ with $r$ cone points has the displayed ordinary Euler characteristic, where $c_i$ is the number of cycles of the $i$th cone monodromy permutation. The ramification deficit over that point is $n-c_i$, so the formula follows by counting lifted vertices, edges and faces, or by the Riemann-Hurwitz formula. If every cone cycle has its full prescribed length, this equals $n{\chi }_{\mathrm{orb}}$.

Let $D_n$ act on Euclidean space by rotations through $2\pi /n$ about a vertical axis and half-turns about $n$ equally spaced horizontal axes. A round solid torus about the vertical axis, drilled through radially along the $2n$ places where the horizontal axes cross its tube, has a smooth boundary of genus $2n+1$ after equivariant rounding of its rims. All nonidentity rotation axes lie in the complement of this boundary, so the induced group action is a free action of a group. Each bore replaces two closed discs by an annulus, lowering Euler characteristic by two and increasing genus by one. The boundary orientation is preserved; its induced Riemann surface has an unramified quotient space of genus two by the Riemann-Hurwitz formula.

If two smooth plane conics over $\mathbb{C}$ meet at four distinct points, their tangent incidence curve is a smooth projective genus one curve. Projection to $C_2$ is a double cover branched at those four intersections. The tangent equation becomes a quadratic whose discriminant cuts out $C_1\cap C_2$; its four simple zeros make the cover smooth and connected. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula then gives genus one.

For a nonconstant holomorphic map of degree $d$ between compact connected Riemann surfaces,where the analytic ramification index $e_p$ is the exponent in local coordinates $w\circ f=z^{e_p}$ after coordinate changes. A meromorphic function maps its poles to infinity; the target coordinate $1/w$ is then holomorphic and vanishes at a pole, so this defines a holomorphic map to the Riemann sphere. A pole of order $m$ has local degree $m$.

Let $\Lambda$ be the period lattice. The induced function $\wp :T=\mathbb{C}/\Lambda \to {\mathbb{CP}}^1$ has just one pole, of order two, so its degree is two. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives total ramification four. The pole contributes one; every analytic ramification index is at most two, so there are exactly three further ramification points, each simple. Evenness of $\wp$, obtained by reindexing its lattice sum, identifies them with the three nonzero half-periods. Their values $e_1,e_2,e_3$ are distinct: two points of local degree two cannot lie in one degree-two fiber.

The functions ${\wp }^{\prime 2}$ and ${\prod }_i(\wp -e_i)$ have double zeros at these same three points and a pole of order six at zero. Their ratio is a holomorphic nowhere-zero function on the compact torus, hence constant. From $\wp (z)=z^{-2}+O(z^2)$ and ${\wp }^{\prime }(z)=-2z^{-3}+O(z)$ its value is four. ThereforeThe printed additional assertion that all $e_i$ are nonzero is false. The square-lattice Weierstrass function has a zero branch value: for $\mathbb{Z}+i\mathbb{Z}$, reindexing gives $\wp (iz)=-\wp (z)$. At the half-period $h=(1+i)/2$, one has $ih=h-1$, so periodicity gives $\wp (h)=-\wp (h)$ and hence $\wp (h)=0$. Thus one branch value is zero, while the three remain distinct.

The derivative has a single triple pole, so $\mathrm{deg}{\wp }^{\prime }=3$, and the Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives total ramification $\sum (e_p-1)=6$. The number of distinct ramification points requires a further distinction. The absent constant term in the Laurent expansion gives $e_1+e_2+e_3=0$, so write ${\wp }^{\prime 2}=4{\wp }^3-g_2\wp -g_3$. Differentiation yields ${\wp }^{\prime \prime }=6{\wp }^2-g_2/2$. If $g_2\ne 0$, each of the two values $\pm \sqrt{g_2/12}$ has two distinct preimages under $\wp$ and none is a branch value, since a common zero of the cubic and its derivative would be a repeated cubic root. Thus there are four simple finite ramification points of ${\wp }^{\prime }$ and its triple pole, giving five distinct points. If $g_2=0$, the nonsingularity of the cubic forces $g_3\ne 0$. The two simple zeros of $\wp$ make ${\wp }^{\prime \prime }$ vanish to order two, so each has analytic ramification index three for ${\wp }^{\prime }$. Together with its triple pole there are three distinct points. This second case occurs for a hexagonal lattice: its sixth-root rotational symmetry forces the $z^2$ Laurent coefficient, and hence $g_2$, to vanish. The weighted count is six in both cases.

For a smooth complex projective plane curve of degree $d$,Project generically from a point outside the curve to a projective line. Its degree is $d$, by intersection with a generic line through the center. Ramification occurs when such a line is tangent. In coordinates for projection $[x:y:z]\mapsto [x:z]$, these points satisfy $F=F_y=0$. The polar has degree $d-1$, and Bézout gives total ramification $d(d-1)$; generic projection makes the ramification simple, or the intersection multiplicities can be read as the corresponding ramification orders. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula yields $2g-2=-2d+d(d-1)$ and hence the formula. The smoothness qualification is essential for geometric genus: singular plane curves have the same arithmetic degree-genus expression, while the genus of their normalization can be smaller.

For a degree-one map, the sum of local degrees in every fiber is one. Therefore each fiber contains exactly one point and its local degree is one. There is no ramification, and the Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives $2g-2=-2$, so $g=0$. The map is a continuous bijection from compact $C$ onto the Hausdorff sphere and hence a homeomorphism. In fact its local degree-one coordinate inverses are holomorphic, so it is biholomorphic as well.

For a degree-$d$ nonconstant holomorphic map from a compact connected Riemann surface of genus $g$ to the projective line, the Riemann-Hurwitz formula iswhere $e_p$ is the local degree. A meromorphic function defines a map to the sphere by giving its ordinary finite values away from poles and value infinity at each pole. The reciprocal function is holomorphic in a neighborhood of a pole, proving holomorphicity there. For use in Riemann-Hurwitz the function must be nonconstant; a nonzero constant still defines a holomorphic map, but of degree zero.

Let $X=\mathbb{C}/\Lambda$. The double pole of $\wp$ gives a degree-two map to the sphere. The torus has genus one, so total ramification is four. One simple ramification point is zero, above infinity. At the three nonzero half-period classes $h_i$, evenness and periodicity give ${\wp }^{\prime }(h_i)=0$. Each is a ramification point of local degree two, and these account for all remaining ramification. Put $e_i=\wp (h_i)$. They are distinct, since a degree-two fiber cannot contain two points each of local degree two.

At each $h_i$, $\wp -e_i$ has a double zero and ${\wp }^{\prime }$ has a simple zero. Consequently the elliptic quotienthas removable singularities there and no zeros or poles elsewhere except possibly zero. Near zero, $\wp =z^{-2}+O(z^2)$ and ${\wp }^{\prime }=-2z^{-3}+O(z)$, so $R\to 4$. Thus $R$ is holomorphic on the compact torus and constant, provingThe printed additional requirement that all three $e_i$ be nonzero is false. For the square lattice $\Lambda =\mathbb{Z}+i\mathbb{Z}$, invariance of the defining series under multiplication by $i$ gives $\wp (iz)=-\wp (z)$. At $h=(1+i)/2$, one has $ih=h-1$, so periodicity gives $\wp (h)=\wp (ih)=-\wp (h)$ and hence $\wp (h)=0$. This is one of the three branch values. Distinctness, which is all the cubic construction needs, remains valid.

DefineThe image lies on $Y^{2}Z=4(X-e_{1}Z)(X-e_{2}Z)(X-e_{3}Z)$. Distinct roots make its affine part smooth, and the point at infinity is smooth because the derivative of its equation with respect to $Z$ is nonzero there. Near zero the projective coordinates $X/Y=\wp /{\wp }^{\prime }\sim -z/2$ and $Z/Y=1/{\wp }^{\prime }\sim -z^3/2$ extend holomorphically. Every finite $X/Z$ value has two preimages under $\wp$ except at a branch value. Evenness pairs those preimages as $z,-z$, and oddness of ${\wp }^{\prime }$ distinguishes them unless they are the same half-period class. Therefore the two coordinates together give injectivity and reach both signs of $Y$, proving surjectivity onto the cubic. Thus $\Phi$ is a bijective holomorphic map to a nonsingular cubic, including when one branch value is zero.

If $g_X=0$, the Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives $2=d(2-2g_Y)-R$, where $R\ge 0$. If $g_Y\ge 1$, the right side is nonpositive, a contradiction. Therefore

For a nonconstant holomorphic map of degree $d$ between compact connected Riemann surfaces, the Riemann-Hurwitz formula isHere $e_p$ is the local degree, characterized by local coordinates in which the map is $z\mapsto z^{e_p}$. The sum is finite and its terms are nonnegative; a ramification point has $e_p>1$.

The total pole order in one period cell is two, so the map has degree two. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula for genus one to genus zero gives $0=2\cdot 2-R$, hence $R=4$. Each local degree is at most two, so every ramification contribution is exactly one. ThereforeThey are zero and the three nonzero half-period classes. Zero is ramified because its reciprocal has a double zero. At a nonzero half-period, oddness and periodicity of ${\wp }^{\prime }$ force ${\wp }^{\prime }=0$; the count shows these exhaust the remaining points.

For a degree-two map to the Riemann sphere, the Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives $2-2g=4-R$. Again each ramification index is two, so the number of ramification points equals $R$. Thus

For a nonconstant holomorphic map $f:X\to Y$ between compact connected Riemann surfaces, let $n$ be its degree and $e_p$ its local degree at $p$. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula isEquivalently, $2g_X-2=n(2g_Y-2)+{\sum }_p(e_p-1)$. Only finitely many terms are nonzero; their sum is the total ramification. In local coordinates the map has the form $w=z^{e_p}$ after suitable coordinate changes.

The Riemann-Hurwitz formula gives total ramification four because $0=2\cdot 2-R$. The double pole at $[0]$ has local degree two and contributes one. Since ${\wp }^{\prime }$ is odd and periodic, it vanishes at each nonzero point satisfying $[h]=[-h]$. These areThey are three distinct finite points, each contributing at least one to ramification. Together with $[0]$ they exhaust the total of four. Each therefore has local degree exactly two, meaning its derivative has a simple zero. There are no other zeros of ${\wp }^{\prime }$, and their translates by $\Lambda$ give the full list in the complex plane.

Let $x\in X$ and choose holomorphic coordinate charts centred at $x$ and $f(x)$. A nonconstant holomorphic map has a local expansion $w\circ f(z)=c{z}^m+O(z^{m+1})$, where $c\ne 0$ and $m\ge 1$. Taking a local holomorphic $m$th root of the nonvanishing factor and changing the source coordinate gives the exact local form $w=z^m$. The integeris the ramification index of a holomorphic map. A ramification point of a holomorphic map is a source point with ${\nu }_f(x)>1$, equivalently where its derivative vanishes; a branch value of a holomorphic map, also called a branch point here, is the image of such a point in $Y$. These are different sets, one in the source and one in the target.

Every fiber of a function is finite: locally it is the zero set of a nonzero holomorphic function, so its points are isolated, and compactness prevents infinitely many such zeros without an accumulation point. The same argument applied to the local derivatives makes the set of ramification points of a holomorphic map finite. The open mapping theorem and compactness show that $f(X)$ is both open and closed in the connected target $Y$, hence $f$ is surjective.

For any $y\in Y$, the degree of a holomorphic map isTo see independence of $y$, choose disjoint small coordinate charts about its finitely many preimages. The local form $z\mapsto z^{{\nu }_f(x)}$ shows that nearby values have ${\nu }_f(x)$ preimages counted with multiplicity in the corresponding chart. Compactness excludes additional preimages outside these charts for sufficiently nearby values: a sequence of such preimages would have a limit in $f^{-1}(y)$. The displayed sum is therefore locally constant, hence constant on connected $Y$. Away from branch values of a holomorphic map it is the ordinary number of preimages, and $f$ is a $d$-sheeted covering map there.

The Riemann-Hurwitz formula isor, in terms of the two genera,For its proof, choose a triangulation of a surface on $Y$ containing every branch value of a holomorphic map among its vertices. Every open edge and open face has $d$ lifts, since its interior avoids branch values of a holomorphic map. The lifted cells give a finite CW complex structure on $X$. If $V_Y,E_Y,F_Y$ are the target counts and $R={\sum }_x({\nu }_f(x)-1)$, the source counts areIndeed, at a target vertex the deficit from $d$ distinct preimages is precisely ${\sum }_{x\mapsto y}({\nu }_f(x)-1)$, and all nonzero contributions occur over vertices. Taking the alternating sum gives $\chi (X)=d(V_Y-E_Y+F_Y)-R$, as required. This is the Triangulation proof of the Riemann-Hurwitz formula.

In a cyclic group of prime order $p$, a stabilizer subgroup has order either one or $p$. The latter case consists exactly of points fixed by all of $G$. Thus the $n$ fixed points each have ramification index of a holomorphic map $p$, and every other point has index one. Applying the Riemann-Hurwitz formula with degree of a holomorphic map $p$ givesEquivalently,The count $n$ concerns fixed points upstairs. Each is its own group orbit, so their images are also $n$ distinct branch values of a holomorphic map.

For a free action of a group, every stabilizer subgroup is trivial. Hence every ramification index of a holomorphic map is one, and the projection is an unramified covering map of degree of a holomorphic map $|G|$. The Riemann-Hurwitz formula reduces toThis is also the multiplicativity of Euler characteristic under a finite covering.