We describe a natural decomposition of a normal complex surface singularity ($X$, 0) into its “thick” and “thin” parts. The former is essentially metrically conical, while the latter shrinks rapidly in thickness as it approaches the origin. The thin part is empty if and only if the singularity is metrically conical; the link of the singularity is then Seifert fibered. In general the thin part will not be empty, in which case it always carries essential topology. Our decomposition has some analogy with the Margulis thick-thin decomposition for a negatively curved manifold. However, the geometric behavior is very different; for example, often most of the topology of a normal surface singularity is concentrated in the thin parts.

We give a complete proof of the Bers–Sullivan–Thurston density conjecture. In the light of the ending lamination theorem, it suffices to prove that any collection of possible ending invariants is realized by some algebraic limit of geometrically finite hyperbolic manifolds. The ending invariants are either Riemann surfaces or filling laminations supporting Masur domain measured laminations and satisfying some mild additional conditions. With any set of ending invariants we associate a sequence of geometrically finite hyperbolic manifolds and prove that this sequence has a convergent subsequence. We derive the necessary compactness theorem combining the Rips machine with non-existence results for certain small actions on real trees of free products of surface groups and free groups. We prove then that the obtained algebraic limit has the desired conformal boundaries and the property that none of the filling laminations is realized by a pleated surface. In order to be able to apply the ending lamination theorem, we have to prove that this algebraic limit has the desired topological type and that these non-realized laminations are ending laminations. That this is the case is the main novel technical result of this paper. Loosely speaking, we show that a filling Masur domain lamination which is not realized is an ending lamination.

This paper solves the problem of computing conformal structures of general 2-manifolds represented as triangle meshes. We compute conformal structures in the following way: first compute homology bases from simplicial complex structures, then construct dual cohomology bases and diffuse them to harmonic 1-forms. Next, we construct bases of holomorphic differentials. We then obtain period matrices by integrating holomorphic differentials along homology bases. We also study the global conformal mapping between genus zero surfaces and spheres, and between general meshes and planes. Our method of computing conformal structures can be applied to tackle fundamental problems in computer aid design and computer graphics, such as geometry classification and identification, and surface global parametrization.

Let$M$be a compact complex manifold. The corresponding Teichmüller space Teich is the space of all complex structures on$M$up to the action of the group $${{\rm Diff}_0(M)}$$ of isotopies. The mapping class group $${\Gamma:={\rm Diff}(M)/{{\rm Diff}_0(M)}}$$ acts on Teich in a natural way. An$ergodic complex structure$is a complex structure with a $${\Gamma}$$ -orbit dense in Teich. Let$M$be a complex torus of complex dimension $${\ge 2}$$ or a hyperkähler manifold with $${b_2 > 3}$$ . We prove that$M$is ergodic, unless$M$has maximal Picard rank (there are countably many such$M$). This is used to show that all hyperkähler manifolds are Kobayashi non-hyperbolic.

It is proved that if the twistor space of a self-dual four-manifold of positive scalar curvature contains a real effective divisor of degree two, then the four-manifold is diffeomorphic to the connected sum n\mathbb {C}{P^ 2} of n complex projective planes for some n. It follows that if the four-manifold is known to be homeomorphic to n\mathbb {C}{P^ 2} , then it is also diffeomorphic to n\mathbb {C}{P^ 2} .