Puncture loops on a non-orientable surface

On a connected surface $N$ with negative Euler characteristic, the free homotopy class of a loop obtained by smoothing an intersection of two closed geodesics may wind around a puncture. Chas and Kabiraj showed that this phenomenon does not occur when the surface $N$ is orientable. In this paper, we prove that it occurs when $N$ is non-orientable and both geodesics involved in the smoothing are actually one-sided. In particular, we study a loop obtained by traversing a one-sided closed geodesic and the $m$-th power of another one-sided closed geodesic for odd $m$. Then we show that its free homotopy class may wind aroud a puncture at most two values of $m$. Furthermore, if two such $m$'s exist, they are consecutive odd integers.

Publication Details

Journal
ArXiv.org
Published
2025-03-10
Primary Topic
Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Puncture loops on a non-orientable surface

ArXiv.org
Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
article

Puncture loops on a non-orientable surface

article en

Abstract

On a connected surface $N$ with negative Euler characteristic, the free homotopy class of a loop obtained by smoothing an intersection of two closed geodesics may wind around a puncture. Chas and Kabiraj showed that this phenomenon does not occur when the surface $N$ is orientable. In this paper, we prove that it occurs when $N$ is non-orientable and both geodesics involved in the smoothing are actually one-sided. In particular, we study a loop obtained by traversing a one-sided closed geodesic and the $m$-th power of another one-sided closed geodesic for odd $m$. Then we show that its free homotopy class may wind aroud a puncture at most two values of $m$. Furthermore, if two such $m$'s exist, they are consecutive odd integers.

ArXiv.org
Openalex Percentile: Top 40%
Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Puncture loops on a non-orientable surface · ArXiv.org (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS