Joint Algebra and Geometry/Geometry and Topology Seminar

In this talk we will discuss the moduli spaces Simp^m_n of degree n + 1 morphisms A^1_K with "ramification length <m" over an algebraically closed field K. For each m, the moduli space Simp^m_n is a Zariski open subset of the space of degree n + 1 polynomials over K up to ^Aut(A^1_K). It is, in a way, orthogonal to the many papers about polynomials with prescribed zeroes - here we are prescribing, instead, the ramification data. We will also see why and how our results align, in spirit, with the long standing open problem of understanding the topology of the Hurwitz space.