Type: Article

Wild singularities of flat surfaces

Joshua P. Bowman, Ferrán Valdez;

Abstract:

We consider flat surfaces and the points of their metric completions, particularly the singularities to which the flat structure of the surface does not extend. The local behavior near a singular point x can be partially described by a topological space L(x) which captures all the ways that x can be "approached linearly". The homeomorphism type of L(x) is an affine invariant. When x is not a cone point or an infinite-angle singularity, we say it is wild; in this case it is necessary to add further metric data to L(x) to get a quantitative description of the surface near x.