E-polynomials of the SL(2,C)-character varieties of surface groups

Abstract

We compute the E-polynomials of the moduli spaces of representations of the fundamental group of a once-punctured surface of any genus into SL(2,C), for any possible holonomy around the puncture. We follow the geometric technique introduced in arXiv:1106.6011, based on stratifying the space of representations, and on the analysis of the behaviour of the E-polynomial under fibrations.