Mirzakhani's Curve Counting: From Simple to All

Abstract

Mirzakhani obtained the asymptotic growth, when $L\to\infty$, of the number of curves in the mapping class group orbit of some given simple curve and with length at most $L$. Years later she extended this result from simple to arbitrary curves. Here we give a short and relative low-tech argument showing how to derive the general result from the one for simple curves.