Quasisymmetric maps, shears, lambda lengths and flips

Abstract

We study quasisymmetric maps, which act on the boundary of the hyperbolic plane, by looking at their action on the Farey triangulation. Our main results identify exactly which quasisymmetric maps correspond to pinched lambda lengths in terms of shearing coordinates and, separately, in terms of (simultaneous) flip distance of the Farey triangulation and its image by the map. These extend and clarify previous results of Penner and Sullivan.