Spaces of elliptic differentials

Abstract

We study modular fibers of elliptic differentials, which are roughly spaces of torus-coverings over a fixed base torus. For genus 2 torus covers with fixed degree we show, that the modular fibers F_d(1,1) are itself connected torus covers with Veech group SL_2(Z). Using results of Eskin, Masur and Schmoll we calculate the Euler Characteristic and the parity of the spin structure of the quadratic differential (F_d(1,1)/(-id),q_d). We state and apply formulas for the asymptotic quadratic growth rates of various types of geodesic segments on a surface S "contained" in F_d(1,1). The quadratic growth rates are expressed in terms of the SL_2(Z) orbit closure of S \in F_d(1,1) and the flat geometry of F_d(1,1).