Naturality of ${\rm SL}_3$ quantum trace maps for surfaces

TL;DR

This paper studies the naturality and independence of the ${ m SL}_3$ quantum trace maps for surfaces, showing their compatibility with quantum mutations and their independence from triangulation choices.

Contribution

It constructs quantum mutation maps for ${ m SL}_3$ trace maps and proves their compatibility and independence from triangulation, advancing understanding of quantum cluster structures.

Findings

Quantum mutation maps preserve ${ m SL}_3$ quantum trace maps.

${ m SL}_3$ quantum trace maps are compatible with quantum mutations.

Quantum ${ m SL}_3$-${ m PGL}_3$ duality is independent of triangulation.

Abstract

Fock-Goncharov's moduli spaces $\mathscr{X}_{{\rm PGL}_3,\frak{S}}$ of framed ${\rm PGL}_3$-local systems on punctured surfaces $\frak{S}$ provide prominent examples of cluster $\mathscr{X}$-varieties and higher Teichm\"uller spaces. In a previous paper of the author (arXiv:2011.14765), building on the works of others, the so-called ${\rm SL}_3$ quantum trace map is constructed for each triangulable punctured surface $\frak{S}$ and an ideal triangulation $\Delta$ of $\frak{S}$, as a homomorphism from the stated ${\rm SL}_3$-skein algebra of the surface to a quantum torus algebra that deforms the ring of Laurent polynomials in the cube-roots of the cluster coordinate variables for the cluster $\mathscr{X}$-chart for $\mathscr{X}_{{\rm PGL}_3,\frak{S}}$ associated to $\Delta$. We develop quantum mutation maps between special subalgebras of the cube-root quantum torus algebras for different triangulations and show that the ${\rm SL}_3$ quantum trace maps are natural, in the sense that they are compatible under these quantum mutation maps. As an application, the quantum ${\rm SL}_3$-${\rm PGL}_3$ duality map constructed in the previous paper is shown to be independent of the choice of an ideal triangulation.