Earthquake Theorem for Cluster Algebras of Finite Type

Abstract

Abstract We introduce a cluster algebraic generalization of Thurston’s earthquake map for the cluster algebras of finite type, which we call the cluster earthquake map. It is defined by gluing exponential maps, which is modeled after the earthquakes along ideal arcs. We prove an analogue of the earthquake theorem, which states that the cluster earthquake map gives a homeomorphism between the spaces of $\mathbb {R}^{\textrm {trop}}$- and $\mathbb {R}_{>0}$-valued points of the cluster $\mathcal {X}$-variety. For those of type $A_{n}$ and $D_{n}$, the cluster earthquake map indeed recovers the earthquake maps for marked disks and once-punctured marked disks, respectively. Moreover, we investigate certain asymptotic behaviors of the cluster earthquake map, which give rise to “continuous deformations” of the Fock–Goncharov fan.