Overview

The focus of this book is on combinatorial objects, dessins d'enfants, which are drawings with vertices and edges on topological surfaces. Their interest lies in their relation with the set of algebraic curves defined over the closure of the rationals, and the corresponding action of the absolute Galois group on them. The articles contained here unite basic elements of the subject with recent advances. Topics covered include: the explicity association of algebraic curves to dessins, the study of the action of the Galois group on the dessins, computation and combinatorics, relations with modular forms, geometry, generating functions, TeichmÜller and moduli spaces. Researchers in number theory, algebraic geometry or related areas of group theory will find much of interest in this book.