Connected components of the SL2(Z) reconfiguration graph

Classify the connected components of the reconfiguration graph on square-tiled surfaces generated by the simultaneous horizontal and vertical cylinder-shear actions corresponding to the generators of $SL_2(\mathbb Z)$.

Background

The paper notes that the natural SL2(Z)SL_2(\mathbb Z) action on square-tiled surfaces can be expressed through simultaneous cylinder shears in all horizontal or all vertical cylinders. Because these global moves generate a more restrictive reconfiguration relation than arbitrary cylinder shears, the resulting connected components are finer.

Beyond the flat torus stratum H(∅)H(\emptyset) and partial results in genus two and Prym loci, the classification is unresolved. The authors state that even a conjectural general classification is unavailable.

References

The classification of these connected components, even conjecturally, is open in general.

— Reconfiguration of square-tiled surfaces  (2501.15978 - Delecroix et al., 27 Jan 2025) in Section 6, Subsection “Further remarks”