The Geometric P=W conjecture and Thurston's compactification

Abstract: In this paper, we derive an explicit formula for a well-known embedding of the set of isotopy classes of multicurves on a closed surface of genus $g$ into $\mathbb{N}^{9g - 9}$. More significantly, we relate this result and established facts about Thurston's compactification of Teichm\"uller space to the geometric P = W conjecture for $\tn{SL}(2,\C)$, which concerns projective compactifications of character varieties of closed surfaces. In particular, we construct a projective compactification of the $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$-character variety for any closed surface of genus $g > 1$, in which the boundary divisors are toric orbifolds and their dual intersection complex is a sphere.