Translation surface

In mathematics a translation surface is a surface obtained from identifying the sides of a polygon in the Euclidean plane by translations. An equivalent definition is a Riemann surface together with a holomorphic 1-form.

These surfaces arise in dynamical systems where they can be used to model billiards, and in Teichmüller theory. A particularly interesting subclass is that of Veech surfaces (named after William A. Veech) which are the most symmetric ones.