On the appearance of Eisenstein series through degeneration

Abstract

Let Γ be a Fuchsian group of the first kind acting on the hyperbolic upper half plane ℍ, and let M = Γ \ ℍ be the associated finite volume hyperbolic Riemann surface. If γ is parabolic, there is an associated (parabolic) Eisenstein series, which, by now, is a classical part of mathematical literature. If γ is hyperbolic, then, following ideas due to Kudla–Millson, there is a corresponding hyperbolic Eisenstein series. In this article, we study the limiting behavior of parabolic and hyperbolic Eisenstein series on a degenerating family of finite volume hyperbolic Riemann surfaces. In particular, we prove the following result. If γ ∈ Γ corresponds to a degenerating hyperbolic element, then a multiple of the associated hyperbolic Eisenstein series converges to parabolic Eisenstein series on the limit surface.