Introduction to Teichmüller Spaces

This introduction to the theory of Teichmüller spaces will not only be used by graduate students and researchers in complex analysis and algebraic geometry, but also by theoretical physicists working with string theory. Starting with some basic facts on Riemann surfaces the authors provide a compehensive treatment of the subject and cover some very recent research topics. They have attempted to make the book as self-contained as possible and have included heuristic arguments and numerous examples.