The π-geography problem and the Hurwitz problem

Let d ≥ 2 be an integer and a partition of d. In this article we study the problem of for which pairs of integers (a, b) there is a branched coating F: ∑ → D2 = {z ∈ C: | z | 6 ≤ 1} that has critical values, x (∑) = −b, and such that the monodromy that is obtained when crossing the border of D2 in a...