Computation of the topological type of a real Riemann surface

Abstract

We present an algorithm for the computation of the topological type of a real compact Riemann surface associated to an algebraic curve, i.e., its genus and the properties of the set of fixed points of the anti-holomorphic involution τ \tau , namely, the number of its connected components, and whether this set divides the surface into one or two connected components. This is achieved by transforming an arbitrary canonical homology basis to a homology basis where the A \mathcal {A} -cycles are invariant under the anti-holomorphic involution  τ \tau .