Jenkins-Strebel Differentials on the Riemann Sphere with Four Simple Poles

Abstract: A celebrated and deep theorem in the theory of Riemann surfaces states the existence and uniqueness of the Jenkins-Strebel differentials on a Riemann surface under some conditions, but the proof is non-constructive and examples are difficult to find. This paper deals with an example of a simple case, namely Jenkins-Strebel differentials on the Riemann sphere with four fixed simple poles. We will give explicit expressions of these Jenkins-Strebel differentials by means of the Weierstrass $\wp$ function and expose a simple algorithm determining the correspondence between these differentials and some classes of simple closed curves on the Riemann sphere with four points removed.