Abstract

Let M be a handlebody of genus g >= 2. The space T(M), that parametrizes marked Kleinian structures on M up to isomorphisms, can be identified with the space MSg, of marked Schottky groups of rank g, so it carries a structure of complex manifold of finite dimension 3(g - 1). The space M(M) parametrizing Kleinian structures on M up to isomorphisms, can be identified with S-g, the Schottky space of rank g, and it carries the structure of a complex orbifold. In these identifications, the projection map pi: T(M) -> M(M) corresponds to the map from MSg, onto S-g that forgets the marking. In this paper we observe that the singular locus B(M) of M(M), that is, the branch locus of pi, has (i) exactly two connected components for g = 2, (ii) at most two connected components for g >= 4 even, and (iii) M(M) is connected for g >= 3 odd.