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Moduli spaces of quadratic maps: arithmetic and geometry

We establish an implication between two long-standing open problems in complex dynamics. The roots of the $n$-th Gleason polynomial $G_n\in\mathbb{Q}[c]$ comprise the $0$-dimensional moduli space of quadratic polynomials with an $n$-periodic critical point. $\mathrm{Per}_n(0)$ is the $1$-dimensional moduli space of quadratic rational maps on $\mathbb{P}^1$ with an $n$-periodic critical point. We show that if $G_n$ is irreducible over $\mathbb{Q}$, then $\mathrm{Per}_n(0)$ is irreducible over $\mathbb{C}$. To do this, we exhibit a $\mathbb{Q}$-rational smooth point on a projective completion of $\mathrm{Per}_n(0)$, using the admissible covers completion of a Hurwitz space. In contrast, the Uniform Boundedness Conjecture in arithmetic dynamics would imply that for sufficiently large $n$, $\mathrm{Per}_n(0)$ itself has no $\mathbb{Q}$-rational points.