QUANTUM TEICHMÜLLER SPACES AND QUANTUM TRACE MAP

We show how the quantum trace map of Bonahon and Wong can be constructed in a natural way using the skein algebra of Muller, which is an extension of the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of surfaces. We also show that the quantum Teichm\"uller space of a marked surface, defined by Chekhov-Fock (and Kashaev) in an abstract way, can be realized as a concrete subalgebra of the skew field of the skein algebra.