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Let $M$ be a closed connected surface and $mathcal{F}$ a minimal (every leaf is dense) measured foliation (as, for example, in Thurston's work on surfaces) on $M$. Let $tilde{M}$ be the universal cover of $M$ and $tilde{mathcal{F}}$ the pullback of $mathcal{F}$ to $tilde{M}$.

Consider the leaf space of $tilde{mathcal{F}}$, $mathcal{T}=tilde{M}/tilde{mathcal{F}}$. Define the distance between two leaves of $tilde{mathcal{F}}$ as the minimum of the transverse measures of arcs joining the two leaves, we obtain a distance on $mathcal{T}$ which turns $mathcal{T}$ into a tree.

I have seen the following statement.

If the genus of $M$ is $geq 2$, $mathcal{T}$ is not complete for this distance.

Why is this true?

I also saw a notion "dual tree", which also shows up from time to time when I tried to search for related topics, from the book Hyperbolic manifolds and Discrete Groups (for geodesic laminations there). Is this indeed the concept that I am looking for?

Thanks in advance!

Here's a rough description of why $mathcal T$ is incomplete.

Start at some point $x_0$ of $tilde M$. Let $ell_0$ be a lonnnng leaf segment of $tilde{mathcal F}$ with one endpoint on $x_0$, and let $y_0$ be the opposite endpoint. Let $tau_0$ be a transverse arc of transverse measure $2^{-0}=1$ with one endpoint at $y_0$. Let $x_1$ be the opposite endpoint. Continue by induction: assuming $x_n$ has been defined, let $ell_n$ be a lonnnng leaf segment with one endpoint on $x_n$, let $y_n$ be the opposite endpoint, let $tau_n$ be a transverse arc of transverse measure $2^{-n}$, and let $x_{n+1}$ be the opposite endpoint. You get an infinite path of the form
$$ell_0 tau_0 ell_1 tau_1 ell_2 tau_2 cdots
$$
The total transverse measure of the initial segment $ell_0 tau_0 cdots ell_n tau_n$ that connects $x_0$ to $x_n$ is equal to $2-2^{-n}$, and this converges to $2$. By careful choice of the $tau$'s in the induction step you can guarantee that this initial segment is "quasitransverse", implying that $2-2^{-n}$ is the minimum of the transverse measure of any arc from $x_0$ to $x_n$. So, in the dual tree $mathcal T$, you get an isometric embedding $[0,2) mapsto mathcal T$. But, this embedding has no point to converge to as the parameter in $[0,2)$ approaches $2$; in fact, one can check that this infinite path escapes all compact subsets of $tilde M$. So $mathcal T$ is incomplete.

By the way, another place I know, where the dual tree is explained very clearly, is in Otal's book "Le théorème d'hyperbolisation pour les variétés fibrées de dimension 3", in the chapter on Skora's theorem.