A decomposition theorem for Herman maps

In 1980s, Thurston established a topological characterization theorem for postcritically finite rational maps. In this paper, a decomposition theorem for a class of postcritically infinite branched covering termed Herman map is developed. It's shown that every Herman map can be decomposed along a stable multicurve into finitely many Siegel maps and Thurston maps, such that the combinations and rational realizations of these resulting maps essentially dominate the original one. This result is motivated by a non-expanding version of McMullen's problem, and Thurston's theory on characterization of rational maps. It enables us to prove a Thurston-type theorem for rational maps with Herman rings.