Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 December 2014
We consider the space of complex polynomials of degree $n\geq 3$ with $n-1$ distinct marked periodic orbits of given periods. We prove that this space is irreducible and the multipliers of the marked periodic orbits, considered as algebraic functions on that space, are algebraically independent over $\mathbb{C}$. Equivalently, this means that at its generic point the moduli space of degree-$n$ polynomial maps can be locally parameterized by the multipliers of $n-1$ arbitrary distinct periodic orbits. We also prove a similar result for a certain class of affine subspaces of the space of complex polynomials of degree $n$.