It is of interest to characterize algebraically the dynamical types of isometries of the complex and quaternionic hyperbolic planes. In the complex case, such a characterization is known from the work of Giraud-Goldman. In this paper, we offer an algebraic characterization of the isometries of the two-dimensional quaternionic hyperbolic space. Our result restricts to the complex case and provides another characterization of the isometries of the complex hyperbolic plane which is different from the characterization due to Giraud-Goldman.
Two elements in a group G are said to be in the same z-class if their centralizers are conjugate in G. The $z$-classes provide a finite partition of the isometry group. In this paper we describe the centralizers of the isometries, and determine the z-classes.
Let $G$ be a group. An element $g$ in $G$ is called reversible if it is conjugate to $g^{-1}$ within $G$, and called strongly reversible if it is conjugate to its inverse by an order two element of $G$. Let $\textbf{H}_{\mathbb H}^n$ be the $n$-dimensional quaternionic hyperbolic space. Let $\mathrm{PSp}(n,1)$ be the isometry group of $\textbf{H}_{\mathbb H}^n$. In this paper, we classify reversible and strongly reversible elements in $\mathrm{Sp}(n)$ and $\mathrm{Sp}(n,1)$. Also, we prove that all the elements of $\mathrm{PSp}(n,1)$ are strongly reversible.
Let ${{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^n$ denote the $n$-dimensional quaternionic hyperbolic space. The linear group ${\rm{Sp}}(n,1)$ acts by the isometries of ${{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^n$. A subgroup $G$ of ${\rm {Sp}}(n,1)$ is called \emph{Zariski dense} if it does not fix a point on ${{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^n \cup \partial {{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^n$ and neither it preserves a totally geodesic subspace of ${{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^n$. We prove that a Zariski dense subgroup $G$ of ${\rm{ Sp}}(n,1)$ is discrete if for every loxodromic element $g \in G$ the two generator subgroup $\langle f, g f g^{-1} \rangle$ is d…
Using the representation of the isometries as 2x2 invertible matrices over the division algebra $\H$ of quaternions, we give an algebraic characterization of the dynamical types of the orientation-preserving isometries of the hyperbolic 5-space. We also determine the conjugacy classes and the conjugacy classes of centralizers or the z-classes in $GL(2, \H)$.
In this note, we study deformations of a non-uniform real hyperbolic lattice in quaternionic hyperbolic spaces. Specially we show that the representations of the fundamental group of the figure eight knot complement into PU(2,1) cannot be deformed in $PSp(2,1)$ out of PU(2,1) up to conjugacy.
Let $Γ$ be a nonelementary discrete subgroup of $\mathrm{Sp}(n,1)$. We show that if the trace skew-field of $Γ$ is commutative, then $Γ$ stabilizes a copy of complex hyperbolic subspace of quaternionic hyperbolic $n$-space.
By use of H. C. Wang's bound on the radius of a ball embedded in the fundamental domain of a lattice of a semisimple Lie group, we construct an explicit lower bound for the volume of a quaternionic hyperbolic orbifold that depends only on dimension.
We provide an explicit lower bound for the sytole in principal congruence covers of compact quaternionic hyperbolic manifolds. We also prove the optimality of this lower bound.
In this note, we study deformations of discrete and Zariski dense subgroups of SU(2, 1) in quaternionic hyperbolic space. Specifi- cally we consider two examples coming from representations of 3-manifold groups (the figure eight knot and Whitehead links complement) and show opposite behavior: one is not deformable outside U(2,1), while the other has a big space of deformations in Sp(2, 1).
We prove that the embedding of the quaternionic hyperbolic disc $H^1_\mathbb{H}$ into quaternionic hyperbolic $n$-space $H^n_\mathbb{H}$ is tight and thereby obtain the value of the Gromov norm of the quaternionic Kähler class.
We study decompositions of complex hyperbolic isometries as products of involutions. We show that PU(2,1) has involution length 4 and commutator length 1, and that for all $n \geqslant 3$ PU($n$,1) has involution length at most 8.
In this paper, we obtain analogues of Jorgensen's inequality for non-elementary groups of isometries of quaternionic hyperbolic $n$-space generated by two elements, one of which is loxodromic. Our result gives some improvement over earlier results of Kim [10] and Markham [15]}. These results also apply to complex hyperbolic space and give improvements on results of Jiang, Kamiya and Parker [7] As applications, we use the quaternionic version of Jørgensen's inequalities to construct embedded collars about short, simple, closed geodesics in quaternionic hyperbolic manifolds. We show that these c…
Using the rings of Lipschitz and Hurwitz integers $\mathbb{H}(\mathbb{Z})$ and $\mathbb{H}ur(\mathbb{Z})$ in the quaternion division algebra $\mathbb{H}$, we define several Kleinian discrete subgroups of $PSL(2,\mathbb{H})$
In this paper we analyze and classify the totally geodesic subspaces of finite volume quaternionic hyperbolic orbifolds and their generalizations, locally symmetric orbifolds arising from irreducible lattices in Lie groups of the form $(\mathbf{Sp}_{2n}(\mathbb{R}))^q \times \prod_{i=1}^r \mathbf{Sp}(p_i,n-p_i) \times (\mathbf{Sp}_{2n}(\mathbb{C}))^s$. We give criteria for when the totally geodesic subspaces of such an orbifold determine its commensurability class. We give a parametrization of the commensurability classes of finite volume quaternionic hyperbolic orbifolds in terms of arithmeti…
Let $Γ$ be a nonelementary discrete subgroup of SU(n,1) or Sp(n,1). We show that if the trace field of $Γ$ is contained in $\mathbb R$, $Γ$ preserves a totally geodesic submanifold of constant negative sectional curvature. Furthermore if $Γ$ is irreducible, $Γ$ is a Zariski dense irreducible discrete subgroup of SO(n,1) up to conjugation. This is an analog of a theorem of Maskit for general semisimple Lie groups of rank $1$.
This paper has been withdrawn by the authors. Significantly revised versions of the results of this paper are now available in arXiv:0707.0487v2 and arXiv:0808.3169v1.
Carrier graphs were first introduced for closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds by White. In this paper, we first generalize this definition to carrier graphs for representations of a rank two free group into the isometry group of hyperbolic three space. Then we prove the existence and the finiteness of minimal carrier graphs for those representations which are discrete, faithful and geometrically finite, and more generally, those that satisfy certain finiteness conditions first introduced by Bowditch.
For any n>1 we determine the uniform and nonuniform lattices of the smallest covolume in the Lie group Sp(n,1). We explicitly describe them in terms of the ring of Hurwitz integers in the nonuniform case with n even, respectively, of the icosian ring in the uniform case for all n>1.
Let $Sp(2,1)$ be the isometry group of the quaternionic hyperbolic plane ${{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^2$. An element $g$ in $Sp(2,1)$ is `hyperbolic' if it fixes exactly two points on the boundary of ${{\bf H}_{\mathbb H}}^2$. We classify pairs of hyperbolic elements in $Sp(2,1)$ up to conjugation. A hyperbolic element of $Sp(2,1)$ is called `loxodromic' if it has no real eigenvalue. We show that the set of $Sp(2,1)$ conjugation orbits of irreducible loxodromic pairs is a $(\mathbb C {\mathbb P}^1)^4$-bundle over a topological space that is locally a semi-analytic subspace of ${\mathbb R}^{13}$. We …
We prove that a PQ-symmetric homeomorphism between two complete metric spaces can be extended to a quasi-isometry between their hyperbolic approximations. This result is used to prove that two visual Gromov hyperbolic spaces are quasi-isometric if and only if there is a PQ-symmetric homeomorphism between their boundaries.
Let G be a countable group which acts by isometries on a separable, but not necessarily proper, Gromov hyperbolic space X. We say the action of G is weakly hyperbolic if G contains two independent hyperbolic isometries. We show that a random walk on such G converges to the Gromov boundary almost surely. We apply the convergence result to show linear progress and linear growth of translation length, without any assumptions on the moments of the random walk. If the action is acylindrical, and the random walk has finite entropy and finite logarithmic moment, we show that the Gromov boundary with …
In this paper we develop a complete theory of factorization for isometries of hyperbolic 4-space. Of special interest is the case where a pair of isometries is linked, that is, when a pair of isometries can be expressed each as compositions of two involutions, one of which is common to both isometries. Here we develop a new theory of hyperbolic pencils and twisting planes involving a new geometric construction, their half-turn banks. This enables us to give complete results about each of the pair-types of isometries and their simultaneous factorization by half-turns. That is, we provide geomet…
Let $\mathbb F=\mathbb R$, $\mathbb C$ or $\mathbb H$. Let ${\bf H}_{\mathbb F}^n$ denote the $n$-dimensional $\mathbb F$-hyperbolic space. Let ${\rm U}(n,1; \mathbb F)$ be the linear group that acts by the isometries. A subgroup $G$ of ${\rm U}(n,1; \mathbb F)$ is called \emph{Zariski dense} if it does not fix a point on the closure of the $\mathbb F$-hyperbolic space, and neither it preserves a totally geodesic subspace of it. We prove that a Zariski dense subgroup $G$ of ${\rm U}(n,1; \mathbb F)$ is discrete if for every loxodromic element $g \in G$, the two generator subgroup $\langle f, g…
Let $G(n)={\rm Sp}(n,1)$ or ${\rm SU}(n,1)$. We classify conjugation orbits of generic pairs of loxodromic elements in $G(n)$. Such pairs, called `non-singular', were introduced by Gongopadhyay and Parsad for ${\rm SU}(3,1)$. We extend this notion and classify $G(n)$-conjugation orbits of such elements in arbitrary dimension. We prove that the set given by non-singular pairs in $G(n)$ is `small' for $n \geq 4$. However, for $n=3$, they give a subspace that can be parametrized using a set of coordinates whose local dimension equals the dimension of the underlying group. We further construct twi…
The main technical result of this paper is to characterize the contracting isometries of a CAT(0) cube complex without any assumption on its local finiteness. Afterwards, we introduce the combinatorial boundary of a CAT(0) cube complex, and we show that contracting isometries are strongly related to isolated points at infinity, when the complex is locally finite. This boundary turns out to appear naturally in the context of Guba and Sapir's diagram groups, and we apply our main criterion to determine precisely when an element of a diagram group induces a contracting isometry on the associated …
Let $G$ be a group. Two elements $x, y$ are said to be {\it $z$-equivalent} if their centralizers are conjugate in $G$. The class equation of $G$ is the partition of $G$ into conjugacy classes. Further decomposition of conjugacy classes into $z$-classes provides an important information about the internal structure of the group. Let $I(\H^n)$ denote the group of isometries of the hyperbolic $n$-space. We show that the number of $z$-classes in $I(\H^n)$ is finite. We actually compute their number, cf. theorem 1.3. We interpret the finiteness of $z$-classes as accounting for the finiteness of "d…
Consider $n \geq 2$. In this paper we prove that the group $\text{PU}(n,1)$ is $1$-taut. This result concludes the study of $1$-tautness of rank-one Lie groups of non-compact type. Additionally the tautness property implies a classification of finitely generated groups which are $\text{L}^1$-measure equivalent to lattices of $\text{PU}(n,1)$. More precisely, we show that $\text{L}^1$-measure equivalent groups must be extensions of lattices of $\text{PU}(n,1)$ by a finite group.
A $k$-reflection of the $n$-dimensional complex hyperbolic space ${\rm H}_{\C}^n$ is an element in ${\rm U}(n,1)$ with negative type eigenvalue $λ$, $|λ|=1$, of multiplicity $k+1$ and positive type eigenvalue $1$ of multiplicity $n-k$. We prove that a holomorphic isometry of ${\rm H}_{\C}^n$ is a product of at most four involutions and a complex $k$-reflection, $k \leq 2$. Along the way, we prove that every element in ${\rm SU}(n)$ is a product of four or five involutions according as $n \neq 2 \mod 4$ or $n = 2 \mod 4$. We also give an easy proof of the result that every holomorphic isometry …
We develop and study quaternionic and octonionic analogies of Cartan angular and Toledo invariants that are well known in the complex hyperbolic space. Using such invariants we study quasifuchsian deformations (including bendings) of quaternionic and octonionic hyperbolic manifolds.
A group $Γ$ with a family of subgroups $\mathbb{P}$ is relatively hyperbolic if $Γ$ admits a cusp-uniform action on a proper $δ$--hyperbolic space. We show that any two such spaces for a given group pair are quasi-isometric, provided the spaces have "constant horospherical distortion," a condition satisfied by Groves--Manning's cusped Cayley graph and by all negatively curved symmetric spaces. Consequently the Bowditch boundary admits a canonical quasisymmetric structure, which coincides with the "naturally occurring" quasisymmetric structure of the symmetric space when considering lattices in…
In 1900, Macfarlane proposed a hyperbolic variation on Hamilton's quaternions that closely resembles Minkowski spacetime. Viewing this in a modern context, we expand upon Macfarlane's idea and develop a model for real hyperbolic 3-space in which both points and isometries are expressed as complex quaternions, analogous to Hamilton's famous theorem on Euclidean rotations. We use this to give new computational tools for studying isometries of hyperbolic 2- and 3-space. We also give a generalization to other quaternion algebras.
Let $G \curvearrowright X$ be a nonelementary action by isometries of a hyperbolic group $G$ on a hyperbolic metric space $X$. We show that the set of elements of $G$ which act as loxodromic isometries of $X$ is generic. That is, for any finite generating set of $G$, the proportion of $X$--loxodromics in the ball of radius $n$ about the identity in $G$ approaches $1$ as $n \to \infty$. We also establish several results about the behavior in $X$ of the images of typical geodesic rays in $G$; for example, we prove that they make linear progress in $X$ and converge to the Gromov boundary $\partia…
We study properties of generic elements of groups of isometries of hyperbolic spaces. Under general combinatorial conditions, we prove that loxodromic elements are generic (i.e. they have full density with respect to counting in balls for the word metric) and translation length grows linearly. We provide applications to a large class of relatively hyperbolic groups and graph products, including right-angled Artin groups and right-angled Coxeter groups.
We extend a theorem of Masur and Wolf which says that given a hyperbolic surface S, every isometry of the Teichmuller space for S with the Weil-Petersson metric is induced by an element of the mapping class group for S. Our argument handles the previously untreated cases of the four-holed sphere, the one-holed torus, and the two-holed torus.
We equip the whole tangent space $TM$ to a hyperbolic manifold $M$ (of constant sectional curvature -1) with a natural metric in an intrinsic way, so that the isometries of $M$ extend to isometries of $TM$ by holomorphic continuation. The image to the tangent space to a geodesic is equivalent to a hyperbolic disk. In the case of hyperbolic space, we exhibit an equivariant diffeomorphism between $TM$ and the fourth symmetric complex domain of E. Cartan, also known as the Lie ball. The closure of the Lie ball appears as a horospheric compactification of the tangent bundle to hyperbolic space, an…
In this paper, we study multiply transitive actions of the group of isometries of a cusped finite-volume hyperbolic 3-manifold on the set of its cusps. In particular, we prove a conjecture of Vogeler that there is a largest $k$ for which such $k$-transitive actions exist, and that for each $k \geq 3$, there is an upper bound on the possible number of cusps.
We describe a method to classify crystallographic tilings of the Euclidean and hyperbolic planes by tiles whose stabiliser group contains translation isometries or whose topology is not that of a closed disk. We tackle this problem from two different viewpoints, one with constructive techniques to enumerate such tilings and the other from a viewpoint of classification. The methods are purely topological and generalise Delaney-Dress combinatorial tiling theory. The classification is up to equivariant equivalence and is achieved by viewing tilings as decorations of orbifolds.
In this paper we consider ultra-parallel complex hyperbolic triangle groups of type $[m_1,m_2,0]$, i.e. groups of isometries of the complex hyperbolic plane, generated by complex reflections in three ultra-parallel complex geodesics two of which intersect on the boundary. We prove some discreteness and non-discreteness results for these groups and discuss the connection between the discreteness results and ellipticity of certain group elements.
In this paper we study discreteness of complex hyperbolic triangle groups of type $[m,m,0;3,3,2]$, i.e. groups of isometries of the complex hyperbolic plane generated by three complex reflections of orders $3,3,2$ in complex geodesics with pairwise distances $m,m,0$. For fixed $m,$ the parameter space of such groups is of real dimension one. We determine intervals in this parameter space that correspond to discrete and to non-discrete triangle groups.
The main result of this paper is that given a group $G$ acting geometrically by isometries on a CAT(0) space $X$ and a cyclic subgroup $H$ of $G$ generated by a rank-1 isometry of $X$, $H$ has bounded packing in $G$. We give two proofs of this result. The first one is by a characterization of rank-$1$ isometries by Hamenstadt. The second proof follows directly from some results of Dahmani-Guirardel-Osin and Sisto. Then using Mihailova's construction, we show the existence of a finitely generated subgroup of the direct product of two free groups $\mathbb F_2\times \mathbb F_2$ without the bound…
The notion of limit roots of a Coxeter group W was recently introduced (see arXiv:1112.5415 and arXiv:1303.6710): they are the accumulation points of directions of roots of a root system for W. In the case where the root system lives in a Lorentzian space W admits a faithful representation as a discrete reflection group of isometries on a hyperbolic space; the accumulation set of any of its orbits is then classically called the limit set of W. In this article we show that the limit roots of a Coxeter group W acting on a Lorentzian space is equal to the limit set of W seen as a discrete reflect…
