We give an alternative proof to Agol's classification of parabolic generating pairs of non-free Kleinian groups generated by two parabolic transformations. As an application, we give a complete characterisation of epimorphims between $2$-bridge knot groups and a complete characterisation of degree one maps between the exteriors of hyperbolic $2$-bridge links.
In earlier work we introduced geometrically natural probability measures on the group of all Möbius transformations in order to study "random" groups of Möbius transformations, random surfaces, and in particular random two-generator groups, that is groups where the generators are selected randomly, with a view to estimating the likely-hood that such groups are discrete and then to make calculations of the expectation of their associated parameters, geometry and topology. In this paper we continue that study and identify the precise probability that a Fuchsian group generated by two parabolic M…
In this paper, we assume that $G$ is a finitely generated torsion free non-elementary Kleinian group with $Ω(G)$ nonempty. We show that the maximal number of elements of $G$ that can be pinched is precisely the maximal number of rank 1 parabolic subgroups that any group isomorphic to $G$ may contain. A group with this largest number of rank 1 maximal parabolic subgroups is called {\it maximally parabolic}. We show such groups exist. We state our main theorems concisely here. Theorem I. The limit set of a maximally parabolic group is a circle packing; that is, every component of its regular set…
We characterize sequences of Kleinian surface groups with convergent subsequences in terms of the asymptotic behavior of the ending invariants of the associated hyperbolic 3-manifolds. Asymptotic behavior of end invariants in a convergent sequence predicts the parabolic locus of the algebraic limit as well as how the algebraic limit wraps within the geometric limit under the natural locally isometric covering map.
For a torsion free Kleinian group $Γ$ without parabolics, we consider the decomposition of the limit set $L(Γ)$ into conical and ending limit sets and compare the Patterson-Sullivan measure with the harmonic measure on $L(Γ)$ when $L(Γ)=S^2_\infty$.
We show that Cannon-Thurston maps exist for degenerate free groups without parabolics, i.e. for handlebody groups. Combining these techniques with earlier work proving the existence of Cannon-Thurston maps for surface groups, we show that Cannon-Thurston maps exist for arbitrary finitely generated Kleinian groups without parabolics, proving conjectures of Thurston and McMullen. We also show that point pre-images under Cannon-Thurston maps for degenerate free groups without parabolics correspond to end-points of leaves of an ending lamination in the Masur domain, whenever a point has more than …
We consider a finitely generated torsion free Kleinian group $H$ and a random walk on $H$ with respect to a symmetric nondegenerate probability measure $μ$ with finite support. When $H$ is geometrically infinite without parabolics or when $H$ is Gromov hyperbolic with parabolics, we prove that the Patterson-Sullivan measure is singular with respect to the harmonic measure coming from $μ$.
We shall show that for a given homeomorphism type and a set of end invariants (including the parabolic locus) with necessary topological conditions which a topologically tame Kleinian group with that homeomorphism type must satisfy, there is an algebraic limit of minimally parabolic, geometrically finite Kleinian groups which has exactly that homeomorphism type and end invariants. This shows that the Bers-Sullivan-Thurston density conjecture follows from Marden's conjecture proved by Agol, Calegari-Gabai combined with Thurston's uniformisation theorem and the ending lamination conjecture prove…
Let $Γ$ be a 3-dimensional Kleinian punctured torus group with ccidental parabolic transformations. The deformation space of $Γ$ in the group of Möbius transformations on the 2-sphere is well-known as the Maskit slice of punctured torus groups. In this paper, we study deformations $Γ'$ of $Γ$ in the group of Möbius transformations on the 3-sphere such that $Γ'$ does not contain screw parabolic transformations. We will show that the space of the deformations is realized as a domain of 3-space $\mathbb{R}^3$, which contains the Maskit slice of punctured torus groups as a slice through a plane. F…
Troels Jorgensen conjectured that the algebraic and geometric limits of an algebraically convergent sequence of isomorphic Kleinian groups agree if there are no new parabolics in the algebraic limit. We prove that this conjecture holds in 'most' cases. In particular, we show that it holds when the domain of discontinuity of the algebraic limit of such a sequence is non-empty. We further show, with the same assumptions, that the limit sets of the groups in the sequence converge to the limit set of the algebraic limit. As a corollary, we verify the conjecture for finitely generated Kleinian grou…
Suppose G is a non-free finitely generated Kleinian group without parabolics which is not a lattice and let C(G) denote the commensurator in PSL(2,C). We prove that if the limit set of G is not a round circle, then C(G) is discrete. Furthermore, G has finite index in C(G) unless G is a fiber group in which case C(G) is a lattice.
Consider a geometrically finite Kleinian group $G$ without parabolic or elliptic elements, with its Kleinian manifold $M=(\H^3\cup Ω_G)/G$. Suppose that for each boundary component of $M$, either a maximal and connected measured lamination in the Masur domain or a marked conformal structure is given. In this setting, we shall prove that there is an algebraic limit $Γ$ of quasi-conformal deformations of $G$ such that there is a homeomorphism $h$ from $\mathrm{Int} M$ to $\H^3/Γ$ compatible with the natural isomorphism from $G$ to $Γ$, the given laminations are unrealisable in $\H^3/Γ$, and the …
Any action of a group $Γ$ on $\mathbb H^3$ by isometries yields a class in degree three bounded cohomology by pulling back the volume cocycle to $Γ$. We prove that the bounded cohomology of finitely generated Kleinian groups without parabolic elements distinguishes the asymptotic geometry of geometrically infinite ends of hyperbolic $3$-manifolds. That is, if two homotopy equivalent hyperbolic manifolds with infinite volume and without parabolic cusps have different geometrically infinite end invariants, then they define a $2$ dimensional subspace of bounded cohomology. Our techniques apply to…
In earlier work, we had shown that Cannon-Thurston maps exist for Kleinian punctured surface groups without accidental parabolics. In this note we prove that pre-images of points are precisely end-points of leaves of the ending lamination whenever the Cannon-Thurston map is not one-to-one. This extends earlier work done for closed surface groups.
Let P be a locally finite circle packing in the plane invariant under a non-elementary Kleinian group Gamma and with finitely many Gamma-orbits. When Gamma is geometrically finite, we construct an explicit Borel measure on the plane which describes the asymptotic distribution of small circles in P, assuming that either the critical exponent of Gamma is strictly bigger than 1 or P does not contain an infinite bouquet of tangent circles glued at a parabolic fixed point of Gamma. Our construction also works for P invariant under a geometrically infinite group Gamma, provided Gamma admits a finite…
Let $G, H$ be two Kleinian groups with homeomorphic quotients $\mathbb H^3/G$ and $\mathbb H^3/H$. We assume that $G$ is of divergence type, and consider the Patterson-Sullivan measures of $G$ and $H$. The measurable rigidity theorem by Sullivan and Tukia says that a measurable and essentially directly measurable equivariant boundary map $\widehat k$ from the limit set $Λ_G$ of $G$ to that of $H$ is either the restriction of a Möbius transformation or totally singular. In this paper, we shall show that such $\widehat k$ always exists. In fact, we shall construct $\widehat k$ concretely from th…
Let (ρ_λ)_{λ\in Λ} be a holomorphic family of representations of a finitely generated group G into PSL(2,C), parameterized by a complex manifold Λ. We define a notion of bifurcation current in this context, that is, a positive closed current on Λdescribing the bifurcations of this family of representations in a quantitative sense. It is the analogue of the bifurcation current introduced by DeMarco for holomorphic families of rational mappings on the Riemann sphere. Our definition relies on the theory of random products of matrices, so it depends on the choice of a probability measure μon G. We…
We study the Bowditch boundaries of relatively hyperbolic group pairs, focusing on the case where there are no cut points. We show that if $(G,\mathcal{P})$ is a rigid relatively hyperbolic group pair whose boundary embeds in $S^2$, then the action on the boundary extends to a convergence group action on $S^2$. More generally, if the boundary is connected and planar with no cut points, we show that every element of $\mathcal{P}$ is virtually a surface group. This conclusion is consistent with the conjecture that such a group $G$ is virtually Kleinian. We give numerous examples to show the nece…
Thurston's ending lamination conjecture proposes that a finitely generated Kleinian group is uniquely determined (up to isometry) by the topology of its quotient and a list of invariants that describe the asymptotic geometry of its ends. We present a proof of this conjecture for punctured-torus groups. These are free two-generator Kleinian groups with parabolic commutator, which should be thought of as representations of the fundamental group of a punctured torus. As a consequence we verify the conjectural topological description of the deformation space of punctured-torus groups (including Be…
There are certain families of words and word sequences (words in the generators of a two-generator group) that arise frequently in the Teichm{ü}ller theory of hyperbolic three-manifolds and Kleinian and Fuchsian groups and in the discreteness problem for two generator matrix groups. We survey some of the families of such words and sequences: the semigroup of so called {\sl good} words of Gehring-Martin, the so called {\sl killer} words of Gabai-Meyerhoff-NThurston, the Farey words of Keen-Series and Minsky, the discreteness-algorithm Fibonacci sequences of Gilman-Jiang and {\sl parabolic dust}…
A $T$-Schottky group is a discrete group of Möbius transformations whose generators identify pairs of, possibly-tangent, Jordan curves on the complex sphere, ${\hat{\IC}}$. If the curves are Euclidean circles then the group is termed classical $T$-Schottky. We describe the boundary of the space of classical $T$-Schottky groups affording two parabolic generators within the larger parameter space of all $T$-Schottky groups with two parabolic generators. This boundary is surprisingly different from that of the larger space. It is analytic while the boundary of the larger space appears to be fract…
Let $G$ be a non-elementary word-hyperbolic group acting as a convergence group on a compact metrizable space $Z$ so that there exists a continuous $G$-equivariant map $i:\partial G\to Z$, which we call a \emph{Cannon-Thurston map}. We obtain two characterzations (a dynamical one and a geometric one) of conical limit points in $Z$ in terms of their pre-images under the Cannon-Thurston map $i$. As an application we prove, under the extra assumption that the action of $G$ on $Z$ has no accidental parabolics, that if the map $i$ is not injective then there exists a non-conical limit point $z\in Z…