The Complex of Curves on a Surface is a simplicial complex whose vertices are homotopy classes of simple closed curves, and whose simplices are sets of homotopy classes which can be realized disjointly. It is not hard to see that the complex is finite-dimensional, but locally infinite. It was introduced by Harvey as an analogy, in the context of Teichmuller space, for Tits buildings for symmetric spaces, and has been studied by Harer and Ivanov as a tool for understanding mapping class groups of surfaces.
In this paper we prove that, endowed with a natural metric, the complex is hyperbolic in the sense of Gromov. In a certain sense this hyperbolicity is an explanation of why the Teichmuller space has some negative-curvature properties in spite of not being itself hyperbolic: Hyperbolicity in the Teichmuller space fails most obviously in the regions corresponding to surfaces where some curve is extremely short. The complex of curves exactly encodes the intersection patterns of this family of regions (it is the "nerve" of the family), and we show that its hyperbolicity means that the Teichmuller space is "relatively hyperbolic" with respect to this family. A similar relative hyperbolicity result is proved for the mapping class group of a surface.
We also show that the action of pseudo-Anosov mapping classes on the complex is hyperbolic, with a uniform bound on translation distance.
We prove that the curve graph $\calC^{(1)}(S)$ is Gromov-hyperbolic with a constant of hyperbolicity independent of the surface $S$. The proof is based on the proof of hyperbolicity of the free splitting complex by Handel and Mosher, as interpreted by Hilion and Horbez.
We prove that the separating curve graph of a connected, compact, orientable surface with genus at least 3 and a single boundary component is not relatively hyperbolic. This completes the classification of when the separating curve graph is hyperbolic and relatively hyperbolic initiated by previous works of the authors.
We describe unicorn paths in the arc graph and show that they form 1-slim triangles and are invariant under taking subpaths. We deduce that all arc graphs are 7-hyperbolic. Considering the same paths in the arc and curve graph, this also shows that all curve graphs are 17-hyperbolic, including closed surfaces.
Hensel-Przytycki-Webb proved that all curve graphs of orientable surfaces are 17-hyperbolic. In this paper, we show that curve graphs of non-orientable surfaces are 17-hyperbolic by applying Hensel-Przytycki-Webb's argument. We also show that arc graphs of non-orientable surfaces are 7-hyperbolic, and arc-curve graphs of (non-)orientable surfaces are 9-hyperbolic.
We show that the graphs of nonseparating curves for oriented finite type surfaces are uniformly hyperbolic. Our proof follows the proof of uniform hyperbolicity of the graphs of curves for closed surfaces due to Przytycki-Sisto, while introducing new arguments using homology to certify that certain curves are nonseparating. As demonstrated by Aramayona-Valdez, this proves also that the graph of nonseparating curves for any oriented infinite type surface with finite positive genus is hyperbolic.
In this paper it is proved that relative hyperbolicity is an invariant of quasi-isometry. As a byproduct of the arguments, simplified definitions of relative hyperbolicity are obtained. In particular we obtain a new definition very similar to the one of hyperbolicity, relying on the existence for every quasi-geodesic triangle of a central left coset of peripheral subgroup.
Let $\mathcal{C}(S_{g,p})$ denote the curve complex of the closed orientable surface of genus $g$ with $p$ punctures. Masur-Minksy and subsequently Bowditch showed that $\mathcal{C}(S_{g,p})$ is $δ$-hyperbolic for some $δ=δ(g,p)$. In this paper, we show that there exists some $δ>0$ independent of $g,p$ such that the curve graph $\mathcal{C}_{1}(S_{g,p})$ is $δ$-hyperbolic. Furthermore, we use the main tool in the proof of this theorem to show uniform boundedness of two other quantities which a priori grow with $g$ and $p$: the curve complex distance between two vertex cycles of the same train …
We analyze the coarse geometry of the Weil-Petersson metric on Teichmüller space, focusing on applications to its synthetic geometry (in particular the behavior of geodesics). We settle the question of the strong relative hyperbolicity of the Weil-Petersson metric via consideration of its coarse quasi-isometric model, the "pants graph." We show that in dimension~3 the pants graph is strongly relatively hyperbolic with respect to naturally defined product regions and show any quasi-flat lies a bounded distance from a single product. For all higher dimensions there is no non-trivial collection o…
We develop the geometry of folding paths in Outer space and, as an application, prove that the complex of free factors of a free group of finite rank is hyperbolic.
The aim of this note is to give the simplest possible proof that Mapping Class Groups of closed hyperbolic surfaces are acylindrically hyperbolic, and more specifically that their curve graphs are hyperbolic and that pseudo-Anosovs act on them as loxodromic WPDs.
We prove that any graph of multicurves satisfying certain natural properties is either hyperbolic, relatively hyperbolic, or thick. Further, this geometric characterization is determined by the set of subsurfaces that intersect every vertex of the graph. This extends previously established results for the pants graph and the separating curve graph to a broad family of graphs associated to surfaces.
We provide a simple, combinatorial criteria for a hierarchically hyperbolic space to be relatively hyperbolic by proving a new formulation of relative hyperbolicity in terms of hierarchy structures. In the case of clean hierarchically hyperbolic groups, this criteria characterizes relative hyperbolicity. We apply our criteria to graphs associated to surfaces and prove that the separating curve graph of a surface is relatively hyperbolic when the surface has zero or two punctures. We also recover a celebrated theorem of Brock and Masur on the relative hyperbolicity of the Weil-Petersson metric …
These notes are the English version of the paper "Hyperbolicité du graphe des rayons et quasi-morphismes sur un gros groupe modulaire". The mapping class group Gamma of the complement of a Cantor set in the plane arises naturally in dynamics. We show that the ray graph, which is the analog of the complex of curves for this surface of infinite type, has infinite diameter and is hyperbolic. We use the action of Gamma on this graph to find an explicit non trivial quasimorphism on Gamma and to show that this group has infinite dimensional second bounded cohomology. Finally we give an example of a …
We prove that the group STame($k^3$) of special tame automorphisms of the affine 3-space is not simple, over any base field of characteristic zero. Our proof is based on the study of the geometry of a 2-dimensional simply-connected simplicial complex C on which the tame automorphism group acts naturally. We prove that C is contractible and Gromov-hyperbolic, and we prove that Tame($k^3$) is acylindrically hyperbolic by finding explicit loxodromic weakly proper discontinuous elements.
In this paper, we study the geometry of cone-offs of CAT(0) cube complexes over a family of combinatorially convex subcomplexes, with an emphasis on their Gromov-hyperbolicity. A first application gives a direct cubical proof of the characterization of the (strong) relative hyperbolicity of right-angled Coxeter groups, which is a particular case of a result due to Behrstock, Caprace and Hagen. A second application gives the acylindrical hyperbolicity of $C'(1/4)-T(4)$ small cancellation quotients of free products.
In this survey paper we give a proof of hyperbolicity of the complex of curves for a non-exceptional surface S of finite type combining ideas of Masur/Minsky and Bowditch. We also shortly discuss the relation between the geometry of the complex of curves and the geometry of Teichmueller space.
In this paper we study the global geometry of the Kobayashi metric on domains in complex Euclidean space. We are particularly interested in developing necessary and sufficient conditions for the Kobayashi metric to be Gromov hyperbolic. For general domains, it has been suggested that a non-trivial complex affine disk in the boundary is an obstruction to Gromov hyperbolicity. This is known to be the case when the set in question is convex. In this paper we first extend this result to $\mathbb{C}$-convex sets with $C^1$-smooth boundary. We will then show that some boundary regularity is necessar…
Handel and Mosher have proved that the free splitting complex FS for the free group is Gromov hyperbolic. This is a deep and much sought-after result, since it establishes FS as a good analogue of the curve complex for surfaces. We give a shorter alternative proof of this theorem, using surgery paths in Hatcher's sphere complex (another model for the free splitting complex), instead of Handel and Mosher's fold paths. As a byproduct, we get that surgery paths are unparameterized quasi-geodesics in the sphere complex. We explain how to deduce from our proof the hyperbolicity of some other comple…
Let S be a surface with genus g and n boundary components and let d(S) = 3g-3+n denote the number of curves in any pants decomposition of S. We employ metric properties of the graph of pants decompositions CP(S) prove that the Weil-Petersson metric on Teichmuller space Teich(S) is Gromov-hyperbolic if and only if d(S) <= 2. When d(S) >= 3 the Weil-Petersson metric has higher rank in the sense of Gromov (it admits a quasi-isometric embedding of R^k, k >= 2); when d(S) <= 2 we combine the hyperbolicity of the complex of curves and the relative hyperbolicity of CP(S) prove Gromov-hyperbolicity. W…
Using the Birmanexact sequence for pure mapping class groups, we construct a universal Cannon--Thurston map onto the boundary of a curve complex for a surface with punctures we call surviving curve complex. Along the way we prove hyperbolicity of this complex and identify its boundary as a space of laminations. As a corollary we obtain a universal Cannon--Thurston map to the boundary of the ordinary curve complex, extending earlier work of the second author with Mj and Schleimer.
In this paper we explore the idea that Teichmüller space is hyperbolic "on average." Our approach focuses on studying the geometry of geodesics which spend a definite proportion of time in some thick part of Teichmüller space. We consider several different measures on Teichmüller space and find that this behavior for geodesics is indeed typical. With respect to each of these measures, we show that the average distance between points in a ball of radius r is asymptotic to 2r, which is as large as possible. Our techniques also lead to a statement quantifying the expected thinness of random trian…
We study the geometry of nonrelatively hyperbolic groups. Generalizing a result of Schwartz, any quasi-isometric image of a non-relatively hyperbolic space in a relatively hyperbolic space is contained in a bounded neighborhood of a single peripheral subgroup. This implies that a group being relatively hyperbolic with nonrelatively hyperbolic peripheral subgroups is a quasi-isometry invariant. As an application, Artin groups are relatively hyperbolic if and only if freely decomposable. We also introduce a new quasi-isometry invariant of metric spaces called metrically thick, which is sufficien…
We study random 2-dimensional complexes in the Linial - Meshulam model and find torsion in their fundamental groups at various regimes. We find a simple algorithmically testable criterion for a subcomplex of a random 2-complex to be aspherical; this implies that any aspherical subcomplex of a random 2-complex satisfies the Whitehead conjecture. We use inequalities for Cheeger constants and systoles of simplicial surfaces to analyse spheres and projective planes lying in random 2-complexes. Our proofs exploit the strong hyperbolicity property of random 2-complexes.
