Actions on hyperbolic metric spaces are an important tool for studying groups, and so it is natural, but difficult, to attempt to classify all such actions of a fixed group. In this paper, we build strong connections between hyperbolic geometry and commutative algebra in order to classify the cobounded hyperbolic actions of numerous metabelian groups up to a coarse equivalence. In particular, we turn this classification problem into the problems of classifying ideals in the completions of certain rings and calculating invariant subspaces of matrices. We use this framework to classify the cobounded hyperbolic actions of many abelian‐by‐cyclic groups associated to expanding integer matrices. Each such action is equivalent to an action on a tree or on a Heintze group (a classically studied class of negatively curved Lie groups). Our investigations incorporate number systems, factorization in formal power series rings, completions, and valuations.
Given a lattice Veech group in the mapping class group of a closed surface , this paper investigates the geometry of , the associated ‐extension group. We prove that is the fundamental group of a bundle with a singular Euclidean‐by‐hyperbolic geometry. Our main result is that collapsing “obvious” product regions of the universal cover produces an action of on a hyperbolic space, retaining most of the geometry of . This action is a key ingredient in the sequel where we show that is hierarchically hyperbolic and quasi‐isometrically rigid.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2005368
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10420793
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Topology
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1753-8416
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 757-805
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract A representation of a finitely generated group into the projective general linear group is called convex co‐compact if it has finite kernel and its image acts convex co‐compactly on a properly convex domain in real projective space. We prove that the fundamental group of a closed irreducible orientable 3‐manifold can admit such a representation only when the manifold is geometric (with Euclidean, Hyperbolic or Euclidean Hyperbolic geometry) or when every component in the geometric decomposition is hyperbolic. In each case, we describe the structure of such examples.
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The set of equivalence classes of cobounded actions of a group on different hyperbolic metric spaces carries a natural partial order. The resulting poset thus gives rise to a notion of the “best” hyperbolic action of a group as the largest element of this poset, if such an element exists. We call such an action a largest hyperbolic action. While hyperbolic groups admit the largest hyperbolic actions, we give evidence in this paper that this phenomenon is rare for non-hyperbolic groups. In particular, we prove that many families of groups of geometric origin do not have the largest hyperbolic actions, including for instance many 3-manifold groups and most mapping class groups. Our proofs use the quasi-trees of metric spaces of Bestvina–Bromberg–Fujiwara, among other tools. In addition, we give a complete characterization of the poset of hyperbolic actions of Anosov mapping torus groups, and we show that mapping class groups of closed surfaces of genus at least two have hyperbolic actions which are comparable only to the trivial action.more » « less
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We consider two manifestations of non-positive curvature: acylindrical actions (on hyperbolic spaces) and quasigeodesic stability. We study these properties for the class of hierarchically hyperbolic groups, which is a general framework for simultaneously studying many important families of groups, including mapping class groups, right-angled Coxeter groups, most 3–manifold groups, right-angled Artin groups, and many others. A group that admits an acylindrical action on a hyperbolic space may admit many such actions on different hyperbolic spaces. It is natural to try to develop an understanding of all such actions and to search for a “best” one. The set of all cobounded acylindrical actions on hyperbolic spaces admits a natural poset structure, and in this paper we prove that all hierarchically hyperbolic groups admit a unique action which is the largest in this poset. The action we construct is also universal in the sense that every element which acts loxodromically in some acylindrical action on a hyperbolic space does so in this one. Special cases of this result are themselves new and interesting. For instance, this is the first proof that right-angled Coxeter groups admit universal acylindrical actions. The notion of quasigeodesic stability of subgroups provides a natural analogue of quasi- convexity which can be considered outside the context of hyperbolic groups. In this paper, we provide a complete classification of stable subgroups of hierarchically hyperbolic groups, generalizing and extending results that are known in the context of mapping class groups and right-angled Artin groups. Along the way, we provide a characterization of contracting quasigeodesics; interestingly, in this generality the proof is much simpler than in the special cases where it was already known.more » « less
