Finitary estimates for the distribution of lattice orbits in homogeneous spaces I: Riemannian metric

Abstract

Let $H < G$ both be noncompact connected semisimple real algebraic groups where the former is maximal proper and $\Gamma < G$ be a lattice. Building on the work of Gorodnik-Weiss, we refine their techniques and obtain effective results. More precisely, we prove effective convergence of the distribution of dense $\Gamma$-orbits in $G/H$ to some limiting density on $G/H$ assuming effective equidistribution of regions of maximal horospherical orbits under one-parameter diagonal flows inside a dense $H$-orbit in $\Gamma \backslash G$. The significance of the effectivized argument is due to the recent effective equidistribution results of Lindenstrauss-Mohammadi-Wang for $\Delta(\operatorname{SL}_2(\mathbb R)) < \operatorname{SL}_2(\mathbb R) \times \operatorname{SL}_2(\mathbb R)$ and $\operatorname{SL}_2(\mathbb R) < \operatorname{SL}_2(\mathbb C)$ and arithmetic lattices $\Gamma$, and future generalizations in that direction.