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François Guéritaud

Publications and source records attributed to François Guéritaud.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Limit cones of multi-Fuchsian representations

We study the set of normalized multi-lengths for representations of closed surface groups and free groups into $(\mathrm{PSL}_2\mathbf{R})^d$ whose projections to $\mathrm{PSL}_2\mathbf{R}$ are all convex cocompact. These multi-lengths define a convex cone in $\mathbf{R}^d_{\geq 0}$, called the limit cone. When $d=3$, we show the coexistence of different regimes: for some representations the limit cone has only a finite number of sides, which we can force to grow like the genus (or free rank); for other representations, extremal rays are dense in the boundary of the limit cone. We also give examples where the limit cone varies discontinuously with the representation.

math.GT↗

Combination theorems in convex projective geometry

We prove a general combination theorem for discrete subgroups of $\mathrm{PGL}(n,\mathbb{R})$ preserving properly convex open subsets in the projective space $\mathbb{P}(\mathbb{R}^n)$, in the spirit of Klein and Maskit. We use it in particular to prove that a free product of two $(\mathbb{Z}$-)linear groups is again ($\mathbb{Z}$-)linear, and to construct Zariski-dense discrete subgroups of $\mathrm{PGL}(n,\mathbb{R})$ which are not lattices but contain a lattice of a smaller higher-rank simple Lie group. We also establish a version of our combination theorem for discrete groups that are convex cocompact in $\mathbb{P}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ in the sense of arXiv:1704.08711. In particular, we prove that a free product of two convex cocompact groups is convex cocompact, which implies that the free product of two Anosov groups is Anosov. We also prove a virtual amalgamation theorem over convex cocompact subgroups generalizing work of Baker-Cooper.

math.GR↗

Polyhedral realisations of finite arc complexes using strip deformations

We study infinitesimal deformations of complete hyperbolic surfaces with boundary and with ideal vertices, possibly decorated with horoballs. ``Admissible'' deformations are the ones that pull all horoballs apart; they form a convex cone of deformations. We describe this cone in terms of the arc complex of the surface: specifically, this paper focuses on the surfaces for which that complex is finite. Those surfaces form four families: (ideal) polygons, once-punctured polygons, one-holed polygons (or ``crowns''), and Möbius strips with spikes. In each case, we describe a natural simplicial decomposition of the projectivised admissible cone and of each of its faces, realizing them as appropriate arc complexes.

math.DG↗

Convex cocompactness for Coxeter groups

We investigate representations of Coxeter groups into $\mathrm{GL}(n,\mathbb{R})$ as geometric reflection groups which are convex cocompact in the projective space $\mathbb{P}(\mathbb{R}^n)$. We characterize which Coxeter groups admit such representations, and we fully describe the corresponding spaces of convex cocompact representations as reflection groups, in terms of the associated Cartan matrices. The Coxeter groups that appear include all infinite, word hyperbolic Coxeter groups; for such groups the representations as reflection groups that we describe are exactly the projective Anosov ones. We also obtain a large class of nonhyperbolic Coxeter groups, thus providing many examples for the theory of nonhyperbolic convex cocompact subgroups in $\mathbb{P}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ developed in arXiv:1704.08711.

math.GR↗

Convex cocompact actions in real projective geometry

We study a notion of convex cocompactness for discrete subgroups of the projective general linear group acting (not necessarily irreducibly) on real projective space, and give various characterizations. A convex cocompact group in this sense need not be word hyperbolic, but we show that it still has some of the good properties of classical convex cocompact subgroups in rank-one Lie groups. Extending our earlier work arXiv:1701.09136 from the context of projective orthogonal groups, we show that for word hyperbolic groups preserving a properly convex open set in projective space, the above general notion of convex cocompactness is equivalent to a stronger convex cocompactness condition studied by Crampon-Marquis, and also to the condition that the natural inclusion be a projective Anosov representation. We investigate examples.

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Geometric triangulations and the Teichmüller TQFT volume conjecture for twist knots

We construct a new infinite family of ideal triangulations and H-triangulations for the complements of twist knots, using a method originating from Thurston. These triangulations provide a new upper bound for the Matveev complexity of twist knot complements. We then prove that these ideal triangulations are geometric. The proof uses techniques of Futer and the second author, which consist in studying the volume functional on the polyhedron of angle structures. Finally, we use these triangulations to compute explicitly the partition function of the Teichmüller TQFT and to prove the associated volume conjecture for all twist knots, using the saddle point method.

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Proper affine actions for right-angled Coxeter groups

For any right-angled Coxeter group $Γ$ on $k$ generators, we construct proper actions of $Γ$ on $\mathrm{O}(p,q+1)$ by right and left multiplication, and on the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{o}(p,q+1)$ by affine transformations, for some $p,q\in\mathbb N$ with $p+q+1=k$. As a consequence, any virtually special group admits proper affine actions on some $\mathbb R^n$: this includes e.g. surface groups, hyperbolic 3-manifold groups, examples of word hyperbolic groups of arbitrarily large virtual cohomological dimension, etc. We also study some examples in cohomological dimension two and four, for which the dimension of the affine space may be substantially reduced.

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Convex cocompactness in pseudo-Riemannian hyperbolic spaces

Anosov representations of word hyperbolic groups into higher-rank semisimple Lie groups are representations with finite kernel and discrete image that have strong analogies with convex cocompact representations into rank-one Lie groups. However, the most naive analogy fails: generically, Anosov representations do not act properly and cocompactly on a convex set in the associated Riemannian symmetric space. We study representations into projective indefinite orthogonal groups PO(p,q) by considering their action on the associated pseudo-Riemannian hyperbolic space H^{p,q-1} in place of the Riemannian symmetric space. Following work of Barbot and Mérigot in anti-de Sitter geometry, we find an intimate connection between Anosov representations and the natural notion of convex cocompactness in this setting.

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Maximally stretched laminations on geometrically finite hyperbolic manifolds

Let Gamma_0 be a discrete group. For a pair (j,rho) of representations of Gamma_0 into PO(n,1)=Isom(H^n) with j geometrically finite, we study the set of (j,rho)-equivariant Lipschitz maps from the real hyperbolic space H^n to itself that have minimal Lipschitz constant. Our main result is the existence of a geodesic lamination that is "maximally stretched" by all such maps when the minimal constant is at least 1. As an application, we generalize two-dimensional results and constructions of Thurston and extend his asymmetric metric on Teichmüller space to a geometrically finite setting and to higher dimension. Another application is to actions of discrete subgroups Gamma of PO(n,1)xPO(n,1) on PO(n,1) by right and left multiplication: we give a double properness criterion for such actions, and prove that for a large class of groups Gamma the action remains properly discontinuous after any small deformation of Gamma inside PO(n,1)xPO(n,1).

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Anosov representations and proper actions

We establish several characterizations of Anosov representations of word hyperbolic groups into real reductive Lie groups, in terms of a Cartan projection or Lyapunov projection of the Lie group. Using a properness criterion of Benoist and Kobayashi, we derive applications to proper actions on homogeneous spaces of reductive groups.

math.GR↗

Compactification of certain Clifford-Klein forms of reductive homogeneous spaces

We describe smooth compactifications of certain families of reductive homogeneous spaces such as group manifolds for classical Lie groups, or pseudo-Riemannian analogues of real hyperbolic spaces and their complex and quaternionic counterparts. We deduce compactifications of Clifford-Klein forms of these homogeneous spaces, namely quotients by discrete groups Gamma acting properly discontinuously, in the case that Gamma is word hyperbolic and acts via an Anosov representation. In particular, these Clifford-Klein forms are topologically tame.

math.GT↗

Strip maps of small surfaces are convex

The strip map is a natural map from the arc complex of a bordered hyperbolic surface $S$ to the vector space of infinitesimal deformations of $S$. We prove that the image of the strip map is a convex hypersurface when $S$ is a surface of small complexity: the punctured torus or thrice punctured sphere.

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Lengthening deformations of singular hyperbolic tori

Let $S$ be a torus with a hyperbolic metric admitting one puncture or cone singularity. We describe which infinitesimal deformations of $S$ lengthen (or shrink) all closed geodesics. We also study how the answer degenerates when $S$ becomes Euclidean, i.e. very small.

math.GT↗

On Lorentz spacetimes of constant curvature

We describe in parallel the Lorentzian homogeneous spaces $G=\mathrm{PSL}(2,\mathbb{R})$ and $\mathfrak{g}=\mathfrak{psl}(2,\mathbb{R})$, and review some recent results relating the geometry of their quotients by discrete groups.

math.GT↗

Veering triangulations and Cannon-Thurston maps

Any hyperbolic surface bundle over the circle gives rise to a continuous surjection from the circle to the sphere, by work of Cannon and Thurston. We prove that the order in which this surjection fills out the sphere is dictated by a natural triangulation of the surface bundle (introduced by Agol) when all singularities of the invariant foliations are at punctures of the fiber.

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Fundamental domains for free groups acting on anti-de Sitter 3-space

Crooked planes are piecewise linear surfaces that were introduced by Drumm in the early 1990s to construct fundamental domains for properly discontinuous actions of free groups on Minkowski 3-space. In a previous paper, we introduced analogues of these surfaces, called AdS crooked planes, in the 3-dimensional anti-de Sitter space AdS^3; we showed that many properly discontinuous actions of free groups on AdS^3 admit fundamental domains bounded by AdS crooked planes. Here we study further the question of which proper actions on AdS^3 admit crooked fundamental domains, and show that some do not, in contrast to the Minkowski setting.

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Margulis spacetimes via the arc complex

We study strip deformations of convex cocompact hyperbolic surfaces, defined by inserting hyperbolic strips along a collection of disjoint geodesic arcs properly embedded in the surface. We prove that any deformation of the surface that uniformly lengthens all closed geodesics can be realized as a strip deformation, in an essentially unique way. The infinitesimal version of this result gives a parameterization, by the arc complex, of the moduli space of Margulis spacetimes with fixed convex cocompact linear holonomy. As an application, we provide a new proof of the tameness of such Margulis spacetimes M by establishing the Crooked Plane Conjecture, which states that M admits a fundamental domain bounded by piecewise linear surfaces called crooked planes. The noninfinitesimal version gives an analogous theory for complete anti-de Sitter 3-manifolds.

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