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Viveka Erlandsson

Publications and source records attributed to Viveka Erlandsson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2023

Counting geodesics of given commutator length

Let $Σ$ be a closed hyperbolic surface. We study, for fixed $g$, the asymptotics of the number of those periodic geodesics in $Σ$ having at most length $L$ and which can be written as the product of $g$ commutators. The basic idea is to reduce these results to being able to count critical realizations of trivalent graphs in $Σ$. In the appendix we use the same strategy to give a proof of Huber's geometric prime number theorem.

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arXiv2022

Mirzakhani's Curve Counting: From Simple to All

Mirzakhani obtained the asymptotic growth, when $L\to\infty$, of the number of curves in the mapping class group orbit of some given simple curve and with length at most $L$. Years later she extended this result from simple to arbitrary curves. Here we give a short and relative low-tech argument showing how to derive the general result from the one for simple curves.

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arXiv2022

Hyperbolic cone metrics and billiards

A negatively curved hyperbolic cone metric is called rigid if it is determined (up to isotopy) by the support of its Liouville current, and flexible otherwise. We provide a complete characterization of rigidity and flexibility, prove that rigidity is a generic property, and parameterize the associated deformation space for any flexible metric. As an application, we parameterize the space of hyperbolic polygons with the same symbolic coding for their billiard dynamics, and prove that generically this parameter space is a point.

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arXiv2022

Counting and equidistribution of reciprocal geodesics and dihedral groups

We study the growth of the number of conjugacy classes of infinite dihedral subgroups of lattices in PSL(2,R), generalizing earlier work of Sarnak and Bourgain-Kontorovich on the growth of the number of reciprocal geodesics on the modular surface. We also prove that reciprocal geodesics are equidistributed in the unit tangent bundle.

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arXiv2021

Mapping class group orbit closures for non-orientable surfaces

Let $S$ be a connected non-orientable surface with negative Euler characteristic and of finite type. We describe the possible closures in $\mathcal M\mathcal L$ and $\mathcal P\mathcal M\mathcal L$ of the mapping class group orbits of measured laminations, projective measured laminations and points in Teichmüller space. In particular we obtain a characterization of the closure in $\mathcal M\mathcal L$ of the set of weighted two-sided curves.

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arXiv2021

Ergodic invariant measures on the space of geodesic currents

Let $S$ be a compact, connected, oriented surface, possibly with boundary, of negative Euler characteristic. In this article we extend Lindenstrauss-Mirzakhani's and Hamenstädt's classification of locally finite mapping class group invariant ergodic measures on the space of measured laminations $\mathcal{M}\mathcal{L}(S)$ to the space of geodesic currents $\mathcal{C}(S)$, and we discuss the homogeneous case. Moreover, we extend Lindenstrauss-Mirzakhani's classification of orbit closures to $\mathcal{C}(S)$. Our argument relies on their results and on the decomposition of a current into a sum of three currents with isotopically disjoint supports: a measured lamination without closed leaves, a simple multi-curve and a current that binds its hull.

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arXiv2021

Distribution in the unit tangent bundle of the geodesics of given type

Recall that two geodesics in a negatively curved surface $S$ are of the same type if their free homotopy classes differ by a homeomorphism of the surface. In this note we study the distribution in the unit tangent bundle of the geodesics of fixed type, proving that they are asymptotically equidistributed with respect to a certain measure $\mathfrak{m}^S$ on $T^1S$. We study a few properties of this measure, showing for example that it distinguishes between hyperbolic surfaces.

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arXiv2019

You can hear the shape of a billiard table: Symbolic dynamics and rigidity for flat surfaces

We give a complete characterization of the relationship between the shape of a Euclidean polygon and the symbolic dynamics of its billiard flow. We prove that the only pairs of tables that can have the same bounce spectrum are right-angled tables that differ by an affine map. The main tool is a new theorem that establishes that a flat cone metric is completely determined by the support of its Liouville current.

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arXiv2019

Length functions on currents and applications to dynamics and counting

The aim of this (mostly expository) article is twofold. We first explore a variety of length functions on the space of currents, and we survey recent work regarding applications of length functions to counting problems. Secondly, we use length functions to provide a proof of a folklore theorem which states that pseudo-Anosov homeomorphisms of closed hyperbolic surfaces act on the space of projective geodesic currents with uniform north-south dynamics.

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arXiv2018

A remark on the word length in surface groups

Let $Σ$ be a surface of negative Euler characteristic and $S$ a generating set for $π_1(Σ,p)$ consisting of simple loops that are pairwise disjoint (except at $p$). We show that the word length with respect to $S$ of an element of $π_1(Σ,p)$ is given by its intersection number with a well-chosen collection of curves and arcs on $Σ$. The same holds for the word length of (a free homotopy class of) an immersed curve on $Σ$. As a consequence, we obtain the asymptotic growth of the number of immersed curves of bounded word length, as the length grows, in each mapping class group orbit.

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arXiv2016

Counting curves, and the stable length of currents

Let $γ_0$ be a curve on a surface $Σ$ of genus $g$ and with $r$ boundary components and let $π_1(Σ)\curvearrowright X$ be a discrete and cocompact action on some metric space. We study the asymptotic behavior of the number of curves $γ$ of type $γ_0$ with translation length at most $L$ on $X$. For example, as an application, we derive that for any finite generating set $S$ of $π_1(Σ)$ the limit $$\lim_{L\to\infty}\frac 1{L^{6g-6+2r}}\{γ\text{ of type }γ_0\text{ with }S\text{-translation length}\le L\}$$ exists and is positive. The main new technical tool is that the function which associates to each curve its stable length with respect to the action on $X$ extends to a (unique) continuous and homogenous function on the space of currents. We prove that this is indeed the case for any action of a torsion free hyperbolic group.

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arXiv2016

Short closed geodesics with self-intersections

Our main point of focus is the set of closed geodesics on hyperbolic surfaces. For any fixed integer $k$, we are interested in the set of all closed geodesics with at least $k$ (but possibly more) self-intersections. Among these, we consider those of minimal length and investigate their self-intersection numbers. We prove that their intersection numbers are upper bounded by a universal linear function in $k$ (which holds for any hyperbolic surface). Moreover, in the presence of cusps, we get bounds which imply that the self-intersection numbers behave asymptotically like $k$ for growing $k$.

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arXiv2016

Simplicial embeddings between multicurve graphs

We study some graphs associated to a surface, called k-multicurve graphs, which interpolate between the curve complex and the pants graph. Our main result is that, under certain conditions, simplicial embeddings between multicurve graphs are induced by $π_1$-injective embeddings of the corresponding surfaces. We also prove the rigidity of the multicurve graphs.

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arXiv2015

Counting Curves in Hyperbolic Surfaces

Let $Σ$ be a hyperbolic surface. We study the set of curves on $Σ$ of a given type, i.e. in the mapping class group orbit of some fixed but otherwise arbitrary $γ_0$. For example, in the particular case that $Σ$ is a once-punctured torus, we prove that the cardinality of the set of curves of type $γ_0$ and of at most length $L$ is asymptotic to $L^2$ times a constant.

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arXiv2013

A discreteness criterion for groups containing parabolic isometries

This note will prove a discreteness criterion for groups of orientation-preserving isometries of the hyperbolic space which contain a parabolic element. It can be viewed as a generalization of the well-known results of Shimizu-Leutbecher and Jorgensen in dimensions 2 and 3, and is closely related to Waterman's inequality in higher dimensions. Unlike his algebraic method, the argument presented here is geometric and yields an improved asymptotic bound.

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