A symbolic dynamics for geodesics on punctured Riemann surfaces (Q761483)

Let \(\Gamma\) be a Fuchsian group with at least one parabolic class acting on the upper half-plane \({\mathcal H}\). This paper sets up a symbolic dynamics for geodesics in \({\mathcal H}\) by measuring the depth of penetration of a geodesic into a fixed horocycle at the cusp. Placing the cusp at infinity, a horocycle at infinity is striated into ''petals'' by vertical lines at distance \(\lambda\), the width of the cusp. The images of these lines striate the image horocycles based at the cusps \(a_ n/c_ n\) of \(\Gamma\) on \({\mathbb{R}}\). Associate to any \(\alpha\in {\mathbb{R}}\) the vertical line \(L_{\alpha}\) in \({\mathcal H}\) ending at \(\alpha\). The 'symbolic dynamics' of \(\alpha\) records the number \(t_ n\) of petals which \(L_{\alpha}\) cuts in the horocycle based at \(a_ n/c_ n\). Applied to \(\Gamma =SL(2,{\mathbb{Z}})\), one recovers the continued fraction expansion of \(\alpha\). The depth of penetration gives the immediate estimate \(| \alpha -a_ n/c_ n| \in [1/c^ 2_ n\lambda (t_ n+2),1/c^ 2_ n\lambda t_ n].\) It should be pointed out that such a symbolic dynamics is not new. In particular, application of [\textit{R. Bowen} and the reviewer, Markov maps associated to Fuchsian groups, Publ. Math., Inst. Haut. Etud. Sci. 50, 153-170 (1979; Zbl 0439.30033)] would yield virtually the same sequences \(t_ n.\) By constructing various possible symbol sequences (for example, those in which \(| t_ n| \leq K\), corresponding to continued fractions of constant type) the authors prove, for example, that there are uncountably many \(\alpha\) for which \(L_{\alpha}\) is not dense on \({\mathcal H}/\Gamma\). They also discuss the behaviour of automorphic functions f(z) as \(z\to \alpha\) in a bounded Stoltz angle at \(\alpha\). They construct \(\alpha\) for which \(| f(z)| \to \infty\) and also for which \(| f(z)|\) has cluster set [0,\(\infty].\) There is also a discussion of the exceptional set \({\mathcal E}\subset {\mathbb{R}}\), consisting of those \(\alpha\) for which \(L_{\alpha}\) is bounded away from all but finitely many horocycles. This set may or may not be empty depending on \(\Gamma\). In the reviewer's opinion this definition of \({\mathcal E}\) is unsatisfactory because it depends too heavily on the arbitrary choice of the height of the initial horocycle (taken here to be 1). A more intrinsic choice might be interesting, for example the heights \(\sqrt{5/2}\) or 3/2 in case of SL(2,\({\mathbb{Z}})\) [cf. \textit{A. Haas}, Diophantine approximation on hyperbolic Riemann surfaces, to appear, Acta Math. 1985].