Recent results in the geometry of Kleinian groups (Q1409789)

In this paper several sharp lower bounds for the hyperbolic distance between spherical points of Kleinian groups are announced. Let \(P\) and \(Q\) be two spherical points of a Kleinian group \(\Gamma \) and denote by \(\rho (P,Q)\) its hyperbolic distance. Let us suppose that \(P\) and \(Q\) lie on a common axis. The bounds are presented in three tables, one for each group \( A_{4},S_{4}\) and \(A_{5}\) (tetrahedral, octahedral and icosahedral group, respectively) according to the order of the common axis. The complete proofs will appear in a paper by the first and third authors. Here, only a case is sketched, namely, octahedral points. The proof is divided into three subcases according to the order of the common axis. Two previous stated geometrical Lemmas are relevant in the proof. These Lemmas are also proved in the aforementioned paper. The above estimates have applications to the problem of identifying the minimal covolume Kleinian group. The group \(\Gamma _{0}\), obtained as a \( \mathbb{Z}_{2}\)-extension of the index 2 orientation preserving subgroup of the group generated by reflection in the faces of the 3-5-3 Coxeter tetrahedron, is conjectured to have minimal covolume. In the paper under review the following theorem is stated: Let \(\Gamma \) be a Kleinian group with a tetrahedral, octahedral or icosahedral subgroup. Then Vol\((\mathbb{H} ^{3}/\Gamma)\) \(\geq \)\ Vol\((\mathbb{H}^{3}/\Gamma _{0})\) \(=0.03905\dots.\)\ This value is sharp and is uniquely achieved in \(\Gamma _{0}\). As a consequence we have the following Corollary: let \(\Gamma \) be a Kleinian group and suppose that either \(\Gamma \) has a torsion free subgroup of index \(\leq 8\) or that \(\Gamma \) contains an element of order \(n\geq 3\). Then Vol\(( \mathbb{H}^{3}/\Gamma)\) \(\geq \)\ Vol\((\mathbb{H}^{3}/\Gamma _{0})\). In the last Section of this paper the authors briefly sketch why a Kleinian group of minimal covolume contains no simple elliptic elements of order \( \geq 3\). Two other papers to appear by the second and third authors are announced. In the first one, refinements on ideas from Gabai, Meyerhoff and Milley are given to obtain an improved volume estimate for hyperbolic manifolds. The second announced paper presents an adaptation to the case where there may be torsion.