Laminations in holomorphic dynamics (Q1383643)

There has been considerable interest in finding analogies between the theory of iterations of rational maps of the Riemann sphere and that of Kleinian groups since D. Sullivan and C. McMullen's work. In this paper, the authors construct an explicit object which is called a ``hyperbolic orbifold 3-lamination''. The object plays for a rational map the role played by the hyperbolic 3-orbifold quotient of a Kleinian group. The authors also study the space of backward orbits of a rational function and convex co-compact rational maps. They prove that a rational map \(f\) is convex co-compact if and only if it is postcritically nonrecurrent and has no parabolic points. Using this result, the authors prove a rigidity theorem: Let \(f\) and \(g\) be two critically nonrecurrent rational maps without parabolic periodic points. (1) If \(f\) and \(g\) are topologically conjugate, then they are quasi-conformally conjugate. (2) If the conjugacy is equivalently homotopic to conformal on the Fatou sets, then \(f\) and \(g\) are Möbius conjugate, except for the Lattès examples. In particular, the second case holds automatically when the Julia sets of \(f\) and \(g\) coincide with the whole sphere. The paper also contains conjectures and further research programs which are related with hyperbolic orbifold 3-laminations, and two appendices to fill in some necessary background.