On right-angled reflection groups in hyperbolic spaces. (Q1772469)

An abstract Coxeter group \(W\) is given by the following finite presentation: \(W=\langle S\mid(s_is_j)^{m_{ij}}=1\rangle\), where \(m_{ij}=1\) if \(i=j\) and \(m_{ij}\in\{2,3,\dots,\infty\}\) if \(i\neq j\). By convention \(m_{ij}=\infty\) means that there is no relation between \(s_i\) and \(s_j\). A Coxeter group \(W\) is called right-angled if \(m_{ij}\in\{1,2,\infty\}\). Let \(P\) be a convex polyhedron in the hyperbolic space \(\mathbb H^n\) with dihedral angles of the form \(\tfrac\pi m\) (\(m\in\mathbb N\)) at all its (ordinary) \((n-2)\)-dimensional faces. Then the group generated by the reflections in the \((n-1)\)-dimensional faces (hyperfaces) of \(P\) is a Coxeter group. Such a polyhedron \(P\) is called a Coxeter polyhedron. A polyhedron is called right-angled if all its dihedral angles are \(\tfrac\pi 2\). In this case the corresponding reflection group is a right-angled Coxeter group. Note that any face of a right-angled polyhedron is right-angled whereas a face of an arbitrary Coxeter polyhedron is not necessarily a Coxeter polyhedron. The main result of the paper under review is following Theorem. A right-angled Coxeter polyhedron of finite volume may exist in \(\mathbb H^n\) only if \(n\leq 14\). It is known that compact right-angled polyhedra do not exist if \(n>4\). This follows from the paper of \textit{V. V. Nikulin} [Izv. Akad. Nauk. SSSR, Ser. Mat. 45, 113--142 (1981); English transl.: Math. USSR, Izv. 18, 99--123 (1982; Zbl 0477.22008)]. The proof of the above theorem is based, partially, on the generalization of the Nikulin article given by \textit{A. Khovanskii} [see Funkts. Anal. Prilozh. 20, No. 1, 50--61 (1986; Zbl 0597.51014); English transl.: Funct. Anal. Appl. 20, 41--50 (1986)]. Finally, we would like to mention that recently \textit{T. Januszkiewicz} and \textit{J. Swiatkowski} [see Comment. Math. Helv. 78, No. 3, 555--583 (2003; Zbl 1068.20043)] have proved that there exist abstract word hyperbolic right-angled Coxeter groups of any virtual cohomological dimension.