A covering theorem for hyperbolic 3-manifolds and its applications (Q1918444)

This paper is dealing with a well-known conjecture on hyperbolic 3-manifolds, of whether a hyperbolic 3-manifold \(N\) with finitely generated fundamental group is topologically tame, i.e. \(N\) is homeomorphic to the interior of a compact 3-manifold. Actually, the main theorem describes how geometrically infinite ends of topologically tame hyperbolic 3-manifolds cover. This result generalizes a theorem of \textit{W. P. Thurston} [The geometry and topology of 3-manifolds, Princeton Lect. Notes] proved for geometrically tame manifolds whose compact cores have incompressible boundary, and has many applications [the author, in `Low dimensional topology', Conf. Proc. Lect. Notes Geom. Topol. 3, 21-30 (1994; Zbl 0849.57014)]. Much of the paper addresses various aspects of the properties of geometrical finiteness and topological (geometrical) tameness in the context of Thurston's work on hyperbolic structures. In particular, it gives a complete characterization of geometrically finite covers of an infinite volume topologically tame hyperbolic 3-manifold. The author also discusses the applications of his theorem to understanding algebraic and geometric limits of sequences of Kleinian groups.