Quasihyperbolic geodesics are hyperbolic quasi-geodesics (Q2178268)

Let \(D \) be a domain in the Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^n\) or in the Möbius space \(\overline{\mathbb{R}}^n= \mathbb{R}^n \cup \{\infty\}\), \(n\ge 2\), with the complement containing at least three points. In this review we say that a metric on \(D\) is \textit{intrinsic} if it defines a distance function which takes into account both how far the points are from each other and how close they are to the boundary. In the planar case \(n=2\), the hyperbolic metric is a generic example of an intrinsic metric. Because the hyperbolic metric is conformally invariant it is a key notion and tool in geometric function theory. For instance, the hyperbolic geometry of the unit disk is based on the use of this metric. There is no hyperbolic metric in dimensions \(n\ge 3\), except in the case of the unit ball or the half-space. Many authors have introduced intrinsic metrics, substitutes for the hyperbolic metric in subdomains of \(\mathbb{R}^n\), \(n\ge 3\), which share some of but not all properties of the hyperbolic metric. The most important intrinsic metric is the quasihyperbolic metric introduced by \textit{F. W. Gehring} and \textit{B. P. Palka} [J. Anal. Math. 30, 172--199 (1976; Zbl 0349.30019)]. The quasihyperbolic metric has found many applications to geometric function theory in Euclidean spaces and also in the metric space case. See for instance the books by \textit{F. W. Gehring} and \textit{K. Hag} [The ubiquitous quasidisk. With contributions by Ole Jacob Broch. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2012; Zbl 1267.30003)], \textit{F. W. Gehring} et al. [An introduction to the theory of higher-dimensional quasiconformal mappings. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2017; Zbl 1371.30001)], \textit{P. Hariri} et al. [Conformally invariant metrics and quasiconformal mappings. Cham: Springer (2020; Zbl 1450.30003)], in the Euclidean case. \textit{J. Väisälä}'s theory [Banach Cent. Publ. 48, 55--118 (1999; Zbl 0934.30018)] of quasiconformality in metric, Hilbert, and Banach spaces is based on the quasihyperbolic metric. In the case of the Möbius space, the Möbius invariant version of the quasihyperbolic metric due to [\textit{J. Ferrand}, Lect. Notes Math. 1351, 110--123 (1988; Zbl 0661.30015)] seems to be the natural tool. This Ferrand metric was studied by the second author in recent papers, e.g., [the second author and \textit{P. K. Julian}, Rocky Mt. J. Math. 47, No. 1, 161--184 (2017; Zbl 1364.30028)]. For a study of several intrinsic metrics, see the paper of Hariri et al. [loc. cit]. The main result of the authors, nicely encapsulated in the title, states that in any hyperbolic plane domain, the quasihyperbolic and hyperbolic geodesics are quantitatively the same curves. (Reviewer's remark: Note that the distances defined by these two metrics are not comparable if the domain has isolated boundary points.) In the course of this long paper the authors analyse the interplay between the metric structure of the boundary and the intrinsic geometry of the domain. One of the tools they use for this purpose is a local metric characteristic of a domain, due to [\textit{A. F. Beardon} and \textit{Ch. Pommerenke}, J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 18, 475--483 (1978; Zbl 0399.30008)], and it is expressed in terms of annuli separating the boundary of the domain. By a theorem of Beardon and Pommerenke, the uniform perfectness of the boundary has a strong influence on the intrinsic geometry: the hyperbolic and quasihyperbolic distances are comparable.