Limits of conjugacy classes under iterates of hyperbolic elements of \(\operatorname{Out}(\mathbb{F})\) (Q2180200)

Consider a free group \(F\) of finite rank \(\ge3\). An outer automorphism \(\phi\) of \(F\) is \emph{hyperbolic} if there is \(\lambda>1\) such that, for every conjugacy class \(c\) in \(F\), either the length of \(\phi^n(c)\) or of \(\phi^{-n}(c)\) increases at exponential rate at least \(\lambda^n\); this holds if and only if there are no \(\phi\)-periodic conjugacy classes. This article is concerned with geometric structures associated with such a \(\phi\), an in particular in its action on the set of \textit{lines} (bi-infinite paths) in a finite graph with fundamental group \(F\). The first result (Theorem 3.10) characterizes those lines that are weak limits of a conjugacy class (itself corresponding to a closed path in the graph) under iteration of \(\phi\). The characterization is in terms of the natural action of \(F\) on \(\widetilde{\mathcal B}=(\partial F\times\partial F\setminus\Delta)/\{(\xi,\eta)\sim(\eta,\xi)\}\), and in particular independent of any choice of graph: this set of weak limits coincides with \(\mathcal B_{\text{gen}}(\phi)\cup\mathcal B_{\text{Fix}_+(\phi)}\), respectively the collection of generic leaves of all attracting laminations for \(\phi\) and the set of all projections of lines in \(\widetilde{\mathcal B}\) whose endpoints are attracting fixed points of a lift of \(\phi\) to \(\operatorname{Aut}(F)\). An application follows (Theorem 4.8): consider an exact sequence \[ 1\longrightarrow F\longrightarrow G\longrightarrow\langle\phi\rangle\longrightarrow 1 \] with \(\phi\) hyperbolic (so \(G\) is a word hyperbolic group). Then the Cannon-Thurston map \(\partial F\to\partial G\) has finite fibres of cardinality bounded by a function of the rank of \(F\). The author also characterizes (Theorem 4.10) those finitely generated subgroups of \(F\) that remain quasi-convex in \(G\).