On the distribution of orbits of geometrically finite hyperbolic groups on the boundary. With an appendix by François Maucourant. (Q2884081)

The main theorem of this paper is a result about the equidistribution of orbits of certain orientation-preserving torsion-free non-elementary discrete hyperbolic groups of isometries \(\Gamma\) acting on hyperbolic space \({\mathbb H}^n\) and its geometric boundary \(\partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\). Let \(\Lambda(\Gamma)\) denote the set of accumulation points of a \(\Gamma\)-orbit in \(\overline{\mathbb H^n} = {\mathbb H^n}\cup \partial_\infty ({\mathbb H}^n)\). There exists a Patterson-Sullivan density, i.e., a \(\Gamma\)-invariant conformal density \(\{ \nu_x: x\in {\mathbb H}^n\}\) of dimension \(\delta_\Gamma\) (the critical exponent of \(\Gamma\)) on \(\Lambda(\Gamma)\), where each \(\nu_x\) is a finite measure supported on \(\partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\). Let \(m_\Gamma^{\mathrm{BMS}}\) denote the Bowen-Margulis-Sullivan measure on the unit tangent bundle \(T^1(\Gamma\setminus{\mathbb H}^n)\) associated with the density \(\{ \mu_x\}\). For a subset \(\Omega\) of \(\partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\) and \(x\in {\mathbb H}^n\), denote by \(S_x(\Omega)\) the set of all points lying in geodesics emanating from \(x\) toward \(\Omega\). Let \(B_T(x)\) denote the hyperbolic ball of radius \(T\) centered at \(x\). The main theorem is that when the total mass \(| m_\Gamma^{\mathrm{BMS}}|\) is finite, and \(\Omega_1\) and \(\Omega_2\) are subsets of \(\partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\) whose boundaries have zero Patterson-Sullivan measure, then for any \(x,y\in {\mathbb H}^n\) and \(\xi\in \partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\), there holds as \(T\to\infty\), NEWLINE\[NEWLINE \#\{ \gamma^{-1}(y)\in S_x(\Omega_1)\cap B_T(x) : \gamma(\xi) \in \Omega_2\} \sim \frac{ \nu_x(\Omega_1)\nu_y(\Omega_2)}{\delta_\Gamma | m_\Gamma^{\mathrm{BMS}}| } e^{\delta_\Gamma T} NEWLINE\]NEWLINE where \(\gamma\in \Gamma\). When \(\Gamma\) is geometrically finite, then \(| m_\Gamma^{\mathrm{BMS}}|\) is finite. However, there are geometrically infinite groups for which \(| m_\Gamma^{\mathrm{BMS}}| <\infty\). The main result extends results of Lax and Philips when \(\Omega_1=\Omega_2=\partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\) for geometrically finite groups with \(\delta_\Gamma > (n-1)/2\). It also extends a result of Roblin when \(\Omega_2 = \partial_\infty ({\mathbb H}^n)\). The paper includes an appendix by François Maucourant that extends an application of a result of Roblin in the case of \(\Omega_1=\partial_\infty({\mathbb H}^n)\) to obtain the main theorem. The authors of the paper use a different approach through the establishment of an ergodic theorem about the equidistribution of solvable flows on \(T^1(\Gamma\setminus {\mathbb H}^n)\).