Homeomorphisms between limbs of the Mandelbrot set (Q5915445)

The Mandelbrot set \(M\) is associated with the quadratic family of polynomials \(Q_c(z)=z^2+c\) for \(c \in \mathbb C\). Let \(K_c\) denote the filled Julia set of \(Q_c\), that is the set of points \(z \in \mathbb C\) such that \((Q_c^n(z))_{n \in \mathbb N}\) is bounded, and let \(J_c\) be the boundary of \(K_c\), the Julia set of \(Q_c\). As for all rational functions, the dynamical behaviour of the critical point \(\omega=0\) dominates the dynamical behaviour of \((Q_c^n)_{n \in \mathbb N}\). The Mandelbrot set \(M\) is defined as the set of parameter values \(c\), for which \((Q_c^n(0))_{n \in \mathbb N}\) is bounded. Then \(K_c\) is connected if \(c \in M\), and totally disconnected otherwise. It is well-known that \(M\) is full, compact and connected. The interior of \(M\) contains connected components for which \(Q_c\) has an attracting periodic orbit, and these are called hyperbolic components. For each such component \(\Omega\), there exists a conformal map \(\rho_\Omega \colon \mathbb D \to \Omega\) such that \(Q_c\) has a cycle of multiplier \(t\) when \(c=\rho_\Omega(t)\). The point \(\rho_\Omega(0)\) is called the centre of \(\Omega\). This map extends to a homeomorphism of \(\overline{\mathbb D}\) onto \(\overline{\Omega}\) which is also denoted by \(\rho_\Omega\). The function \(\gamma_\Omega(t)=\rho_\Omega(e^{2\pi it})\) defines a parametrization of \(\partial\Omega\). For each \(t \in \mathbb R \setminus \mathbb Z\), the point \(\gamma_\Omega(t) \in \partial \Omega\) is said to have internal argument \(t\), and the point \(\gamma_\Omega(0)\) is called the root of \(\Omega\). There exists a unique hyperbolic component, called \(\Omega_0\), that is bounded by the main cardioid of \(M\), for which \(Q_c\) has an attracting fixed point. For any internal argument \(p/q \in \mathbb Q \setminus \mathbb Z\), there exists a hyperbolic component \(\Omega_{p/q}\) attached to the cardioid at the point \(\gamma_0(p/q)\), the root of \(\Omega_{p/q}\), and \(\Omega_{p/q}\) contains \(c\)-values for which \(Q_c\) has an attracting periodic cycle of period \(q\). Let \(p\) and \(q\) be positive integers, \(p<q\), \(q \geq 2\) and \(\text{gcd}{(p,q)}=1\). The \(p/q\)-limb of \(M\), called \(M_{p/q}\), is the connected component of \(M \setminus \overline{\Omega}_0\) attached to the main cardioid at the point \(c=\gamma_0(p/q)\). Then the main results of the article under review read as follows, where we do not give all details. Theorem 1. Given \(p/q\) and \(p'/q\), there exists a homeomorphism \(\Phi_{pp'}^q \colon M_{p/q} \to M_{p'/q}\) which is holomorphic in the interior of \(M_{p/q}\). Theorem 2. Given \(p/q\), there exists a homeomorphism \(\mathcal I_{p/q} \colon M_{p/q} \to M_{p/q}\) which is an involution, i.e., \(\mathcal I_{p/q}^2=\text{Id}\), and is anti-holomorphic in the interior of \(M_{p/q}\). The set of fixed points of \(\mathcal I_{p/q}\) forms a topological arc through the limb \(M_{p/q}\). For the proofs the authors use higher degree polynomials as a bridge. More precisely, for fixed \(q\) they consider the family \(P_{q,\lambda}(z)=\lambda z(1+z/q)^q\) for \(\lambda \in \mathbb C\), and show that each of the \(p/q\)-limbs of \(M\) is homeomorphic to the \(0\)-limb \(L_{q,0}\). They do not only prove the existence of the homeomorphism \(\Phi_{pp'}^q\), but they even give a construction of it using quasiconformal surgery techniques. The involutions \(\mathcal I_{p/q}\) together with the arcs of symmetry on the limbs are then immediate from the symmetry of the \(0\)-limb \(L_{q,0}\) with respect to the real axis.