Cycles cross ratio: an invitation (Q6162790)

This paper offers an engaging presentation of various properties of a notion of cross ratio introduced in Lie sphere geometry. A \(2\times 2\) complex matrix \(C=\begin{pmatrix} \overline{L} & -m\\ k & -L \end{pmatrix}\) is associated, via the Fillmore-Springer-Cnops construction, to the cycle \(k(x^2+y^2)-2lx-2ny+m=0\) with coefficients \((k, l, n, m)\), where \(L\) stands for \(l+in\). A cycle product \(\langle C_1, C_2\rangle\) for two matrices \(C_1\) and \(C_2\) if defined by \(\langle C_1, C_2\rangle=-\operatorname{tr}(C_1\overline{C_2})\), where \(\operatorname{tr}\) denotes the trace, allowing the definition, one which turns out to be well-defined and a fractional linear transformation invariant of quadruples of cycles, of the cross ratio of four cycles \(C_1, C_2, C_3, C_4\) by (assuming \({\langle C_1, C_4\rangle}{\langle C_2, C_3\rangle}\neq 0\)): \[ \langle C_1, C_2; C_3, C_4\rangle=\frac{\langle C_1, C_3\rangle}{\langle C_1, C_4\rangle}:\frac{\langle C_2, C_3\rangle}{\langle C_2, C_4\rangle}. \] Among others, a distance between two cycles is defined, which is shown to be Möbius invariant, and which coincides with the hyperbolic metric on the upper-half plane in the case of zero radius cycles.