Counting conjugacy classes of fully irreducibles: double exponential growth (Q6201848)

Let \(F_r\) be the free group of rank \(r\), and let \(X\) be a free basis of \(F_r\). Moreover, for each \(L\geq1\), let \(\mathfrak N_r(L)\) denote the number of \(\operatorname{Out}(F_r)\)-conjugacy classes of outer automorphisms \(\varphi\) such that: \begin{itemize} \item \(\varphi\) is \textit{fully irreducible} (that is, no positive power fixes the conjugacy class of a non-trivial proper free factor); \item the logarithm of the \textit{stretch factor} \[\lambda(\varphi):=\lim_{n\to\infty}\sqrt[n]{||\varphi^n(w)||_X},\quad 1\neq w\in F_r\] of \(\varphi\) is \(\leq L\). \end{itemize} The main result of the paper under review (Theorem 1.1) is that for each each \(r\geq 3\), there are constants \(a=a(r)>1\), \(b=b(r)>1\), \(c=c(r)>1\), and \(L_0\geq1\) such that \[c^{e^L}\leq \mathfrak N_r(L)\leq a^{b^L}\] for all \(L\geq L_0\).