Discreteness of postcritically finite maps in \(p\)-adic moduli space (Q6567128)

Under consideration are certain parameterized rational functions with the main results showing that under certain stability conditions, the parameters whose functions are postcritically finite are isolated.\N\NSuppose \(f(z)\) induces a separable rational function \(\mathbb{P}^1 \rightarrow \mathbb{P}^1\). We denote the \(n-\)th iterate of \(f\) by \(f^{(n)}\) and say that a point under \(f\) is preperiodic if its forward orbit is finite. The function is PCF or post-critically finite if every critical point of \(f\) is preperiodic under \(f\).\N\NPreparing for the statements of the two main theorems, the ground field is the completion \(\mathbb{C}_p\) of an algebraic closure of the \(p\)-adic rational field. Let \(f_c(z)\) be an analytic family of rational functions, meaning its coefficients are analytic functions defined for all parameters \(c\) in an open disk. Then consider the set of parameters \(c\) for which the resulting \(f_c(z)\) is PCF.\N\NThere are cases known where \(f_c\) is PCF for nonisolated sets of values of the parameter \(c\). Of particular interest for the results presented here are conjugates of a fixed rational PCF-function by a 1-parameter family of linear fractional transformations and the case of \(f_c\) being the flexible Lattès map associated with the multiplication-by-\(m\) map on an elliptic curve.\N\NReferring to the paper for the technical details, a descriptive version of the assumptions of theorem 1.1 can be given as follows.\N\begin{itemize}\N\item The functions \(f_c(z)\) are rational in \(\mathbb{C}_p(z)\) and of degree at least 2.\N\item Under small changes of both the parameter c and the dynamical variable \(z\), the iterates \(f_c^{(n)}(z)\) vary only by bounded amounts near the critical points, where the bounds are independent of \(n\).\N\end{itemize}\NUnder such assumptions, the authors show that if \(f_c(z)\) is not one of the two standard exceptions of conjugates of a fixed map or Lattès map, then in any closed disk around the origin, there are only finitely many parameters \(c\) such that \(f_c\) is PCF.\N\NIn example 7.3 the authors show that the conclusions of the theorem can fail if the assumptions are not satisfied.\N\NTheorem 1.3 shows the same conclusion as theorem 1.1 under the following assumptions.\N\begin{itemize}\N\item The rational function \(f_c(z)\) of degree at least 2 is of \(p\)-adic explicit good reduction.\N\item The reduction \(\overline{f}_c\in \overline{\mathbb{F}}_p(z)\) satisfies \(\overline{f}_c = \overline{f}_0\).\N\item The critical points \(\alpha_i(c)\) all reduce to \(\overline{\alpha_i(0)}\).\N\end{itemize}\N\NFor the proofs, the authors start by giving some background on non-archimedean analysis. The method of proof considers orbits of a single marked point in a one-parameter \(p\)-adic family and uses an adapted version of Thurston rigidity. The authors include a detailed treatment of the two exceptional cases in theorem 1.1, which are conjugate maps of a fixed function and Lattès maps.