A theorem of Semmes and the boundary absolute continuity in all dimensions (Q679205)

In [ibid. 12, No. 3, 727-781 (1996; reviewed above)], \textit{S. Semmes} proves that the quasisymmetric image of any set \(F\) in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), \(n\geq 2\) of Hausdorff \(n\)-measure zero, \(\mathcal H_n(F) =0\), is again of Hausdorff measure zero. In this paper the author uses Semmes' theorem to resolve questions about the boundary absolute continuity of quasiconformal maps in space and to improve upon his own prior results in [Am. J. Math. 116, 1545-1567 (1994; Zbl 0822.30022) and loc. cit.]. We state several definitions. Suppose that \(A\subset X\subset \mathbb{R}^n\). We say that \(A\) is linearly locally connected in \(X\) if there exists a constant \(C\geq 1\) such that for all \(a\in A\) and \(r>0\) we have (i) points in \(A\cap B(a,r)\) can be joined by a continuum in \(X\cap B(a, Cr)\) and (ii) points in \(A\setminus \overline{B} (a, r)\) can be joined by a continuum in \(X\setminus \overline{B} (a, r/C)\). A metric space \(Y\) is called a bi-Lipschitz p-ball if there exists a bi-Lipschitz homeomorphism of the open unit ball \(B^p\) onto \(Y\); a metric space \(E\) is contained in a bi-Lipschitz p-ball \(Y\) if there exists an isometric embedding of \(E\) into \(Y\). A subset of \(\mathbb{R}^n\) is \(p\)-rectifiable if it is contained in a countable union of Lipschitz images of \(\mathbb{R}^p\) plus a set of \(\mathcal H_{p}\)-measure zero; a set is purely \(p\)-unrectifiable if it contains no \(p\)-rectifiable subset of positive and finite \(\mathcal H_{p}\)-measure. The two main results of the paper under review follow. Theorem 1: Suppose that \(f\) is a quasiconformal map of \(B^n\) onto a domain \(D\subset \mathbb{R}^n, n\geq 3\) and \(A\subset D\) is bounded, pathwise connected and linearly locally connected in \(D\). If \(E\subset \overline{A}\cap \partial D\) satisfies \(\mathcal H_{n-1}(E) = 0\) and \(\mathcal H_{n-1}(f^{-1}(E))>0,\) then there is no bi-Lipschitz \((n-1)\)-ball containing \(E\). If \(E\subset \bar{A}\cap \partial D\) satisfies \(\mathcal H_{n-1}(f^{-1}(E))= 0\), then \(E\) is purely \((n-1)\)-unrectifiable. Recall that it is known that theorem 1 is false for quasiconformal maps in dimension \(n=2\). Theorem 2: Suppose that \(f\) is a quasiconformal map of \(B^n\) onto a domain \(D\subset \mathbb{R}^n, n\geq 3\). Then for any set \(E\subset IC_{D}\), we have \(\mathcal H_{n-1}(E)=0\) if and only if \(\mathcal H_{n-1}(\dot{f}^{-1}(E))=0\). Here \(IC_{D}\) denotes the subset of \(\partial D\) consisting of all the interior cone points of \(D\) and \(\dot{f}\) denotes the radial extension of \(f\) which exists outside a set of Hausdorff dimension zero on \(\partial B^n\).