Branching random walks on relatively hyperbolic groups (Q6973537)

This paper studies branching random walks (BRW) on relatively hyperbolic groups, extending prior results known in the hyperbolic case. Given a finitely supported admissible symmetric probability measure~\(\mu\) on a nonelementary relatively hyperbolic group~\(\Gamma\) and an offspring distribution~\(\nu\) on~\(\mathbb{N}\) with mean \(r \in [1,R]\) (where \(R\) is the inverse spectral radius), the authors prove that the exponential growth rate of the trace of the BRW equals the growth rate~\(\omega_\Gamma(r)\) of the Green function.\N\NFurthermore, they show that the Hausdorff dimension of the limit set of the BRW in the Bowditch boundary (with respect to the shortcut distance~\(\delta_\lambda\)) equals \(\omega_\Gamma(r)/(-\log \lambda)\). Analogous results are also obtained for the Floyd boundary and for groups with infinitely many ends (end boundary), thus generalizing classical results for free groups.\N\NThe authors also introduce a sufficient criterion for purely exponential growth of the Green function via a parabolic gap condition and prove new tracking properties of the BRW: for any conical limit point, the trace tracks transition points along geodesics with logarithmic precision. These results lead to the resolution of a conjecture by \textit{I. Benjamini} and \textit{S. Müller} [Groups Geom. Dyn. 6, No. 2, 231--247 (2012; Zbl 1243.60065)] and extend the asymptotic analysis of random walks in geometric group theory.