Uniform difference between the length spectra of \(\mathrm{Out}(F_2)\) and the genus two handlebody group (Q7006282)

This paper studies the relationship between the translation length spectra of the genus two handlebody group \(H_2\) acting on Teichmüller space and the group \(\mathrm{Out}(F_2)\) acting on outer space. Using the canonical homomorphism \(A : H_2 \to \mathrm{Out}(F_2)\) induced by the inclusion \(\partial V_2 \hookrightarrow V_2\), the authors investigate how the spectral data of pseudo-Anosov elements in \(H_2\) relate to the stretch factors of their images in \(\mathrm{Out}(F_2)\).\N\NTheir main result shows that, for every fully irreducible \(\varphi \in \mathrm{Out}(F_2)\), one can find a pseudo-Anosov \(\psi \in H_2\) such that \(A(\psi) = \varphi\) and the translation length of \(\psi\) (in the Teichmüller metric) exceeds that of \(\varphi\) (in outer space) by at most \(\log 10\). In other words, the minimal translation length of any preimage of \(\varphi\) under \(A\) lies in the closed interval \([t_{CV}(\varphi), t_{CV}(\varphi) + \log 10]\). This uniform bound, stated precisely in Theorem 6.25, provides a partial answer to a question by \textit{S. Hensel} [Adv. Lect. Math. (ALM) 48, 143--177 (2020; Zbl 1529.20073)] concerning the distortion of spectral invariants under \(A\).\N\NThe result also has concrete applications: in particular, it yields a uniform lower bound on the number \(H_2(R)\) of pseudo-Anosov conjugacy classes in \(H_2\) with translation length at most \(R\). Combining this with existing estimates for \(\mathrm{Out}(F_2)\), the authors prove that \(H_2(R)\) has exponential growth, with lower bound asymptotically comparable to \(e^{2R}/R\).\N\NThe techniques combine structural properties of \(H_2\), geometric constructions in Teichmüller and outer space and a detailed analysis of stretch factors via matrix representatives in \(\mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbb{Z})\). The use of standard forms for hyperbolic and glide-reflection matrices plays a key role in bounding translation lengths.