On the Hilbert geometry of simplicial Tits sets (Q746899)

The authors investigate the entropy of the Hilbert metric of the moduli space of projective structures on a simplicial hyperbolic Coxeter orbifold. This moduli space is either a point or the real line. In the latter case, the authors show that the entropy tends to zero when \(t\) tends to infinity or to zero. An open cone \(C\) in \(\mathbb{R}^{n}\) is properly convex if it contains no lines. An open set \(\Omega\) in the projective space \(P(\mathbb{R}^{n})\) is properly convex if it is the image \(P(C)\) of a properly convex cone \(C\) in \(\mathbb{R}^{n}\). Any properly convex open set \(\Omega \subset P(\mathbb{R}^{n})\) carries a canonical Hilbert metric \(d = d_{\Omega}\) that is invariant under projective transformations that leave \(\Omega\) invariant. Let \(\Gamma\) be a group of diffeomorphisms of \(\Omega\) that acts properly discontinuously on \(\Omega\). For a point \(x_{0} \in \Omega\) one may define the entropy of \(\Omega / \Gamma\) by \(\delta(\Omega, d , \Gamma, x_{0}) =\limsup_{R \rightarrow \infty} \frac{1}{R}\log |\Gamma(x_{0}) \cap B(x_{0},R)|\). Here \(B(x_{0},R)\) denotes the \(d\)-ball centered at \(x_{0}\) with radius \(R\). The entropy is independent of the choice of base point \(x_{0}\). If \(\Omega / \Gamma\) is compact, then \textit{M. Crampon} [J. Mod. Dyn. 3, No. 4, 511--547 (2009; Zbl 1189.37034)] showed that \(\delta(\Omega, d , \Gamma) \leq n-1\) with equality if and only if \(\Omega\) is an ellipsoid. If \(\Omega\) is an ellipsoid, then \((\Omega, d_{\Omega})\) is isometric to the real hyperbolic space \(\mathbb{H}^{n}\). Crampon asked if there is a positive lower bound for \(\delta(\Omega, d , \Gamma)\), but this article shows that the answer is no. Let \(\tilde{X}\) be a manifold homeomorphic to \(\mathbb{R}^{n}\), and let \(\Gamma\) denote a group of diffeomorphisms of \(\tilde{X}\) that acts properly discontinuously on \(\tilde{X}\). A convex projective structure on the orbifold \(X = \tilde{X} / \Gamma\) consists of a faithful representation \(\rho : \Gamma \rightarrow\mathrm{PGL}(n+1,\mathbb{R})\), a properly convex open set \(\Omega \subset P(\mathbb{R}^{n})\) invariant under \(\rho(\Gamma)\), and a homeomorphism \(\varphi\) between \(\tilde{X}\) and \(\Omega\) such that \(\varphi \circ \;\gamma = \rho(\gamma) \circ \varphi\) for all \(\gamma \in \Gamma\). The convex set \(\Omega\) is determined by \(\rho\) because \(\Omega\) is the convex hull of any \(\rho(\Gamma)\) orbit in \(\Omega\). The orbifold \(X = \tilde{X} / \Gamma\) is called a hyperbolic simplicial Coxeter orbifold if \(\tilde{X} = \mathbb{H}^{n}\), the \(n\)-dimensional real hyperbolic space, and \(\Gamma \subset I(\mathbb{H}^{n})\) is generated by orthogonal reflections with respect to the faces of a bounded \(n\)-simplex \(P\) in \(\mathbb{H}^{n}\) with totally geodesic faces. The moduli space of convex projective structures of a hyperbolic simplicial Coxeter orbifold X is either a point or is parametrized by the positive real numbers. In the latter case, one obtains a 1-parameter family of representations \(\rho_{t} : \Gamma \rightarrow\mathrm{PGL}(n+1,\mathbb{R})\) and corresponding properly convex open sets \(\Omega_{t} \subset P(\mathbb{R}^{n})\) with Hilbert metrics \(d_{t}\). The main result of this article is that \(\delta(\Omega_{t}, d_{t}, \Gamma) \rightarrow 0\) as \(t \rightarrow 0\) or \(t \rightarrow \infty\). This gives a negative answer to the question of Crampon stated above.