Conformal dimension and combinatorial modulus of compact metric spaces (Q765741)

The article summarizes recent results obtained by the author in his dissertation [Juage conforme des espaces métriques compacts. PhD thesis, Aix-Marseille Université (2011)]. Let \((X,d)\) be a compact metric space, \(a>1\), \(\lambda>1\) and for \(n \in \mathbb{N}\) put \(r_n = a^{-n}\). The author considers a discretization of \(X\), that is, a sequence \(\mathcal{S}_n\), \(n\in \mathbb{N}\) of open coverings of \(X\) by balls of radii \(\lambda r_n\) whose centers are at least \(r_n\) apart. Associated to such a discretization is an infinite graph \(Z_d\) whose vertices are the collection of balls \(\bigcup_n \mathcal{S}_n\) and whose edges join overlapping balls whose levels \(n\) differ by at most \(1\). If \((X,d)\) is quasisymmetrically (qs) equivalent to an Ahlfors regular (AR) metric space, then \(Z_d\) is Gromov hyperbolic, and its boundary is naturally qs equivalent to \(X\). The author shows that in addition, any AR metric space qs equivalent to \((X,d)\) is obtained, up to bilipschitz equivalence, as the Gromov boundary of a hyperbolic graph obtained by rescaling edges of \(Z_d\) in an appropriate fashion. The author then applies this result to the study of the AR conformal dimension \(\dim_{AR}(X,d)\) of \((X,d)\), defined as the infimum of the Hausdorff dimension of all AR metric spaces qs equivalent to \((X,d)\). Theorem 2.1 identifies \(\dim_{AR}(X,d)\) as the critical exponent for a type of combinatorial modulus of the family of curves joining inner and outer boundary components of concentric annuli. In Theorem 2.2 the author gives a very general criterion (the ``UBR'' condition) for the \(\text{dim}_{AR}(X,d)\) to be equal to \(1\). The UBR condition for a compact linearly connected metric space is that there is some constant \(N>0\) such for any ball \(B(x,r)\), there is a finite set \(P\subset B(x,2r)\) of cardinality at most \(N\) through which any curve joining \(B(x,r)\) to \(X\setminus B(x,2r)\) must pass. The author concludes by giving several applications, yielding the following results. Corollary 3.1. Let \(G\) be a hyperbolic group and \(\Sigma\) be the tree associated to the Dunwoody-Stallings splitting of \(G\). Denote by \(\{v_1, \dots, v_M\}\) a set of representatives of the orbits of the vertices of \(\Sigma\) and \(G(v_i)\) their respective stabilizers. Then \[ \dim_{AR}(\partial G)=\begin{cases} 0 \qquad &\text{if all \(G(v_i), i=1, \dots, M\), are finite}, \\ \max_{i=1, \dots, M} \dim_{AR}(\partial G(v_i))\qquad&\text{otherwise}. \end{cases} \] Corollary 3.2. Let \(G\) be a one-ended hyperbolic group. If \(G\) is a cocompact Fuchsian group, or there are no vertices of rigid type in the JSJ splitting of \(G\), then \(\partial G\) satisfies the UBR condition, and \(\dim_{AR}(\partial G)=1\). Corollary 3.3. Let \(f\) be a semi-hyperbolic nonlinear complex polynomial, regarded as a dynamical system on \(\mathbb{C}\). If the Julia set \(J(f)\) of \(f\) is connected, then \(\dim_{AR}(J(f))=1\).