Reflections, bendings, and pentagons

arXiv1201.1582MaRDI QIDQ6230125FDOQ6230125

Publication date: 7 January 2012

Abstract: We study relations between reflections in (positive or negative) points in the complex hyperbolic plane. It is easy to see that the reflections in the points q_1,q_2 obtained from p_1,p_2 by moving p_1,p_2 along the geodesic generated by p_1,p_2 and keeping the (dis)tance between p_1,p_2 satisfy the bending relation R(q_2)R(q_1)=R(p_2)R(p_1). We show that a generic isometry Fin SU(2,1) is a product of 3 reflections, F=R(p_3)R(p_2)R(p_1), and describe all such decompositions: two decompositions are connected by finitely many bendings involving p_1,p_2/p_2,p_3 and geometrically equal decompositions differ by an isometry centralizing F. Any relation between reflections gives rise to a representation H_n->PU(2,1) of the hyperelliptic group H_n generated by r_1,...,r_n with the defining relations r_n...r_1=1, r_j^2=1. The theorem mentioned above is essential to the study of the Teichmuller space TH_n. We describe all nontrivial representations of H_5, called pentagons, and conjecture that they are faithful and discrete.

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Hyperbolic and elliptic geometries (general) and generalizations (51M10) Teichmüller theory for Riemann surfaces (30F60) Discontinuous groups of transformations (57S30)

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