Questions tagged [hyperbolic-geometry]

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The Teichmüller space $T_g$ of a closed riemann surface $S_g$ of genus $g \geq 2$ can't be parametrized by $6g−6$ geodesic length functions

I asked this question almost a month ago on Math SE. After waiting three weeks for an answer or a comment, I opened a bounty on the question in hope that it might get an answer this way. The bounty ...
user331406's user avatar
48 votes
3 answers
7k views

Thurston's 24 questions: All settled?

Thurston's 1982 article on three-dimensional manifolds1 ends with $24$ "open questions":       $\cdots$ Two naive questions from an outsider: (1) Have all $24$ now been resolved? (2)...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
26 votes
2 answers
672 views

Hyperbolic exceptional fillings of cusped hyperbolic 3-manifolds

Thurston's Hyperbolic Dehn Surgery Theorem says that all but finitely many fillings of a cusp of a hyperbolic 3-manifold result in hyperbolic manifolds that are deformations of the original manifold. ...
Ken Baker's user avatar
  • 743
16 votes
5 answers
4k views

can you fool SnapPea?

A while back I thought I had some simple knots that "fooled" SnapPea. But I no longer remember those examples, if I ever had them to begin with. What I'm looking for is a non-hyperbolizable knot ...
Ryan Budney's user avatar
  • 42.8k
17 votes
2 answers
2k views

Geodesics on the twisted pseudosphere (Dini's surface)

I wonder how difficult it is to compute geodesics on Dini's Surface, a twisted pseudosphere? Here is one parametrization, from Alfred Gray's Modern Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces, p....
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
734 views

Cutting up the Bring surface into six pairs of pants

The Bring sextic, with 120 automorphisms, is the numerically most symmetric compact Riemann surface of genus 4. To cut it up into six pairs of pants, we need to cut along nine disjoint geodesic loops....
Lyle Ramshaw's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
2k views

Existence of finite index torsion-free subgroups of hyperbolic groups

Question. Is it true that each infinite hyperbolic group has a torsion-free subgroup of finite index? Are there counterexamples, or positive results for some large subclasses of hyperbolic groups? For ...
Dmitri Panov's user avatar
  • 28.8k
9 votes
1 answer
405 views

Change of coordinates for Teichmüller space of the 4-holed sphere

The diagram below indicates 2 ways to use Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates to parameterize the Teichmüller space of conformal structures on the 4-holed sphere with totally-geodesic boundary, corresponding ...
Jamie Vicary's user avatar
  • 2,433
9 votes
1 answer
720 views

Is there a straightedge and compass construction of incommensurables in the hyperbolic plane?

In other words, given a segment in the hyperbolic plane is there a straightedge and compass construction of a segment incommensurable with it? In the Euclidean plane one can take the diagonal of the ...
Conifold's user avatar
  • 1,599
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

How did Gauss characterize the metrical relations in the uniform (4 4 4) tiling of the hyperbolic unit disk?

My purpose is to verify an historical hypothesis I have on Gauss's tesselation of the unit disk as described in John Stilwell "Mathematics and its history". Looking at the relevant pages in ...
user2554's user avatar
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31 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why do people study representations of 3-manifold groups into $SL(n,\mathbb{C})$?

Varieties of representations and characters of $3$-manifold groups in $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$ have been intensively studied. They have provided tools to identify geometric structures on manifolds, and are ...
Daniel Moskovich's user avatar
26 votes
7 answers
2k views

Tetrahedra with prescribed face angles

I am looking for an analogue for the following 2 dimensional fact: Given 3 angles $\alpha,\beta,\gamma\in (0;\pi)$ there is always a triangle with these prescribed angles. It is spherical/euclidean/...
HenrikRüping's user avatar
24 votes
4 answers
1k views

Immersions of the hyperbolic plane

Is it possible to isometrically immerse the hyperbolic plane into a compact Riemannian manifold as a totally geodesic submanifold? Any nice examples? Edit: Although I did not originally say so, I was ...
alvarezpaiva's user avatar
  • 13.2k
22 votes
2 answers
2k views

Non-residually finite matrix groups

By Malcev's theorem, every finitely generated linear group is residually finite (RF). On the other hand, say, the group of rational numbers is linear, but is not residually finite. Thus, one has to ...
Misha's user avatar
  • 31k
20 votes
1 answer
655 views

Complexifications of hyperbolic manifolds

I'm wondering when a compact hyperbolic $n$-manifold ($n \geq 3$) can embed in a complex hyperbolic $n$-manifold as a real algebraic subvariety so that it is a component of the fixed point set of ...
Ian Agol's user avatar
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20 votes
2 answers
2k views

Smallest tile to tessellate the hyperbolic plane

Is it known what the smallest tile (in terms of area) that can tessellate the hyperbolic plane is? In particular, it should tessellate the plane by itself. I think it will be a Triangle group, but I'...
Christopher King's user avatar
20 votes
1 answer
985 views

Canonical immersion of the double torus

It is easy to check that the immersion $\mathbb{T}^2=\mathbb{S}^1\times \mathbb{S}^1\longrightarrow\mathbb{R}^4$, $(\alpha,\beta)\longmapsto(\cos\alpha,\sin\alpha,\cos\beta,\sin\beta)$ induces the ...
Jjm's user avatar
  • 2,071
18 votes
2 answers
4k views

Reference request: Geodesic flow on a manifold with negative curvature is ergodic

I'm reading about the Mostow's rigidity theorem, and the proof uses the following (maybe well-known) result: The geodesic flow on a manifold with negative curvature is ergodic. The lecture note that ...
Boyu Zhang's user avatar
18 votes
3 answers
1k views

The number of cusps of higher-dimensional hyperbolic manifolds

Suppose $n$ is an integer greater than 3. Sometimes ago I heard somewhere that it is still not known if there exist complete finite-volume hyperbolic $n$-manifolds having exactly one cusp. Could ...
Roberto Frigerio's user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
2k views

Examples of the Thurston geometries with transitive Lie group action

Here are some examples of compact homogeneous 3 manifolds for different Thurston geometries: (1) Spherical: $\mathbb{S}^3 \cong \mathrm{SU}_2$ modulo any finite subgroup (2) Euclidean: 3 torus $\...
Ian Gershon Teixeira's user avatar
16 votes
2 answers
1k views

Maximum of a function of one variable

Let $D$ be a circular quadrilateral (that is a Jordan region whose boundary consists of 4 arcs of circles all orthogonal to the unit circle) whose interior angles are all equal to 0, the vertices lie ...
Alexandre Eremenko's user avatar
16 votes
2 answers
3k views

The fundamental group of a closed surface without classification of surfaces?

The fundamental group of a closed oriented surface of genus $g$ has the well-known presentation $$ \langle x_1,\ldots, x_g,y_1,\ldots ,y_g\vert \prod_{i=1}^{g} [x_i,y_i]\rangle. $$ The proof I know ...
Johannes Ebert's user avatar
15 votes
0 answers
887 views

How does duality of symmetric spaces explain the hyperbolic cosine theorem?

There is a well-known duality between compact symmetric spaces and symmetric spaces of noncompact type. Basically it goes as follows: If $$G/K$$ is a symmetric space of noncompact type, $$g=k+p$$ the ...
ThiKu's user avatar
  • 10.3k
15 votes
2 answers
2k views

Dehn's algorithm for word problem for surface groups

For some $g \geq 2$, let $\Gamma_g$ be the fundamental group of a closed genus $g$ surface and let $S_g=\{a_1,b_1,\ldots,a_g,b_g\}$ be the usual generating set for $\Gamma_g$ satisfying the surface ...
John M's user avatar
  • 153
15 votes
1 answer
2k views

Pythagorean theorem for right-corner hyperbolic simplices?

My answer to the "Favorite equations" question was the Pythagorean theorem for right-corner tetrahedra: Euclidean: $A^2+B^2+C^2=D^2$ Hyperbolic: $\cos\frac{A}{2}\cos\frac{B}{2}\cos\frac{C}{2}−\...
Blue's user avatar
  • 1,198
13 votes
3 answers
1k views

Isometry group of a compact hyperbolic surface

Consider a compact surface $M$ of genus $g \geq 2$ with a metric of constant negative curvature. My question is, is it known under what sorts of sufficient conditions such a metric will have non-...
user82102's user avatar
  • 133
13 votes
3 answers
825 views

Are negatively pinched manifold locally conformally flat?

One knows that hyperbolic manifolds are locally conformally flat. How about those negatively pinched manifolds, i.e. the sectional curvature $K$ satisfy: $$ -\Lambda \le K \le -\lambda$$ for $\Lambda&...
J. GE's user avatar
  • 2,593
13 votes
1 answer
986 views

Topology of boundaries of hyperbolic groups

For many examples of word-hyperbolic groups which I have seen in the context of low-dimensional topology, the ideal boundary is either homeomorphic to a n-sphere for some n or a Cantor set. So, I was ...
Harry Baik's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is the cut locus of a generic point in a hyperbolic manifold a generic polyhedron?

Let $p\in M$ be a point in a closed riemannian manifold $M$. Recall that the cut locus of $p$ is the subset of $M$ consisting of all points that are connected to $p$ by at least 2 distance-minimizing ...
Bruno Martelli's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
751 views

Random links and $3$-manifolds

In Jeffrey Weeks book "The Shape of Space" he explaines at the end of Chapter 18 (on page 255) the following about the geometrization conjecture: A non-trivial connected sum $M_1\# M_2$ ...
Marc Kegel's user avatar
  • 1,314
11 votes
4 answers
1k views

Surfaces with non-constant negative curvature

Are there any nice models of surfaces with non-constant negative curvature, analogous to the Poincare disk for constant negative curvature. I have found lots of general results and theory but no nice ...
ericf's user avatar
  • 614
11 votes
3 answers
726 views

Explicit triples of isomorphic Riemann surfaces

Inspired by a discussion with Neil Strickland I am very interested to hear of explicit examples (one per answer, please), as follows. A compact Riemann surface can be presented in many different ways....
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

fundamental domains for free fuchsian group.

I try to understand some of the topology of the space of pointed non-compact hyperbolic surfaces (with the pointed Gromov-Hausdorff topology). It is known that the fundamental group of a non-compact ...
Benoît Kloeckner's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
6k views

Geodesics on a hyperbolic paraboloid

Given any two points on a hyperbolic paraboloid ($xy = z$ or $z = (x^2 - y^2)/2$) how does one find the geodesic between them? I know that since the hyperbolic paraboloid is doubly ruled, some of the ...
Bart Snapp's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
551 views

Periodic billiard paths in hyperbolic triangles

It is a theorem of Masur that all rational triangles in the Euclidean plane posses a periodic billiard path, one obeying the reflection law that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
592 views

Torsion in cuspidal cohomology

Following Lemma 2.7 from Vogtmann's Rational Homology of Bianchi Groups, I want to define cuspidal cohomology as $$H_{\mathrm{cusp}}(M)=\frac{H_1(M)}{i_*(H_1(\partial M))}$$ where $i:\partial M\to M$ ...
Matthias's user avatar
  • 656
10 votes
2 answers
767 views

Can you cover a genus a billion hyperbolic surface with 15 balls?

Here's a question I was wondering about this week. Not sure how interesting it is, but I thought it was kind of curious. Question: Given $k$, is there a number $N=N(k)$ such that if a closed ...
biringer's user avatar
  • 512
9 votes
4 answers
4k views

Canonical fundamental domain for a discrete subgroup Γ of SL₂(R) acting on hyperbolic plane

Let a discrete subgroup $\Gamma$ of $SL_2(\mathbb R)$ act on the hyperbolic plane by Möbius transformations. Is there a "best" or "most canonical" fundamental domain for this action? Some (mostly ...
Akela's user avatar
  • 3,579
9 votes
1 answer
1k views

Fundamental group of an hyperbolic $4$-manifold

Good afternoon everyone, I have a very general question about hyperbolic manifolds and their fundamental groups in high dimension (at least $4$). If the theory of surfaces and $3$-manifolds provide ...
Selim G's user avatar
  • 2,626
9 votes
4 answers
4k views

It is well-known that hyperbolic space is delta-hyperbolic, but what is delta?

Recall that a space is $\delta$-hyperbolic if there is some number $\delta$ with the property that every point on an edge of a geodesic triangle lies within $\delta$ of another edge. For example a ...
Paul Siegel's user avatar
  • 28.8k
9 votes
1 answer
302 views

Counterexamples to analogue of Cannon conjecture in higher dimensions

It is known that a group $G$ acts geometrically on $\mathbb{H}^2$ if and only if $G$ is word-hyperbolic and its boundary $\partial G$ is homeomorphic to $S^1$. The analogous statement for $\mathbb{H}^...
user68316's user avatar
  • 245
8 votes
1 answer
523 views

Mostow Rigidity Theorem and reconstruction from fundamental group

The Mostow Rigidity Theorem is phrased in terms of a relationship between isometries and isomorphisms of fundamental groups, which raises an obvious question. Given the fundamental group of a complete ...
Cameron Zwarich's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Tweetable way to see that Willmore energy is Möbius invariant?

Consider a compact orientable Riemannian manifold $M$ (without boundary) isometrically immersed into $\mathbb{R}^3$. The Willmore energy of $M$ is the functional $$\mathcal{W} = \int_M H^2 dA$$ ...
TerronaBell's user avatar
  • 3,039
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Poincaré disk model: is this locus a known curve?

Please, consider a line segment $AB$ in the Poincaré disk model. Now, consider the set $S$ of all point $P$ in the disk such that the angle $\angle APB$ is constant. Question: is $S$ a known curve? ...
Humberto José Bortolossi's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
829 views

Hilbert 16th problem via hyperbolic geometry

More than 16 years ago, I heard from someone that he thinks that there is a possible relation between Hilbert's 16th problem(for $n=2$) and Hyperbolic geometry. He says that a ...
Ali Taghavi's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
209 views

Distances between boundaries in a hyperbolic pants

Consider a hyperbolic pair of pants with totally-geodesic boundaries of lengths $l_i$ for $i \in \{1,2,3\}$. For any two distinct boundary components, is the length of the shortest geodesic connecting ...
Jamie Vicary's user avatar
  • 2,433
7 votes
3 answers
323 views

Hyperbolic space embeds into Wasserstein space

Fix a positive integer $n$, let $\mathbb{H}^n$ be the $n$-dimensional hyperbolic space, $r>0$, $x\in \mathbb{H}^n$ and consider the closed (compact) geodesic ball $B_{\mathbb{H}^n}(x,r)$. Are ...
Carlos_Petterson's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

injectivity radius of hyperbolic surface

Given a positive real number $l$. Does there exist a closed hyperbolic surface $X$ so that injectivity radius not less than $l$?
Bidyut Sanki's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
605 views

For an arithmetic hyperbolic 3-manifold group, when is its trace field not its invariant trace field?

Edit: In my original post I failed to require the group to be a manifold group. The answer below from @BenLinowitz works in that case. I am really interested though in when the group is torsion-free, ...
j0equ1nn's user avatar
  • 2,438
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Uniformizations of the bordered/punctured Riemann surfaces

The uniformization theorems of Riemann surfaces state that any Riemann surface can be constructed by an action of some group on some space. It is quite hard to find materials relating different ...
QGravity's user avatar
  • 969