Related papers: Divergence of Morse geodesics

We prove that in CAT(0) spaces a quasi-geodesic is Morse if and only if it is contracting. Specifically, in our main theorem we prove that for $\gamma$ a quasi-geodesic in a CAT(0) space X, the following four statements are equivalent: (i)…

In this paper we explore relationships between divergence and thick groups, and with the same techniques we estimate lengths of shortest conjugators. We produce examples, for every positive integer n, of CAT(0) groups which are thick of…

We construct a family of finite 2-complexes whose universal covers are CAT(0) and have polynomial divergence of desired degree. This answers a question of Gersten, namely whether such CAT(0) complexes exist.

We introduce the notion of k-lower divergence for geodesic rays in CAT(0) spaces. Building on the work of Charney and Sultan we give various characterizations of k-contracting geodesic rays using k-lower divergence and k-slim triangles. We…

A CAT(0) space has rank at least $n$ if every geodesic lies in an $n$-flat. Ballmann's Higher Rank Rigidity Conjecture predicts that a CAT(0) space of rank at least $2$ with a geometric group action is rigid -- isometric to a Riemannian…

We prove that an IRS of a group with a geometrically dense action on a CAT(0) space also acts geometrically densely; assuming the space is either of finite telescopic dimension or locally compact with finite dimensional Tits boundary. This…

The Morse boundary of a proper geodesic metric space is designed to encode hypberbolic-like behavior in the space. A key property of this boundary is that a quasi-isometry between two such spaces induces a homeomorphism on their Morse…

Let $X$ be a proper geodesic metric space and let $G$ be a group of isometries of $X$ which acts geometrically. Cordes constructed the Morse boundary of $X$ which generalizes the contracting boundary for CAT(0) spaces and the visual…

We prove a logarithm law-type result for the spiraling of geodesics around certain types of compact subsets (e.g. quotients of periodic Morse flats) in quotients of rank one CAT(0) spaces.

Divergence functions of a metric space estimate the length of a path connecting two points $A$, $B$ at distance $\le n$ avoiding a large enough ball around a third point $C$. We characterize groups with non-linear divergence functions as…

We prove that Morse subsets of CAT(0) spaces are strongly contracting. This generalizes and simplifies a result of Sultan, who proved it for Morse quasi-geodesics. Our proof goes through the recurrence characterization of Morse subsets.

Sublinearly Morse boundaries of proper geodesic spaces are introduced by Qing, Rafi and Tiozzo. Expanding on this work, Qing and Rafi recently developed the quasi-redirecting boundary, denoted $\partial G$, to include all directions of…

Does every one-ended $CAT(0)$ group have semistable fundamental group at infinity? As we write, this is an open question. Let $G$ be such a group acting geometrically on the proper $CAT(0)$ space $X$. In this paper we show that in order to…

In the present paper we characterize the surjective isometries of the space of compact, convex subsets of proper, geodesically complete CAT(0)-spaces in which geodesics do not split, endowed with the Hausdorff metric. Moreover, an analogue…

We give a Morse-theoretic characterization of simple closed geodesics on Riemannian $2$-spheres. On any Riemannian $2$-sphere endowed with a generic metric, we show there exists a simple closed geodesic with Morse index $1$, $2$ and $3$. In…

The computation of the index of the Hessian of the action functional in semi-Riemannian geometry at geodesics with two variable endpoints is reduced to the case of a fixed final endpoint. Using this observation, we give an elementary proof…

We introduce a new type of boundary for proper geodesic spaces, called the Morse boundary, that is constructed with rays that identify the "hyperbolic directions" in that space. This boundary is a quasi-isometry invariant and thus produces…

We prove some finiteness results for discrete isometry groups $\Gamma$ of uniformly packed CAT$(0)$-spaces $X$ with uniformly bounded codiameter (up to group isomorphism), and for CAT$(0)$-orbispaces $M = \Gamma \backslash X$ (up to…

Under certain assumptions on CAT(0) spaces, we show that the geodesic flow is topologically mixing. In particular, the Bowen-Margulis' measure finiteness assumption used in recent work of Ricks is removed. We also construct examples of…

This is a survey paper on Morse theory and the existence problem for closed geodesics. The free loop space plays a central role, since closed geodesics are critical points of the energy functional. As such, they can be analyzed through…