Related papers: CAT(0) spaces of higher rank
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…
This belongs to a series of papers motivated by Ballmann's Higher Rank Rigidity Conjecture. We prove the following. Let $X$ be a CAT(0) space with a geometric group action. Suppose that every geodesic in $X$ lies in an $n$-flat, $n\geq 2$.…
If a group $\Gamma$ acts geometrically on a CAT(0) space $X$ without 3-flats, then either $X$ contains a $\Gamma$-periodic geodesic which does not bound a flat half-plane, or else $X$ is a rank 2 Riemannian symmetric space, a 2-dimensional…
We prove the following rank rigidity result for proper CAT(0) spaces with one-dimensional Tits boundaries: Let $\Gamma$ be a group acting properly discontinuously, cocompactly, and by isometries on such a space $X$. If the Tits diameter of…
We prove that any group acting essentially without a fixed point at infinity on an irreducible finite-dimensional CAT(0) cube complex contains a rank one isometry. This implies that the Rank Rigidity Conjecture holds for CAT(0) cube…
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…
In this paper, we show some splitting theorems for CAT(0) spaces on which a product group acts geometrically and we obtain a splitting theorem for compact geodesic spaces of non-positive curvature. A CAT(0) group $\Gamma$ is said to be {\it…
We investigate CAT(0) metric spaces whose associated Tits boundary is compact. Prominent examples of such spaces are of course the euclidean ones. However there exist non trivial geodesically complete CAT(0) spaces with compact Tits…
For a k-flat F inside a locally compact CAT(0)-space X, we identify various conditions that ensure that F bounds a (k+1)-dimensional half flat in X. Our conditions are formulated in terms of the ultralimit of X. As applications, we obtain…
We study asymptotic topological regularity of CAT(0) spaces. We prove that if a purely n-dimensional, proper, geodesically complete CAT(0) space has small volume growth, then it is homeomorphic to the n-dimensional Euclidean space. We also…
Let $X$ be a proper, geodesically complete CAT(0) space which satisfies Chen and Eberlein's duality condition. We show the existence of a strong notion of rank for $X$ by proving that the parallel sets $P_v$ of geodesics $v$ in $X$ are…
Any nonpositively curved symmetric space admits a topological compactification, namely the Hadamard compactification. For rank one spaces, this topological compactification can be endowed with a differentiable structure such that the action…
We consider rigidity properties of compact symmetric spaces $X$ with metric $g_0$ of rank one. Suppose $g$ is another Riemannian metric on $X$ with sectional curvature $\kappa$ bounded by $0 \leq \kappa \leq 1$. If $g$ equals $g_0$ outside…
We prove that finitely generated amenable groups acting on CAT(0) spaces satisfy the following alternative: either every action on a geodesically complete CAT(0) space with bounded geometry (or finite dimension) has a global fixed point, or…
Let X be a locally compact geodesically complete CAT(0) space and G be a discrete group acting properly and cocompactly on X. We show that G contains an element acting as a hyperbolic isometry on each indecomposable de Rham factor of X. It…
It is well-known that $\mathrm{SL}_{n}(\mathbf{Q}_{p})$ acts without fixed points on an $(n-1)$-dimensional $\mathrm{CAT}(0)$ space (the affine building). We prove that $n-1$ is the smallest dimension of $\mathrm{CAT}(0)$ spaces on which…
We say that a Riemannian manifold M has rank at least k if every geodesic in M admits at least k parallel Jacobi fields. The Rank Rigidity Theorem of Ballmann and Burns-Spatzier, later generalized by Eberlein-Heber, states that a complete,…
Finite rank median spaces are a simultaneous generalisation of finite dimensional ${\rm CAT}(0)$ cube complexes and real trees. If $\Gamma$ is an irreducible lattice in a product of rank one simple Lie groups, we show that every action of…
Median spaces are spaces in which for every three points the three intervals between them intersect at a single point. It is well known that rank-1 affine buildings are median spaces, but by a result of Haettel, higher rank buildings are…
A Riemannian manifold $M$ has higher hyperbolic rank if every geodesic has a perpendicular Jacobi field making sectional curvature -1 with the geodesic. If in addition, the sectional curvatures of $M$ lie in the interval $[-1,-\frac14]$,…