Reflection length at infinity in hyperbolic reflection groups

Abstract

Abstract In a discrete group generated by hyperplane reflections in the 𝑛-dimensional hyperbolic space, the reflection length of an element is the minimal number of hyperplane reflections in the group that suffices to factor the element. For a Coxeter group that arises in this way and does not split into a direct product of spherical and affine reflection groups, the reflection length is unbounded. The action of the Coxeter group induces a tessellation of the hyperbolic space. After fixing a fundamental domain, there exists a bijection between the tiles and the group elements. We describe certain points in the visual boundary of the 𝑛-dimensional hyperbolic space for which every neighbourhood contains tiles of every reflection length. To prove this, we show that two disjoint hyperplanes in the 𝑛-dimensional hyperbolic space without common boundary points have a unique common perpendicular.