ENDS OF CUSP-UNIFORM GROUPS OF LOCALLY CONNECTED CONTINUA — I

Abstract

Due to works by Bestvina–Mess, Swarup and Bowditch, we now have complete knowledge of how splittings of a word-hyperbolic group G as a graph of groups with finite or two-ended edge groups relate to the cut point structure of its boundary. It is central in the theory that ∂G is a locally connected continuum (a Peano space). Motivated by the structure of tight circle packings, we propose to generalize this theory to cusp-uniform groups in the sense of Tukia. A Peano space X is cut-rigid, if X has no cut point, no points of infinite valence and no cut pairs consisting of bivalent points. We prove: Theorem. Suppose X is a cut-rigid space admitting a cusp-uniform action by an infinite group. If X contains a minimal cut triple of bivalent points, then there exists a simplicial tree T, canonically associated with X, and a canonical simplicial action of Homeo(X) on T such that any infinite cusp-uniform group G of X acts cofinitely on T, with finite edge stabilizers. In particular, if X is such that T is locally finite, then any cusp-uniform group G of X is virtually free.