Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
The subsemigroups of the projective group on the line that are described in this paper are those that can be generated by a pair of infinitesimal transformations. One denotes by G the connected component of the identity of this group; Theorem 1 gives a necessary and sufficient condition for a pair of infinitesimal transformations to generate a subsemigroup which is equal to G (and hence is actually a group). This condition is reformulated in a geometric manner in Theorem 1*.
Theorems 1 and 1* and one case of Theorem 2 are part of the author's doctoral dissertation, written under the guidance of the late Professor Charles Loewner. Additional research was supported by a grant from the University of Oregon.
1. In (2), the solution can be put into the form y = (ax + b)/(cx + d), where a, b, c, and d are all real and ad - be 0.
2. Assume, for definiteness, that the sink interval is just (zi, W\) which can be achieved by inner automorphism if necessary.
3. Observe that this is clearly a product of length 3. As the order of applying transformations always begins at the right, parentheses will be omitted subsequently.
4. The parameters t, s will be used from now on.
5. In fact, ϒ = V(T2), ϒ ≧ l , but this is not needed. It shows that ϒ (τ)is monotonically increasing, a fact which subsequently is not used.
6. If ॉ is elliptic, and ॉ and n have a common root, then they generate the same subgroup.