Hilberts arithmetic of ends

In mathematics, specically in the area of hyperbolic ge-

ometry, Hilberts arithmetic of ends is a method for en-
dowing a geometric set, the set of ideal points or ends
of a hyperbolic plane, with an algebraic structure as a
eld. It was introduced by German mathematician David
Hilbert.[1]

1 Denitions

1.1 Ends

In a hyperbolic plane, one can dene an ideal point or

end to be an equivalence class of limiting parallel rays.
The set of ends can then be topologized in a natural way
and forms a circle. This usage of end is not canonical;
in particular the concept it indicates is dierent from that
of a topological end (see End (topology) and End (graph
theory)).
The composition of three reections with the same end is a fourth
In the Poincar disk model or Klein model of hyperbolic reection, also with the same end.
geometry, every ray intersects the boundary circle (also
called the circle at innity or line at innity) in a unique
point, and the ends may be identied with these points. position of the three reections through the lines (x,),
However, the points of the boundary circle are not con- (0,), and (y,).
sidered to be points of the hyperbolic plane itself. Every It follows from the properties of reections that these op-
hyperbolic line has exactly two distinct ends, and every erations have the properties required of the negation and
two distinct ends are the ends of a unique line. For the addition operations in the algebra of elds: they form
purpose of Hilberts arithmetic, it is expedient to denote the inverse and addition operations of an additive abelian
a line by the ordered pair (a, b) of its ends. group.
Hilberts arithmetic xes arbitrarily three distinct ends,
and labels them as 0, 1, and ;. The set H on which
Hilbert denes a eld structure is the set of all ends other 1.3 Multiplication
than , while H' denotes the set of all ends including .
The multiplication operation in the arithmetic of ends is
dened (for nonzero elements x and y of H) by consid-
1.2 Addition ering the lines (1,1), (x,x), and (y,y). Because of
the way 1, x, and y are dened by reection across
Hilbert denes the addition of ends using hyperbolic the line (0,), each of the three lines (1,1), (x,x), and
reections. For every end x in H, its negation x is dened (y,y) is perpendicular to (0,).
by constructing the hyperbolic reection of line (x,) From these three lines, a fourth line can be determined,
across the line (0,), and choosing x to be the end of the axis of symmetry of the composition of the reections
the reected line. through (x,x), (1,1), and (y,y). This line is also per-
The composition of any three hyperbolic reections pendicular to (0,), and so takes the form (z,z) for some
whose axes of symmetry all share a common end is it- end z. Alternatively, the intersection of this line with the
self another reection, across another line with the same line (0,) can be found by adding the lengths of the line
end. Based on this three reections theorem, given any segments from the crossing with (1,1) to the crossings
two ends x and y in H, Hilbert denes the sum x + y to of the other two points. For exactly one of the two pos-
be the non-innite end of the symmetry axis of the com- sible choices for z, an even number of the four elements

1
2 3 REFERENCES

For any a H , there is a rigid motion /a 0 , the

composition of reection in the line (0,) and reec-
tion in the line ((1/2)a, ) , which is called rotation
around is given by

x = x + a.

The rotation around the point O, which sends 0 to

any given end a H , eects as

x+a
x =
1 ax

on ends. The rotation around O sending 0 to

Multiplication over ends gives

1, x, y, and z lie on the same side of line (0,) as each

other. The sum x + y is dened to be this choice of z. 1
x = .
Because it can be dened by adding lengths of line seg- x
ments, this operation satises the requirement of a mul-
For a more extensive treatment than this article can give,
tiplication operation over a eld, that it forms an abelian
confer.[2]
group over the nonzero elements of the eld, with identity
one. The inverse operation of the group is the reection
of an end across the line (1,1). This multiplication oper-
ation can also be shown to obey the distributive property 3 References
together with the addition operation of the eld.
[1] Hilbert, A New Development of Bolyai-Lobahevskian Ge-
ometry as Appendix III in Foundations of Geometry,
1971.
2 Rigid motions
[2] Robin Hartshorne, Geometry: Euclid and Beyond,
Let be a hyperbolic plane and H its eld of ends, as Springer-Verlag, 2000, section 41
introduced above. In the plane , we have rigid motions
and their eects on ends as follows:

The reection in (0, ) sends x H to x.

x = x.

The reection in (1, 1) gives,

1
x = .
x

Translation along (0, ) that sends 1 to any a H , a

> 0 is represented by

x = ax.
 3

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