Counting arithmetic lattices and surfaces

Abstract

We give estimates on the number $A{L}_H(x)$ of arithmetic lattices $\Gamma$ of covolume at most $x$ in a simple Lie group $H$. In particular, we obtain a first concrete estimate on the number of arithmetic 3-manifolds of volume at most $x$. Our main result is for the classical case $H=PSL(2,R)$ where we compute the limit of $\log A{L}_H(x)/x\log x$ when $x\to \infty$. The proofs use several different techniques: geometric (bounding the number of generators of $\Gamma$ as a function of its covolume), number theoretic (bounding the number of maximal such $\Gamma$) and sharp estimates on the character values of the symmetric groups (to bound the subgroup growth of $\Gamma$).

20 pages, final version, to appear in Annals of Mathematics