Ratio-limit boundaries for random walks on relatively hyperbolic groups

Abstract

We study boundaries arising from limits of ratios of transition probabilities for random walks on relatively hyperbolic groups. We extend, as well as determine significant limitations of, a strategy employed by Woess for computing ratio-limit boundaries for the class of hyperbolic groups. On the one hand we employ results of the second and third authors to adapt this strategy to spectrally non-degenerate random walks, and show that the closure of minimal points in $R$-Martin boundary is the unique smallest invariant subspace in ratio-limit boundary. On the other hand we show that the general strategy can fail when the random walk is spectrally degenerate and adapted on a free product. Using our results, we are able to extend a theorem of the first author beyond the hyperbolic case and establish the existence of a co-universal quotient for Toeplitz C*-algebras arising from random walks which are spectrally non-degenerate on relatively hyperbolic groups. Finally, we exhibit an example of a relatively hyperbolic group carrying two random walks such that the ratio limit boundaries are not equivariantly homeomorphic and no two equivariant quotients of their respective Toeplitz C*-algebras are equivariantly $\ast$-isomorphic.

Improved introduction, added new Section 7 where we show that ratio-limit boundary on a fixed group depends on the random walk, added an application of co-universality of Toeplitz C*-algebras at the end of Section 8. 39 pages, 6 figures