Counting arithmetic lattices and surfaces

Abstract

We give estimates on the number $\operatorname{AL}_H(x)$ of conjugacy classes 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 $H=\operatorname{PSL}(2,\mathbb{R})$ where we show that \[ \lim_{x\to\infty}\frac{\log \operatorname{AL}_H(x)}{x\log x}=\frac{1}{2\pi}. \] 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 $\Gamma$).