Algebraic characterization of isometries of the complex and the quaternionic hyperbolic planes

Let H²_{\mathbb F}{{\bf H}^{\bf 2}_{\mathbb F}} denote the two dimensional hyperbolic space over \mathbb F{\mathbb F} , where \mathbb F{\mathbb F} is either the complex numbers \mathbb C{\mathbb C} or the quaternions \mathbb H{\mathbb H} . It is of interest to characterize algebraically the dynamical types of isometries of H²_{\mathbb F}{{\bf H}^{\bf 2}_{\mathbb F}} . For \mathbb F=\mathbb C{\mathbb F=\mathbb C} , such a characterization is known from the work of Giraud–Goldman. In this paper, we offer an algebraic characterization of isometries of H²_{\mathbb H}{{\bf H}^{\bf 2}_{\mathbb H}} . Our result restricts to the case \mathbb F=\mathbb C{\mathbb F=\mathbb C} and provides another characterization of the isometries of H²_{\mathbb C}{{\bf H}^{\bf 2}_{\mathbb C}} , which is different from the characterization due to Giraud–Goldman. Two elements in a group G are said to be in the same z-class if their centralizers are conjugate in G. The z-classes provide a finite partition of the isometry group. In this paper, we describe the centralizers of isometries of H²_{\mathbb F}{{\bf H}^{\bf 2}_{\mathbb F}} and determine the z-classes.