The full renormalization horseshoe for unimodal maps of higher degree: exponential contraction along hybrid classes

Abstract

We prove exponential contraction of renormalization along hybrid classes of infinitely renormalizable unimodal maps (with arbitrary combinatorics), in any even degree $d$. We then conclude that orbits of renormalization are asymptotic to the full renormalization horseshoe, which we construct. Our argument for exponential contraction is based on a precompactness property of the renormalization operator ("beau bounds"), which is leveraged in the abstract analysis of holomorphic iteration. Besides greater generality, it yields a unified approach to all combinatorics and degrees: there is no need to account for the varied geometric details of the dynamics, which were the typical source of contraction in previous restricted proofs.