On the deformation of inversive distance circle packings

Abstract: In this paper, we generalize Chow-Luo's combinatorial Ricci flow to inversive distance circle packing setting. Although the solution to the generalized flow may develop singularities in finite time, we can always extend the solution so as it exists for all time and converges exponentially fast. Thus the generalized flow can be used to deform any inversive distance circle packing to a unique packing with prescribed cone angle. We also give partial results on the range of all admissible cone angles, which generalize the classical Andreev-Thurston's theorem.