Isomorphism rigidity of irreducible algebraic ℤd-actions

An irreducible algebraic ℤ ^d -actionα on a compact abelian group X is a ℤ ^d -action by automorphisms of X such that every closed, α-invariant subgroup Y⊊X is finite. We prove the following result: if d≥2, then every measurable conjugacy between irreducible and mixing algebraic ℤ ^d -actions on compact zero-dimensional abelian groups is affine. For irreducible, expansive and mixing algebraic ℤ ^d -actions on compact connected abelian groups the analogous statement follows essentially from a result by Katok and Spatzier on invariant measures of such actions (cf. [4] and [3]). By combining these two theorems one obtains isomorphism rigidity of all irreducible, expansive and mixing algebraic ℤ ^d -actions with d≥2. Oblatum 30-IX-1999 & 4-V-2000?Published online: 16 August 2000     

Entropy bounds for endomorphisms commuting withK actions

Shereshevsky has shown that a shift-commuting homeomorphism from the two-dimensional full shift to itself cannot be expansive, and asked if such a homeomorphism can have finite positive entropy. We formulate an algebraic analogue of this problem, and answer it in a special case by proving the following: ifT : X → X is a mixing endomorphism of a compact metrizable abelian groupX, andT commutes with a completely positive entropyZ ²-actionS onX by continuous automorphisms, thenT has infinite entropy. Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Elizabeth Mary Hartley (1923–1998) The authors gratefully acknowledge support from EPSRC award no. 9570016X, N.S.F. grant No. DMS-94-01093, and the hospitality of the Warwick Mathematics Research Institute.     

The bernoulli property for expansive ℤ2 actions on compact groups

We show that an expansive ℤ² action on a compact abelian group is measurably isomorphic to a two-dimensional Bernoulli shift if and only if it has completely positive entropy. The proof uses the algebraic structure of such actions described by Kitchens and Schmidt and an algebraic characterisation of theK property due to Lind, Schmidt and the author. As a corollary, we note that an expansive ℤ² action on a compact abelian group is measurably isomorphic to a Bernoulli shift relative to the Pinsker algebra. A further corollary applies an argument of Lind to show that an expansiveK action of ℤ² on a compact abelian group is exponentially recurrent. Finally an example is given of measurable isomorphism without topological conjugacy for ℤ² actions. Supported in part by N.S.F. grant No. DMS-88-02593 at the University of Maryland and by N.S.F. grant No. DMS-91-03056 at Ohio State University.     

Algebraic Coding of Expansive Group Automorphisms and Two-sided Beta-Shifts

 Let α be an expansive automorphisms of compact connected abelian group X whose dual group is cyclic w.r.t. α (i.e. is generated by for some ). Then there exists a canonical group homomorphism ξ from the space of all bounded two-sided sequences of integers onto X such that , where σ is the shift on . We prove that there exists a sofic subshift such that the restriction of ξ to V is surjective and almost one-to-one. In the special case where α is a hyperbolic toral automorphism with a single eigenvalue and all other eigenvalues of absolute value we show that, under certain technical and possibly unnecessary conditions, the restriction of ξ to the two-sided beta-shift is surjective and almost one-to-one. The proofs are based on the study of homoclinic points and an associated algebraic construction of symbolic representations in [13] and [7]. Earlier results in this direction were obtained by Vershik ([24]–[26]), Kenyon and Vershik ([10]), and Sidorov and Vershik ([20]–[21]). (Received 27 October 1998; in revised form 17 May 1999)     

Algebraic Coding of Expansive Group Automorphisms and Two-sided Beta-Shifts

 Let α be an expansive automorphisms of compact connected abelian group X whose dual group is cyclic w.r.t. α (i.e. is generated by for some ). Then there exists a canonical group homomorphism ξ from the space of all bounded two-sided sequences of integers onto X such that , where σ is the shift on . We prove that there exists a sofic subshift such that the restriction of ξ to V is surjective and almost one-to-one. In the special case where α is a hyperbolic toral automorphism with a single eigenvalue and all other eigenvalues of absolute value we show that, under certain technical and possibly unnecessary conditions, the restriction of ξ to the two-sided beta-shift is surjective and almost one-to-one. The proofs are based on the study of homoclinic points and an associated algebraic construction of symbolic representations in [13] and [7]. Earlier results in this direction were obtained by Vershik ([24]–[26]), Kenyon and Vershik ([10]), and Sidorov and Vershik ([20]–[21]).     

Higher order mixing and rigidity of algebraic actions on compact Abelian groups

Let Γ be a discrete group and fori=1,2; letα _i be an action of Γ on a compact abelian groupX _i by continuous automorphisms ofX _i. We study measurable equivariant mapsf: (X ₁,α ₁)→(X ₂,α ₂), and prove a rigidity result under certain assumption on the order of mixing of the underlying actions.     

Almost block independence and bernoullicity of ℤ d -actions by automorphisms of compact abelian groups

Summary We prove that a ^d -action by automorphisms of a compact, abelian group is Bernoulli if and only if it has completely positive entropy. The key ingredients of the proof are the extension of certain notions of asymptotic block independence from -actions to ^d -action and their equivalence with Bernoullicity, and a surprisingly close link between one of these asymptotic block independence properties for ^d -actions by automorphisms of compact, abelian groups and the product formula for valuations on global fields.Oblatum 20-X-1994     

Common homoclinic points of commuting toral automorphisms

The points homoclinic to 0 under a hyperbolic toral automorphism form the intersection of the stable and unstable manifolds of 0. This is a subgroup isomorphic to the fundamental group of the torus. Suppose that two hyperbolic toral automorphisms commute so that they determine a ℤ²-action, which we assume is irreducible. We show, by an algebraic investigation of their eigenspaces, that they either have exactly the same homoclinic points or have no homoclinic point in common except 0 itself. We prove the corresponding result for a compact connected abelian group, and compare the two proofs. The second author would like to thank the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society for partial support while this work was done.     

Invariant Cocycles Have Abelian Ranges

 Let R be a discrete nonsingular equivalence relation on a standard probability space , and let V be an ergodic strongly asymptotically central automorphism of R. We prove that every V-invariant cocycle with values in a Polish group G takes values in an abelian subgroup of G. The hypotheses of this result are satisfied, for example, if A is a finite set, a closed, shift-invariant subset, V is the shift, μ a shift-invariant and ergodic probability measure on X, the two-sided tail-equivalence relation on X, a shift-invariant subrelation which is μ-nonsingular, and a shift-invariant cocycle. (Received 15 September 2001)     

Symbolic representations of nonexpansive group automorphisms

Ifα is an irreducible nonexpansive ergodic automorphism of a compact abelian groupX (such as an irreducible nonhyperbolic ergodic toral automorphism), thenα has no finite or infinite state Markov partitions, and there are no nontrivial continuous embeddings of Markov shifts inX. In spite of this we are able to construct a symbolic spaceV and a class of shift-invariant probability measures onV each of which corresponds to anα-invariant probability measure onX. Moreover, everyα-invariant probability measure onX arises essentially in this way. The last part of the paper deals with the connection between the two-sided beta-shiftV _β arising from a Salem numberβ and the nonhyperbolic ergodic toral automorphismα arising from the companion matrix of the minimal polynomial ofβ, and establishes an entropy-preserving correspondence between a class of shift-invariant probability measures onV _β and certainα-invariant probability measures onX. This correspondence is much weaker than, but still quite closely modelled on, the connection between the two-sided beta-shifts defined by Pisot numbers and the corresponding hyperbolic ergodic toral automorphisms.     

Isomorphism and Measure Rigidity for Algebraic Actions on Zero-Dimensional Groups

We consider mixing ^d-actions on compact zero-dimensional abelian groups by automorphisms. Rigidity of invariant measures does not hold for such actions in general; we present conditions which force an invariant measure to be Haar measure on an affine subset. This is applied to isomorphism rigidity for such actions. We develop a theory of halfspace entropies which plays a similar role in the proof to that played by invariant foliations in the proof of rigidity for smooth actions.     

Expansive Algebraic Actions of Countable Abelian Groups

This paper gives an algebraic characterization of expansive actions of countable abelian groups on compact abelian groups. This naturally extends the classification of expansive algebraic -actions given by Schmidt using complex varieties. Also included is an application to a natural class of examples arising from unit subgroups of integral domains. The author is very grateful for the helpful advice and comments of Tom Ward.     

On the topological types of symmetries of elliptic-hyperelliptic Riemann surfaces

LetX be a Riemann surface of genusg. The surfaceX is called elliptic-hyperelliptic if it admits a conformal involutionh such that the orbit spaceX/〈h〉 has genus one. The involutionh is then called an elliptic-hyperelliptic involution. Ifg>5 then the involutionh is unique, see [A]. We call symmetry to any anticonformal involution ofX. LetAut ^±(X) be the group of conformal and anticonformal automorphisms ofX and letσ, τ be two symmetries ofX with fixed points and such that {σ, hσ} and {τ, hτ} are not conjugate inAut ^±(X). We describe all the possible topological conjugacy classes of {σ, σh, τ, τh}. As consequence of our study we obtain that, in the moduli space of complex algebraic curves of genusg (g even >5), the subspace whose elements are the elliptic-hyperelliptic real algebraic curves is not connected. This fact contrasts with the result in [Se]: the subspace whose elements are the hyperelliptic real algebraic curves is connected. The authors are supported by BFM2002-04801.     

On algebraic K-theory of real algebraic varieties with circle action

Assume that X is a compact connected orientable nonsingular real algebraic variety with an algebraic free S¹-action so that the quotient Y=X/S¹ is also a real algebraic variety. If π : X→Y is the quotient map then the induced map between reduced algebraic K-groups, tensored with ,

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is onto, where , denoting the ring of entire rational (regular) functions on the real algebraic variety X, extending partially the Bochnak–Kucharz result that

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for any real algebraic variety X. As an application we will show that for a compact connected Lie group G .     

Harmonic Functions on Homogeneous Spaces

 Given a locally compact group G acting on a locally compact space X and a probability measure σ on G, a real Borel function f on X is called σ-harmonic if it satisfies the convolution equation . We give conditions for the absence of nonconstant bounded harmonic functions. We show that, if G is a union of σ-admissible neighbourhoods of the identity, relative to X, then every bounded σ-harmonic function on X is constant. Consequently, for spread out σ, the bounded σ-harmonic functions are constant on each connected component of a [SIN]-group and, if G acts strictly transitively on a splittable metric space X, then the bounded σ-harmonic functions on X are constant which extends Furstenberg’s result for connected semisimple Lie groups. (Received 13 June 1998; in revised form 31 March 1999)     

Affine \mathbb{T} -varieties of complexity one and locally nilpotent derivations

Let X = Spec A be a normal affine variety over an algebraically closed field k of characteristic 0 endowed with an effective action of a torus \mathbbT \mathbb{T} of dimension n. Let also ∂ be a homogeneous locally nilpotent derivation on the normal affine \mathbbZⁿ {\mathbb{Z}^n} -graded domain A, so that ∂ generates a k ₊-action on X that is normalized by the \mathbbT \mathbb{T} -action.     

Rigidity and moduli space in Real Algebraic Geometry

Let R be a real closed field and let X be an affine algebraic variety over R. We say that X is universally map rigid (UMR for short) if, for each irreducible affine algebraic variety Z over R, the set of nonconstant rational maps from Z to X is finite. A bijective map from an affine algebraic variety over R to X is called weak change of the algebraic structure of X if it is regular and φ⁻¹ is a Nash map, which preserves nonsingular points. We prove the following rigidity theorem: every affine algebraic variety over R is UMR up to a weak change of its algebraic structure. Let us introduce another notion. Let Y be an affine algebraic variety over R. We say that X and Y are algebraically unfriendly if all the rational maps from X to Y and from Y to X are trivial, i.e., Zariski locally constant. From the preceding theorem, we infer that, if dim (X)≥1, then there exists a set of weak changes of the algebraic structure of X such that, for each t,s ∈ R with t≠s, and are algebraically unfriendly. This result implies the following expected fact: For each (nonsingular) affine algebraic variety X over R of positive dimension, the natural Nash structure of X does not determine the algebraic structure of X. In fact, the moduli space of birationally nonisomorphic (nonsingular) affine algebraic varieties over R, which are Nash isomorphic to X, has the same cardinality of R. This result was already known under the special assumption that R is the field of real numbers and X is compact and nonsingular. The author is a member of GNSAGA of CNR, partially supported by MURST and European Research Training Network RAAG 2002–2006 (HPRN–CT–00271).     

Wild automorphisms of varieties with Kodaira dimension 0

An automorphism σ of a projective variety X is said to be wild if σ(Y) ≠ Y for every non-empty subvariety Y \subsetneq X{Y \subsetneq X} . In [1] Z. Reichstein, D. Rogalski, and J.J. Zhang conjectured that if X is an irreducible projective variety admitting a wild automorphism then X is an abelian variety, and proved this conjecture for dim(X) ≤ 2. As a step toward answering this conjecture in higher dimensions we prove a structure theorem for projective varieties of Kodaira dimension 0 admitting wild automorphisms. This essentially reduces the Kodaira dimension 0 case to a study of Calabi-Yau varieties, which we also investigate. In support of this conjecture, we show that there are no wild automorphisms of certain Calabi-Yau varieties.     

Ergodicity and mixing of non-commuting epimorphisms

We study mixing properties of epimorphisms of a compact connectedfinite-dimensional abelian group X. In particular, we show thata set F, with |F| > dim X, of epimorphisms of X is mixingif and only if every subset of F of cardinality (dim X) + 1is mixing. We also construct examples of free non-abelian groupsof automorphisms of tori which are mixing, but not mixing oforder 3, and show that, under some irreducibility assumptions,ergodic groups of automorphisms contain mixing subgroups andfree non-abelian mixing subsemigroups.     

Duality of Fourier type with respect to locally compact Abelian groups

It is shown that a Banach space X has Fourier type p with respect to a locally compact abelian group G if and only if the dual space X′ has Fourier type p with respect to G if and only if X has Fourier type p with respect to the dual group of G. This extends previously known results for the classical groups and the Cantor group to the setting of general locally compact abelian groups. Supported by DFG grant Hi 584/2-2. Partially supported by a DAAD-grant A/02/46571.