Asymptotic behaviour of trajectories of unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces

We show that ifG is a semisimple algebraic group defined overQ and Γ is an arithmetic lattice inG:=G _R with respect to theQ-structure, then there exists a compact subsetC ofG/Γ such that, for any unipotent one-parameter subgroup {u _t} ofG and anyg∈G, the time spent inC by the {u _t}-trajectory ofgΓ, during the time interval [0,T], is asymptotic toT, unless {g ⁻¹u_tg} is contained in aQ-parabolic subgroup ofG. Some quantitative versions of this are also proved. The results strengthen similar assertions forSL(n,Z),n≥2, proved earlier in [5] and also enable verification of a technical condition introduced in [7] for lattices inSL(3,R), which was used in our proof of Raghunathan’s conjecture for a class of unipotent flows, in [8].     

Cusp forms

LetG andH ⊂G be two real semisimple groups defined overQ. Assume thatH is the group of points fixed by an involution ofG. Letπ ⊂L ²(H\G) be an irreducible representation ofG and letf επ be aK-finite function. Let Γ be an arithmetic subgroup ofG. The Poincaré seriesP _f(g)=Σ_H∩ΓΓ f(γ{}itg) is an automorphic form on Γ\G. We show thatP _f is cuspidal in some cases, whenH ∩Γ\H is compact. Partially supported by NSF Grant # DMS 9103608.     

Divergent torus orbits in homogeneous spaces of ℚ-rank two

LetG be a semisimple algebraic ℚ-group, let Γ be an arithmetic subgroup ofG, and letT be an ℝ-split torus inG. We prove that if there is a divergentT _ℝ-orbit in Γ\G _ℝ, and ℚ-rankG≤2, then dimT≤ℚ-rankG. This provides a partial answer to a question of G. Tomanov and B. Weiss.     

The character table of the group GL 2(Q) when extended by a certain group of order two

LetG denote either of the groupsGL ₂(q) or SL₂(q). Then θ :G →G given by θ(A) = (A ^t)^t, whereA ^t denotes the transpose of the matrixA, is an automorphism ofG. Therefore we may form the groupG.θ> which is the split extension of the groupG by the cyclic group θ of order 2. Our aim in this paper is to find the complex irreducible character table ofG. θ.     

Possible limit laws for entrance times of an ergodic aperiodic dynamical system

LetG denote the set of decreasingG: ℝ→ℝ withGэ1 on ]−∞,0], and ƒ ₀ ^∞ G(t)dt⩽1. LetX be a compact metric space, andT: X→X a continuous map. Let μ denone aT-invariant ergodic probability measure onX, and assume (X, T, μ) to be aperiodic. LetU⊂X be such that μ(U)>0. Let τ _U (x)=inf{k⩾1:T ^k xεU}, and defineG _U (t)=1/u(U)u({xεU:u(U)τU(x)>t),tεℝ We prove that for μ-a.e.x∈X, there exists a sequence (U _n ) _n≥1 of neighbourhoods ofx such that {x}=∩ _n U _n , and for anyG ∈G, there exists a subsequence (n _k ) _k≥1 withG _{U n k} ↑U weakly. We also construct a uniquely ergodic Toeplitz flowO(x ^∞,S, μ), the orbit closure of a Toeplitz sequencex ^∞, such that the above conclusion still holds, with moreover the requirement that eachU _n be a cylinder set. In memory of Anzelm Iwanik     

Deformations of complex structures on Γ/SL 2(C)

LetG be a connected complex semisimple Lie group. Let Γ be a cocompact lattice inG. In this paper, we show that whenG isSL ₂(C), nontrivial deformations of the canonical complex structure onX exist if and only if the first Betti number of the lattice Γ is non-zero. It may be remarked that for a wide class of arithmetic groups Γ, one can find a subgroup Γ′ of finite index in Γ, such that Γ′/[Γ′,Γ′] is finite (it is a conjecture of Thurston that this is true for all cocompact lattices inSL(2, C)). We also show thatG acts trivially on the coherent cohomology groupsH ⁱ(Γ/G, O) for anyi≥0.     

Spectra of ergodic group actions

LetG be a locally compact second countable abelian group, (X, μ) aσ-finite Lebesgue space, and (g, x) →gx a non-singular, properly ergodic action ofG on (X, μ). Let furthermore Γ be the character group ofG and let Sp(G, X) ⊂ Γ denote theL ^∞-spectrum ofG on (X, μ). It has been shown in [5] that Sp(G, X) is a Borel subgroup of Γ and thatσ (Sp(G, X))<1 for every probability measureσ on Γ with lim sup_g→∞Re (g)<1, where is the Fourier transform ofσ. In this note we prove the following converse: ifσ is a probability measure on Γ with lim sup_g→∞Re (g)<1 (g)=1 then there exists a non-singular, properly ergodic action ofG on (X, μ) withσ(Sp(G, X))=1.     

Group measure space decomposition of II1 factors and W*-superrigidity

We prove a “unique crossed product decomposition” result for group measure space II₁ factors L ^∞(X)⋊Γ arising from arbitrary free ergodic probability measure preserving (p.m.p.) actions of groups Γ in a fairly large family G\mathcal{G}, which contains all free products of a Kazhdan group and a non-trivial group, as well as certain amalgamated free products over an amenable subgroup. We deduce that if T _n denotes the group of upper triangular matrices in PSL (n,ℤ), then any free, mixing p.m.p. action of G = \operatornamePSL(n,\mathbbZ)*_Tn\operatornamePSL(n,\mathbbZ)\Gamma=\operatorname{PSL}(n,\mathbb{Z})*_{T_{n}}\operatorname{PSL}(n,\mathbb{Z}) is W^∗-superrigid, i.e. any isomorphism between L ^∞(X)⋊Γ and an arbitrary group measure space factor L ^∞(Y)⋊Λ, comes from a conjugacy of the actions. We also prove that for many groups Γ in the family G\mathcal{G}, the Bernoulli actions of Γ are W^∗-superrigid.     

Mutual isomorphisms of translations of a homogeneous flow

Ergodic one-parameter flows (G/Γ,g _ℝ) induced by the left action of a subgroupg _ℝ ⊂G on homogeneous spaces of finite volume are considered. Letℳ ⊂ ℝ⁺ be the set of allt>0 such that the cascade (G/Γ,g _t ℤ) is metrically isomorphic to the cascade (G/Γ,g _ℤ). We prove that eitherℳ is at most countable or the subgroupg _ℝ is horocyclic andℳ=ℝ⁺. We prove that a metric isomorphism of ergodic quasi-unipotent cascades (or flows) is affine on almost all fibers of a certain natural bundle. The result generalizes Witte's theorem on the affinity of such isomorphisms of cascades with the mixing property; this is applied to the study of the structure of the setℳ ⊂ ℝ⁺. The proof is based on the fundamental Ratner theorem stating that the ergodic measures of unipotent cascades are algebraic. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 98–110, July, 1995. This research was partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research under grant No. 94-01-00082a and by the International Science Foundation.     

Ergodic averages on circles

LetT ₁ andT ₂ be commuting invertible ergodic measure preserving flows on a probability space (X, A, μ). For t = (u,ν) ∈ ℝ², letT ^t =T ₁ ^u T ₂ ^v . LetS ¹ denote the unit circle in ℝ² and σ the rotation invariant unit measure on it. Then, forf∈Lp(X) withp>2, the averagesA _t f(x) = ∫ _s ¹ f(T ^ts x)σ(ds) conver the integral off for a. e.x, ast tends to 0 or infinity. This extends a result of R. Jones [J], who treated the case of three or more dimensions.     

Affinely equivalent complete flat manifolds

Let E _Aff(Γ,G, m) be the set of affine equivalence classes of m-dimensional complete flat manifolds with a fixed fundamental group Γ and a fixed holonomy group G. Let n be the dimension of a closed flat manifold whose fundamental group is isomorphic to Γ. We describe E _Aff(Γ,G, m) in terms of equivalence classes of pairs (ε, ρ), consisting of epimorphisms of Γ onto G and representations of G in ℝ ^m-n . As an application we give some estimates of card E _Aff(Γ,G, m).     

Commutators in model spaces

Let θ be an inner function, let K _θ = H ² ⊖ θH ², and let S_θ : K_θ → S_θ be defined by the formula S_θf = P_θzf, where f ∈ K_θ is the orthogonal projection of H² onto K_θ. Consider the set A of all trace class operators L : K_θ → K_θ, L = ∑(·,u_n)v_n, ∑∥u_n∥∥v_n∥ < ∞ (u_n, v_n ∈ K_θ), such that ∑ū_n v_n ∈ H ₀ ¹ . It is shown that trace class commutators of the form XS_θ − S_θX (where X is a bounded linear operator on K_θ) are dense in A in the trace class norm. Bibliography: 2 titles. __________ Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 333, 2006, pp. 54–61.     

Graphs of actions on R-trees

LetG be a finitely generated group acting on anR-treeT. First assume that the action is free, and minimal (there is no proper invariant subtree), or more generally that it satisfies a certain finiteness condition. Then it may be described as agraph of transitive actions: the action may be recovered from a finite graph, together with additional data; in particular, every vertexv carries an action (G _v, T_v) whose orbits are dense. For the action (G, T), it follows for instance that the closure of any orbit is a discrete union of closed subtrees: it cannot meet a segment in a Cantor set. Now let ℓ be the length function for an arbitrary action ofG. For ɛ>0 small enough, the subgroupG(ɛ)⊂G generated by elementsg withg is independent of ɛ, andG/G(ɛ) is free. Several interpretations are given for the rank ofG/G(ɛ).     

Reality properties of conjugacy classes in<Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript>

LetG be an algebraic group over a fieldk. We callg εG(k) real ifg is conjugate tog ⁻¹ inG(k). In this paper we study reality for groups of typeG ₂ over fields of characteristic different from 2. LetG be such a group overk. We discuss reality for both semisimple and unipotent elements. We show that a semisimple element inG(k) is real if and only if it is a product of two involutions inG(k). Every unipotent element inG(k) is a product of two involutions inG(k). We discuss reality forG ₂ over special fields and construct examples to show that reality fails for semisimple elements inG ₂ over ℚ and ℚ_p. We show that semisimple elements are real forG ₂ overk withcd(k) ≤ 1. We conclude with examples of nonreal elements inG ₂ overk finite, with characteristick not 2 or 3, which are not semisimple or unipotent.     

Calcul Fonctionnel Holomorphe Global Unicité et Invariance Par Les Homomorphismes D’algebres de Banach

LetA be a commutative Banach algebra with unit. Denote byX _A, the global spectrum ofA. There is a holomorphic functional calculusθ _A:O(X _A)→A such thatθ _A(a)=a. In this paper, we show the uniqueness of the global holomorphic functional calculus and we establish its compatibility with Banach algebra morphisms. We also extend this holomorphic functional calculus to the case ofImc algebras.      

Distribution of lattice orbits on homogeneous varieties

Given a lattice Γ in a locally compact group G and a closed subgroup H of G, one has a natural action of Γ on the homogeneous space V = H\ G. For an increasing family of finite subsets {Γ _T : T > 0}, a dense orbit υ· Γ, υ∈V and compactly supported function φ on V, we consider the sums . Understanding the asymptotic behavior of S _φ,υ (T) is a delicate problem which has only been considered for certain very special choices of H,G and {Γ _T }. We develop a general abstract approach to the problem, and apply it to the case when G is a Lie group and either H or G is semisimple. When G is a group of matrices equipped with a norm, we have where G _T = {g ∈G: ||g|| < T} and Γ _T = G _T ∩ Γ. We also show that the asymptotics of S _{φ, υ} (T) is governed by where ν is an explicit limiting density depending on the choice of υ and || · ||. Submitted: March 2005 Revision: April 2006 Accepted: June 2006     

Mixing properties of Markov operators and ergodic transformations,and ergodicity of cartesian products

LetT be a Markov operator onL ₁(X, Σ,m) withT*=P. We connect properties ofP with properties of all productsP ×Q, forQ in a certain class: (a) (Weak mixing theorem)P is ergodic and has no unimodular eigenvalues ≠ 1 ⇔ for everyQ ergodic with finite invariant measureP ×Q is ergodic ⇔ for everyu ∈L ₁ with∝ udm=0 and everyf ∈L _∞ we haveN ⁻¹Σ _n ^≠1/N |<u, P ⁿf>|→0. (b) For everyu ∈L ₁ with∝ udm=0 we have ‖T ⁿu‖₁ → 0 ⇔ for every ergodicQ, P ×Q is ergodic. (c)P has a finite invariant measure equivalent tom ⇔ for every conservativeQ, P ×Q is conservative. The recent notion of mild mixing is also treated. Dedicated to the memory of Shlomo Horowitz An erratum to this article is available at .     

On the zeros of a class of generalised Dirichlet series-XIV

We prove a general theorem on the zeros of a class of generalised Dirichlet series. We quote the following results as samples. Theorem A.Let 0<θ<1/2and let {a _n }be a sequence of complex numbers satisfying the inequality for N = 1,2,3,…,also for n = 1,2,3,…let α _n be real and |α_n| ≤ C(θ)where C(θ) > 0is a certain (small)constant depending only on θ. Then the number of zeros of the function in the rectangle (1/2-δ⩽σ⩽1/2+δ,T⩽t⩽2T) (where 0<δ<1/2)is ≥C(θ,δ)T logT where C(θ,δ)is a positive constant independent of T provided T ≥T ₀(θ,δ)a large positive constant. Theorem B.In the above theorem we can relax the condition on a _n to and |a_N| ≤ (1/2-θ)^-1.Then the lower bound for the number of zeros in (σ⩾1/3−δ,T⩽t⩽2T)is > C(θ,δ) Tlog T(log logT)^-1.The upper bound for the number of zeros in σ⩾1/3+δ,T⩽t⩽2T) isO(T)provided for every ε > 0. Dedicated to the memory of Professor K G Ramanathan     

Irreducible disconnected systems in groups

LetG be an arbitrary group with a subgroupA. The subdegrees of (A, G) are the indices [A:A ∪A ⁹] (wheregεG). Equivalent definitions of that concept are given in [IP] and [K]. IfA is not normal inG and all the subdegrees of (A, G) are finite, we attach to (A, G) the common divisor graph Γ: its vertices are the non-unit subdegrees of (A, G), and two different subdegrees are joined by an edge iff they arenot coprime. It is proved in [IP] that Γ has at most two connected components. Assume that Γ is disconnected. LetD denote the subdegree set of (A, G) and letD ₁ be the set of all the subdegrees in the component of Γ containing min(D−{1}). We proved [K, Theorem A] that ifA is stable inG (a property which holds whenA or [G:A] is finite), then the setH={g ε G| [A:A ∪A ^g ] εD ₁ ∪ {1}} is a subgroup ofG. In this case we say thatA<H<G is a disconnected system (briefly: a system). In the current paper we deal with some fundamental types of systems. A systemA<H<G is irreducible if there does not exist 1<N△G such thatAN<H andAN/N<H/N<G/N is a system. Theorem A gives restrictions on the finite nilpotent normal subgroups ofG, whenG possesses an irreducible system. In particular, ifG is finite then Fit(G) is aq-group for a certain primeq. We deal also with general systems. Corollary (4.2) gives information about the structure of a finite groupG which possesses a system. Theorem B says that for any systemA<H<G,N _G (N _G (A))=N _G (A). Theorem C and Corollary C’ generalize a result of Praeger [P, Theorem 2]. The content of this paper corresponds to a part of the author’s Ph.D. thesis carried out at Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Prof. Marcel Herzog.     

Homogeneous Riemannian manifolds of positive Ricci curvature

We prove that a homogeneous effective spaceM=G/H, whereG is a connected Lie group andH⊂G is a compact subgroup, admits aG-invariant Riemannian metric of positive Ricci curvature if and only if the spaceM is compact and its fundamental group π₁(M) is finite (in this case any normal metric onG/H is suitable). This is equivalent to the following conditions: the groupG is compact and the largest semisimple subgroupLG⊂G is transitive onG/H. Furthermore, ifG is nonsemisimple, then there exists aG-invariant fibration ofM over an effective homogeneous space of a compact semisimple Lie group with the torus as the fiber. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 58, No. 3, pp. 334–340, September, 1995.