Index reduction formulas for twisted flag varieties, I.

A general formula is proved for the change in the Schur index of a central simple algebra on passing from the ground field F to the function field F(X) of a twisted flag variety X, i.e., a projective variety such that there is an adjoint semisimple algebraic group G acting on X over F such that the action becomes transitive over the separable closure of F. The general formula encompasses special cases previously proved where X is a Brauer-Severi variety, or a generic partial splitting variety of a central simple algebra, or the transfer of such a variety, a quadric, or the involution variety of an algebra with orthogonal involution. For the classical simple groups G of inner type, all the corresponding varieties X are described, and the specific index reduction formula is given for each such X.The second author would like to express his thanks to J.-L. Colliot-Thélène for stimulating discussions on this subject.Supported in part by the NSF.     

Simplicity of Skew Group Rings of Abelian Groups

Necessary and sufficient conditions for simplicity of a general skew group ring A ?_σ G are not known. In this article, we show that a skew group ring A ?_σ G, of an abelian group G, is simple if and only if its centre is a field and A is G-simple. As an application, we show that a transformation group (X, G), where X is a compact Hausdorff space acted upon by an abelian group G, is minimal and faithful if and only if its associated skew group algebra C(X) ?_σ G is simple.     

Any Banach space has an equivalent norm with trivial isometries

For any Banach spaceX there is a norm |||·||| onX, equivalent to the original one, such that (X, |||·|||) has only trivial isometries. For any groupG there is a Banach spaceX such that the group of isometries ofX is isomorphic toG × {− 1, 1}. For any countable groupG there is a norm ‖ · ‖ _G onC([0, 1]) equivalent to the original one such that the group of isometries of (C([0, 1]), ‖ · ‖ _G ) is isomorphic toG × {−1, + 1}.     

Gorenstein Injective and Projective Complexes with Respect to a Semidualizing Module

Let R be a commutative (possibly non-Noetherian) ring (in order to make things less technical) and C a semidualizing R-module. In this article, we introduce and investigate the notion of G _C -injective (G _C -projective) complexes. This extends Enochs and García Rozas's notion of Gorenstein injective (Gorenstein projective) complexes. We then show that a complex X is G _C -injective (G _C -projective) if and only if X ^m is a G _C -injective (G _C -projective) module for each m ∈ ?.     

On automorphism groups of Cayley graphs

LetX _G,H denote the Cayley graph of a finite groupG with respect to a subsetH. It is well-known that its automorphism groupA(X_G,H) must contain the regular subgroupL _G corresponding to the set of left multiplications by elements ofG. This paper is concerned with minimizing the index [A(X_G,H)L_G] for givenG, in particular when this index is always greater than 1. IfG is abelian but not one of seven exceptional groups, then a Cayley graph ofG exists for which this index is at most 2. Nearly complete results for the generalized dicyclic groups are also obtained.     

Fredholm Properties of Band-dominated Operators on Periodic Discrete Structures

Let (X, ~) be a combinatorial graph the vertex set X of which is a discrete metric space. We suppose that a discrete group G acts freely on (X, ~) and that the fundamental domain with respect to the action of G contains only a finite set of points. A graph with these properties is called periodic with respect to the group G. We examine the Fredholm property and the essential spectrum of band-dominated operators acting on the spaces l ^p (X) or c_0(X), where (X, ~) is a periodic graph. Our approach is based on the thorough use of band-dominated operators. It generalizes the necessary and sufficient results obtained in [39] in the special case and in [42] in case X = G is a general finitely generated discrete group. Submitted: May 21, 2007. Revised: September 25, 2007. Accepted: November 5, 2007.     

On Finite Groups and the Small Square Property

Let G be a finite group written multiplicatively and k a positive integer. If X is a non-empty subset of G, write X ² = |xy | x, y X . We say that G has the small square property on k-sets if |X ²| < k ² for any k-element subset X of G. For each group G, there is a unique m = m _G such that G has the small square property on (m + 1)-sets but not on m-sets. In this paper we show that given any positive integer d, there is a finite group G with m _G = d.     

Group connectivity of complementary graphs

Let G be a 2‐edge‐connected undirected graph, A be an (additive) abelian group and A* = A?{0}. A graph G is A‐connected if G has an orientation D(G) such that for every function b: V(G)?A satisfying , there is a function f: E(G)?A* such that for each vertex v∈V(G), the total amount of f values on the edges directed out from v minus the total amount of f values on the edges directed into v equals b(v). For a 2‐edge‐connected graph G, define Λ_g(G) = min{k: for any abelian group A with |A|?k, G is A‐connected }. In this article, we prove the following Ramsey type results on group connectivity:

1. Let G be a simple graph on n?6 vertices. If min{δ(G), δ(G^c)}?2, then either Λ_g(G)?4, or Λ_g(G^c)?4.
2. Let Z₃ denote the cyclic group of order 3, and G be a simple graph on n?44 vertices. If min{δ(G), δ(G^c)}?4, then either G is Z₃‐connected, or G^c is Z₃‐connected. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory

     

On the stability of the index of unbounded nonlocal operators in Sobolev spaces

Unbounded operators corresponding to nonlocal elliptic problems on a bounded region G ⊂ ℝ² are considered. The domain of these operators consists of functions in the Sobolev space W ₂ ^m (G) that are generalized solutions of the corresponding elliptic equation of order 2m with the right-hand side in L ₂(G) and satisfy homogeneous nonlocal boundary conditions. It is known that such unbounded operators have the Fredholm property. It is proved that lower order terms in the differential equation do not affect the index of the operator. Conditions under which nonlocal perturbations on the boundary do not change the index are also formulated. Published in Russian in Trudy Matematicheskogo Instituta imeni V.A. Steklova, 2006, Vol. 255, pp. 116–135.     

The Dichotomy Theorem for evolution bi-families

We prove that the operator G, the closure of the first-order differential operator −d/dt+D(t) on L₂(R,X), is Fredholm if and only if the not well-posed equation u^′(t)=D(t)u(t), t∈R, has exponential dichotomies on R₊ and R₋ and the ranges of the dichotomy projections form a Fredholm pair; moreover, the index of this pair is equal to the Fredholm index of G. Here X is a Hilbert space, D(t)=A+B(t), A is the generator of a bi-semigroup, B(⋅) is a bounded piecewise strongly continuous operator-valued function. Also, we prove some perturbations results and consider various examples of not well-posed problems.     

The distinguishing number of the direct product and wreath product action

Let G be a group acting faithfully on a set X. The distinguishing number of the action of G on X, denoted D _G(X), is the smallest number of colors such that there exists a coloring of X where no nontrivial group element induces a color-preserving permutation of X. In this paper, we consider the distinguishing number of two important product actions, the wreath product and the direct product. Given groups G and H acting on sets X and Y respectively, we characterize the distinguishing number of the wreath product G ≀_Y H in terms of the number of distinguishing colorings of X with respect to G and the distinguishing number of the action of H on Y. We also prove a recursive formula for the distinguishing number of the action of the Cartesian product of two symmetric groups S _m × S _n on [m] × [n].     

Tetravalent half‐edge‐transitive graphs and non‐normal Cayley graphs

Let X be a vertex‐transitive graph, that is, the automorphism group Aut(X) of X is transitive on the vertex set of X. The graph X is said to be symmetric if Aut(X) is transitive on the arc set of X. suppose that Aut(X) has two orbits of the same length on the arc set of X. Then X is said to be half‐arc‐transitive or half‐edge‐transitive if Aut(X) has one or two orbits on the edge set of X, respectively. Stabilizers of symmetric and half‐arc‐transitive graphs have been investigated by many authors. For example, see Tutte [Canad J Math 11 (1959), 621–624] and Conder and Maru?i? [J Combin Theory Ser B 88 (2003), 67–76]. It is trivial to construct connected tetravalent symmetric graphs with arbitrarily large stabilizers, and by Maru?i? [Discrete Math 299 (2005), 180–193], connected tetravalent half‐arc‐transitive graphs can have arbitrarily large stabilizers. In this article, we show that connected tetravalent half‐edge‐transitive graphs can also have arbitrarily large stabilizers. A Cayley graph Cay(G, S) on a group G is said to be normal if the right regular representation R(G) of G is normal in Aut(Cay(G, S)). There are only a few known examples of connected tetravalent non‐normal Cayley graphs on non‐abelian simple groups. In this article, we give a sufficient condition for non‐normal Cayley graphs and by using the condition, infinitely many connected tetravalent non‐normal Cayley graphs are constructed. As an application, all connected tetravalent non‐normal Cayley graphs on the alternating group A₆ are determined. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

The group of self homotopy equivalences of some localized aspherical complexes

By studying the group of self homotopy equivalences of the localization (at a prime p and/or zero) of some aspherical complexes, we show that, contrary to the case when the considered space is a nilpotent, ?^m _#(X_p ) is in general different from ?^m _#(X)p. That is the case even when X = K (G, 1) is a finite complex and/or G satisfies extra finiteness or nilpotency conditions, for instance, when G is finite or virtually nilpotent. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Extension of locally pseudocompact group actions

It is shown that: (1) any action of a Moscow group G on a first countable, Dieudonné complete (in particular, on a metrizable) space X can uniquely be extended to an action of the Dieudonné completion γG on X, (2) any action of a locally pseudocompact topological group G on a b _f -space (in particular, on a first countable space) X can uniquely be extended to an action of the Weil completion on the Dieudonné completion γX of X. As a consequence, we obtain that, for each locally pseudocompact topological group G, every G-space with the b _f -property admits an equivariant embedding into a compact Hausdorff G-space. Furthermore, for each pseudocompact group G, every metrizable G-space has a G-invariant metric compatible with its topology. We also give a direct construction of such an invariant metric. Received: June 22, 2000; in final form: May 22, 2001?Published online: June 11, 2002     

Homotopy types of box complexes

In [14] Matoušek and Ziegler compared various topological lower bounds for the chromatic number. They proved that Lovász’s original bound [9] can be restated as X(G) ≥ ind(B(G)) + 2. Sarkaria’s bound [15] can be formulated as X(G) ≥ ind(B₀(G)) + 1. It is known that these lower bounds are close to each other, namely the difference between them is at most 1. In this paper we study these lower bounds, and the homotopy types of box complexes. The most interesting result is that up to ℤ₂-homotopy the box complex B(G) can be any ℤ₂-space. This together with topological constructions allows us to construct graphs showing that the mentioned two bounds are different. Some of the results were announced in [14]. Supported by the joint Berlin/Zürich graduate program Combinatorics, Geometry, and Computation, financed by ETH Zürich and the German Science Foundation (DFG).     

Soluble minimal non-(finite-by-Baer)-groups

Let \mathfrakX{\mathfrak{X}} be a class of groups. A group G is called a minimal non- \mathfrakX{\mathfrak{X}}-group if it is not an \mathfrakX{\mathfrak{X}}-group but all of whose proper subgroups are \mathfrakX{\mathfrak{X}}-groups. In [16], Xu proved that if G is a soluble minimal non-Baer-group, then G/G ^′′ is a minimal non-nilpotent-group which possesses a maximal subgroup. In the present note, we prove that if G is a soluble minimal non-(finite-by-Baer)-group, then for all integer n ≥ 2, G/γ _n (G′) is a minimal non-(finite-by-abelian)-group.     

The normality of closures of orbits in a Lie algebra

LexX be the closure of aG-orbit in the Lie algebra of a connected reductive groupG. It seems that the varietyX is always normal. After a reduction to nilpotent orbits, this is proved for some special cases. Results on determinantal schemes are used forGl _n . IfX is small enough we use a resolution and Bott's theorem on the cohomology of homogeneous vector bundles. Our results are conclusive for groups of typeA ₁,A ₂,A ₃ andB ₂.     

Invariant pseudometrics on Palais proper G-spaces

Let G be a locally compact Hausdorff group. It is proved that: 1. on each Palais proper G-space X there exists a compatible family of G-invariant pseudometrics; 2.the existence of a compatible G-invariant metric on a metrizable proper G-space X is equivalent to the paracompactness of the orbit space X/G; 3. if in addition G is either almost connected or separable, and X is locally separable, then there exists a compatible G-invariant metric on X. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Algebraic density property of homogeneous spaces

Let X be an affine algebraic variety with a transitive action of the algebraic automorphism group. Suppose that X is equipped with several fixed point free nondegenerate SL₂-actions satisfying some mild additional assumption. Then we prove that the Lie algebra generated by completely integrable algebraic vector fields on X coincides with the space of all algebraic vector fields. In particular, we show that apart from a few exceptions this fact is true for any homogeneous space of form G/R where G is a linear algebraic group and R is a closed proper reductive subgroup of G.     

Biplanes with flag-transitive automorphism groups of almost simple type,with classical socle

In this paper we prove that if a biplane D admits a flag-transitive automorphism group G of almost simple type with classical socle, then D is either the unique (11,5,2) or the unique (7,4,2) biplane, and G≤PSL ₂(11) or PSL ₂(7), respectively. Here if X is the socle of G (that is, the product of all its minimal normal subgroups), then X⊴G≤Aut G and X is a simple classical group.