Modular representations of profinite groups

Our aim is to transfer several foundational results from the modular representation theory of finite groups to the wider context of profinite groups. We are thus interested in profinite modules over the completed group algebra of a profinite group G, where k is a finite field of characteristic p.We define the concept of relative projectivity for a profinite -module. We prove a characterization of finitely generated relatively projective modules analogous to the finite case with additions of interest to the profinite theory. We introduce vertices and sources for indecomposable finitely generated -modules and show that the expected conjugacy properties hold—for sources this requires additional assumptions. Finally we prove a direct analogue of Green’s Indecomposability Theorem for finitely generated modules over a virtually pro-p group.     

Positively finitely related profinite groups

We define and study the class of positively finitely related (PFR) profinite groups. Positive finite relatedness is a probabilistic property of profinite groups which provides a first step to defining higher finiteness properties of profinite groups which generalize the positively finitely generated groups introduced by Avinoam Mann. We prove many asymptotic characterisations of PFR groups, for instance we show the following: a finitely presented profinite group is PFR if and only if it has at most exponential representation growth, uniformly over finite fields (in other words: the completed group algebra has polynomial maximal ideal growth). From these characterisations we deduce several structural results on PFR profinite groups.     

On the Residual Finiteness of Outer Automorphisms of Hyperbolic Groups

We show that every virtually torsion-free subgroup of the outer automorphism group of a conjugacy separable hyperbolic group is residually finite. As a result, we are able to prove that the group of outer automorphisms of every finitely generated Fuchsian group and of every free-by-finite group is residually finite.     

New properties of lattices in Lie groups

We study finite extension groups of lattices in Lie groups which have finitely many connected components. We show that every non-cocompact Fuchsian group (these are the non-cocompact lattices in $\text{PSL}\text{(2,}\text{R}\text{)}$) has an extension group of finite index which is not isomorphic to a lattice in a Lie group with finitely many connected components. On the other hand we prove that these are, in an appropriate sense, the only lattices in Lie groups which have extension groups of this kind. We also show that an extension group of finite index of a lattice in a Lie group with finitely many connected components has only finitely many conjugacy classes of finite subgroups. To cite this article: F. Grunewald, V. Platonov, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 338 (2004).     

Arithmetic groups with isomorphic finite quotients

Two finitely generated groups have the same set of finite quotients if and only if their profinite completions are isomorphic. Consider the map which sends (the isomorphism class of) an S-arithmetic group to (the isomorphism class of) its profinite completion. We show that for a wide class of S-arithmetic groups, this map is finite to one, while the fibers are of unbounded size.     

The probability of generating certain profinite groups by two elements

In this paper we consider the question of finite generation of profinite groups. We study the class of profinite groups which are inverse limits of wreath products of alternating groups of degree ≥5. We prove that the probability of generating such inverse limits by two elements is strictly positive and tends to 1 as the degree of the first factor tends to infinity. Our method of analysis requires a survey of the maximal subgroups of iterated wreath products of alternating groups. Although we have been unable to classify these precisely we do obtain upper bounds for the number of conjugacy classes of maximal subgroups which we believe to be of independent interest. The author is grateful for financial support received under the FCO-award scheme.     

Approximating absolute Galois groups

In this paper we identify a class of profinite groups (totally torsion free groups) that includes all separable Galois groups of fields containing an algebraically closed subfield, and demonstrate that it can be realized as an inverse limit of torsion free virtually finitely generated abelian (tfvfga) profinite groups. We show by examples that the condition is quite restrictive. In particular, semidirect products of torsion free abelian groups are rarely totally torsion free. The result is of importance for K-theoretic applications, since descent problems for tfvfga groups are relatively manageable.     

Test elements in pro-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis> groups with applications in discrete groups

Let G be a group. An element g ∈ G is called a test element of G if for every endomorphism ? : G → G, ?(g) = g implies ? is an automorphism. We prove that for a finitely generated profinite group G, g ∈ G is a test element of G if and only if it is not contained in a proper retract of G. Using this result we prove that an endomorphism of a free pro-p group of finite rank which preserves an automorphic orbit of a nontrivial element must be an automorphism. We give numerous explicit examples of test elements in free pro-p groups and Demushkin groups. By relating test elements in finitely generated residually finite-p Turner groups to test elements in their pro-p completions, we provide new examples of test elements in free discrete groups and surface groups. Moreover, we prove that the set of test elements of a free discrete group of finite rank is dense in the profinite topology.     

Uniqueness of Polish group topology

We show the limits of Mackey's theorem applied to identity sets to prove that a given group has a unique Polish group topology.Verbal sets in Abelian Polish groups and full verbal sets in the infinite symmetric group are Borel. However this is not true in general.A Polish group with a neighborhood π-base at 1 of sets from the σ-algebra of identity and verbal sets has a unique Polish group topology. It follows that compact, connected, simple Lie groups, as well as finitely generated profinite groups, have a unique Polish group topology.     

Finite index subgroups in profinite groups

We prove that every subgroup of finite index in a (topologically) finitely generated profinite group is open. This implies that the topology in such a group is uniquely determined by the group structure. The result follows from a ‘uniformity theorem’ about finite groups: given a group word w that defines a locally finite variety and a natural number d, there exists f=f_w(d) such that in every finite d-generator group G, each element of the verbal subgroup w(G) is a product of fw-values. Similar methods show that in a finite d-generator group, each element of the derived group is a product of g(d) commutators; this implies that the (abstract) derived group in any finitely generated profinite group is closed. To cite this article: N. Nikolov, D. Segal, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 337 (2003).     

On Conjugacy p-Separability of Free Products of Two Groups with Amalgamation

It is proved that a free product of two finite p-groups with amalgamated central subgroups is a conjugacy p-separable group. With the help of this result, it is proved that a free product with amalgamated subgroups of two finitely generated Abelian groups is a residually finite p-group if and only if it is conjugacy p-separable.     

Fibre products, non-positive curvature, and decision problems

We give a criterion for fibre products to be finitely presented and use it as the basis of a construction that encodes the pathologies of finite group presentations into pairs of groups where G is a product of hyperbolic groups and P is a finitely presented subgroup. This enables us to prove that there is a finitely presented subgroup P in a biautomatic group G such that the generalized word problem for is unsolvable and P has an unsolvable conjugacy problem. An additional construction shows that there exists a compact non-positively curved polyhedron X such that is biautomatic and there is no algorithm to decide isomorphism among the finitely presented subgroups of . Received: October 7, 1999.     

On Preservation of Stability for Finite Extensions of Abelian Groups

We characterize preservation of superstability and ω-stability for finite extensions of abelian groups and reduce the general case to the case of p-groups. In particular we study finite extensions of divisible abelian groups. We prove that superstable abelian-by-finite groups have only finitely many conjugacy classes of Sylow p-subgroups. Mathematics Subject Classification: 03C60, 20C05.     

Profinite Groups Admitting Just Infinite Quotients

 A profinite group is said to be just infinite if each of its proper quotients is finite. We address the question which profinite groups admit just infinite quotients. It is proved that any profinite group whose order (as a supernatural number) is divisible only by finitely many primes admits just infinite quotients. It is shown that if a profinite group G possesses the property in question then so does every open subgroup and every finite extension of G. Received 20 July 2001     

Accidental parabolics and relatively hyperbolic groups

By constructing, in the relative case, objects analogous to Rips and Sela’s canonical representatives, we prove that the set of conjugacy classes of images by morphisms without accidental parabolic, of a finitely presented group in a relatively hyperbolic group, is finite.     

Groups with few conjugacy classes of non-normal subgroups

The structure of groups with finitely many non-normal subgroups is well known. In this paper, groups are investigated with finitely many conjugacy classes of non-normal subgroups with a given property. In particular, it is proved that a locally soluble group with finitely many non-trivial conjugacy classes of non-abelian subgroups has finite commutator subgroup. This result generalizes a theorem by Romalis and Sesekin on groups in which every non-abelian subgroup is normal.      

SEPARABILITY CONDITIONS IN ACTS OVER MONOIDS

We discuss residual finiteness and several related separability conditions for the class of monoid acts, namely weak subact separability, strong subact separability and complete separability. For each of these four separability conditions, we investigate which monoids have the property that all their (finitely generated) acts satisfy the condition. In particular, we prove that: all acts over a finite monoid are completely separable (and hence satisfy the other three separability conditions); all finitely generated acts over a finitely generated commutative monoid are residually finite and strongly subact separable (and hence weakly subact separable); all acts over a commutative idempotent monoid are residually finite and strongly subact separable; and all acts over a Clifford monoid are strongly subact separable.

     

Maximal subgroups in finite and profinite groups

We prove that if a finitely generated profinite group is not generated with positive probability by finitely many random elements, then every finite group is obtained as a quotient of an open subgroup of . The proof involves the study of maximal subgroups of profinite groups, as well as techniques from finite permutation groups and finite Chevalley groups. Confirming a conjecture from Ann. of Math. 137 (1993), 203--220, we then
prove that a finite group has at most maximal soluble subgroups, and show that this result is rather useful in various enumeration problems.

     

Continuity of topological entropy for perturbation of time-one maps of hyperbolic flows

In this paper we derive necessary and sufficient homological and cohomological conditions for profinite groups and modules to be of type FP_n over a profinite ring R, analogous to the Bieri–Eckmann criteria for abstract groups. We use these to prove that the class of groups of type FP_n is closed under extensions, quotients by subgroups of type FP_n, proper amalgamated free products and proper HNN-extensions, for each n. We show, as a consequence of this, that elementary amenable profinite groups of finite rank are of type FP_∞ over all profinite R. For any class C of finite groups closed under subgroups, quotients and extensions, we also construct pro-C groups of type FP_n but not of type FP_n+1 over Z_? for each n. Finally, we show that the natural analogue of the usual condition measuring when pro-p groups are of type FP_n fails for general profinite groups, answering in the negative the profinite analogue of a question of Kropholler.