The word and Riemannian metrics on lattices of semisimple groups

Let G be a semisimple Lie group of rank ⩾2 and Γ an irreducible lattice. Γ has two natural metrics: a metric inherited from a Riemannian metric on the ambient Lie group and a word metric defined with respect to some finite set of generators. Confirming a conjecture of D. Kazhdan (cf. Gromov [Gr2]) we show that these metrics are Lipschitz equivalent. It is shown that a cyclic subgroup of Γ is virtually unipotent if and only if it has exponential growth with respect to the generators of Γ.     

Infinite primitive directed graphs

A group G of permutations of a set Ω is primitive if it acts transitively on Ω, and the only G-invariant equivalence relations on Ω are the trivial and universal relations. A digraph Γ is primitive if its automorphism group acts primitively on its vertex set, and is infinite if its vertex set is infinite. It has connectivity one if it is connected and there exists a vertex α of Γ, such that the induced digraph Γ∖{α} is not connected. If Γ has connectivity one, a lobe of Γ is a connected subgraph that is maximal subject to the condition that it does not have connectivity one. Primitive graphs (and thus digraphs) with connectivity one are necessarily infinite.     

Regularity conditions for semigroups of isotone transformations of countable chains

Let Γ be a linearly ordered set (a chain), O(Γ) be the semigroup of all isotone transformations of Γ (i.e., order-preserving transformations). We find some necessary and some sufficient conditions on the chain Γ for the semigroup O(Γ) to be regular. For example, if Γ is a complete chain with a maximal element and a minimal one, then O(Γ) is regular. In particular, O(Γ) is regular if Γ is finite. We find necessary and sufficient conditions for the regularity of O(Γ) in the case where Γ is countable. __________ Translated from Fundamentalnaya i Prikladnaya Matematika, Vol. 12, No. 8, pp. 97–104, 2006.     

Automorphisms of groups and of schemes of finite type

We show first that certain automorphism groups of algebraic varieties, and even schemes, are residually finite and virtually torsion free. (A group virtually has a property if some subgroup of finite index has it.) The rest of the paper is devoted to a study of the groups of automorphisms. Aut(Γ) and outer automorphisms Out(Γ) of a finitely generated group Γ, by using the finite-dimensional representations of Γ. This is an old idea (cf. the discussion of Magnus in [11]). In particular the classes of semi-simplen-dimensional representations of Γ are parametrized by an algebraic varietyS _n (Γ) on which Out(Γ) acts. We can apply the above results to this action and sometimes conclude that Out(Γ) is residually finite and virtually torsion free. This is true, for example, when Γ is a free group, or a surface group. In the latter case Out(Γ) is a “mapping class group.” Partially supported by the NSF under Grant MCS 80-05802.     

Fitting Height and Character Degree Graphs

Given a group G, Γ(G) is the graph whose vertices are the primes that divide the degree of some irreducible character and two vertices p and q are joined by an edge if pq divides the degree of some irreducible character of G. By a definition of Lewis, a graph Γ has bounded Fitting height if the Fitting height of any solvable group G with Γ(G)=Γ is bounded (in terms of Γ). In this note, we prove that there exists a universal constant C such that if Γ has bounded Fitting height and Γ(G)=Γ then h(G)≤C. This solves a problem raised by Lewis. Research supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, MTM2004-06067-C02-01 and MTM2004-04665, the FEDER and Programa Ramón y Cajal.     

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.     

Iterative Approximation of Statistical Distributions and Relation to Information Geometry

The optimal control of stochastic processes through sensor estimation of probability density functions is given a geometric setting via information theory and the information metric. Information theory identifies the exponential distribution as the maximum entropy distribution if only the mean is known and the Γ distribution if also the mean logarithm is known. The surface representing Γ models has a natural Riemannian information metric. The exponential distributions form a one-dimensional subspace of the two-dimensional space of all Γ distributions, so we have an isometric embedding of the random model as a subspace of the Γ models. This geometry provides an appropriate structure on which to represent the dynamics of a process and algorithms to control it. This short paper presents a comparative study on the parameter estimation performance between the geodesic equation and the B-spline function approximations when they are used to optimize the parameters of the Γ family distributions. In this case, the B-spline functions are first used to approximate the Γ probability density function on a fixed length interval; then the coefficients of the approximation are related, through mean and variance calculations, to the two parameters (i.e. μ and β) in Γ distributions. A gradient based parameter tuning method has been used to produce the trajectories for (μ, β) when B-spline functions are used, and desired results have been obtained which are comparable to the trajectories obtained from the geodesic equation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Decomposition Theorem for Compact-Valued Henstock Integral

We prove that if X is a separable Banach space, then a measurable multifunction Γ : [0, 1] → ck(X) is Henstock integrable if and only if Γ can be represented as Γ = G + f, where G : [0, 1] → ck(X) is McShane integrable and f is a Henstock integrable selection of Γ.     

On graphs related to conjugacy classes of groups

LetG be a finite group. Attach toG the following two graphs: Γ — its vertices are the non-central conjugacy classes ofG, and two vertices are connected if their sizes arenot coprime, and Γ* — its vertices are the prime divisors of sizes of conjugacy classes ofG, and two vertices are connected if they both divide the size of some conjugacy class ofG. We prove that whenever Γ* is connected then its diameter is at most 3, (this result was independently proved in [3], for solvable groups) and Γ* is disconnected if and only ifG is quasi-Frobenius with abelian kernel and complements. Using the method of that proof we give an alternative proof to Theorems in [1],[2],[6], namely that the diameter of Γ is also at most 3, whenever the graph is connected, and that Γ is disconnected if and only ifG is quasi-Frobenius with abelian kernel and complements. As a result we conclude that both Γ and Γ* have at most two connected components. In [2],[3] it is shown that the above bounds are best possible. The content of this paper corresponds to a part of the author’s Ph.D. thesis carried out at the Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Prof. Marcel Herzog.     

Property T for Actions

We study property T for an action α of a discrete group Γ on a unital C*-algebra $$\mathscr{A}$$ . Our main results improve some well-known results about property T for groups. Moreover, we introduce Hilbert $$\mathscr{A}$$ -module property T and show that the action α has property T if and only if the reduced crossed product $$\mathscr{A}\;{\rtimes_{\alpha, r}}$$ Γ has Hilbert $$\mathscr{A}$$ -module property T.     

The bieri-strebel invariant and homological finiteness conditions for metabelian groups

A group Γ has type F P_n if a trivial ℤΓ-module ℤ has a projective resolution P:…P_n → … → P₁ → P₀ → ℤ in which ℤΓ-module P_n,…P₁, P₀ are finitely generated. Let the finitely generated group Γ be a split extension of the Abelian group M by an Abelian group Q, suppose M is torsion free, and assume Γ∈F P_m, m≥2. Then the invariant ∑ _c ^M is m-tame. Translated fromAlgebra i Logika, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 194–218, March–April, 1997.     

Average bending of convex pleated planes in hyperbolic three-space

If P is a pleated plane in 3-dimensional hyperbolic space H ³ and α a geodesic in its intrinsic metric we define B(P,α), the average bending of P in the direction α. We show that if P is a convex pleated plane embedded in H ³ then B(P,α)≤K for some universal K. Furthermore if P_Γ is a boundary component of the convex hull of a quasi-Fuchsian group Γ then B(P_Γ,α)=B(Γ) almost everywhere, where B(Γ) is a constant times the length of the bending lamination β_Γ of the pleated surface X _Γ=P_Γ/Γ. We use these to prove a number of results about quasi-Fuchsian groups including a universal bound on the Lipschitz constant for the map to infinity and a bound on the length of β_Γ by a constant times the Euler characteristic of X _Γ. Oblatum 10-X-1996 & 23-V-1997     

Séries de poincaré des groupes géométriquement finis

In this paper, we study the behaviour of the Poincaré series of a geometrically finite group Γ of isometries of a riemannian manifoldX with pinched curvature, in the case when Γ contains parabolic elements. We give a sufficient condition on the parabolic subgroups of Γ in order that Γ be of divergent type. When Γ is of divergent type, we show that the Sullivan measure on the unit tangent bundle ofX/Γ is finite if and only if certain series which involve only parabolic elements of Γ are convergent. We build also examples of manifoldsX on which geometrically finite groups of convergent type act.

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Durant la rédaction de cet article, M. Peigné a bénéficié d'un détachement au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, URA 305.     

On the outradius of the teichmüller space

Let Γ be a fuchsian group which preserves the unit disc Δ and hence also its complement Δ^* in the Riemann sphere . The Bers embedding represents the Teichm=:uller space T(Γ) of Γ in the space (B (Δ^*, Γ) of bounded quadratic differentials for Γ in Δ^*. Then, T(Γ) is included in the closed ball centred at the origin of radius 6 inB(Δ^*, Γ) with respect to the norm employed in a paper by Nehari [The Schwarzian derivative and Schlicht functions; Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 55 (1949), 545–551]. In other words the outradiuso(Γ) ofT(Γ) is not greater than 6. The purpose of this paper is to give a complete characterization of a fuchsian group Γ for which the outradiuso(Γ) ofT(Γ) attains this extremal value 6. The main theorem is: Let Γ be a fuchsian group preserving Δ^*. Then the outradiuso(Γ) of the Teichmüller spaceT(Γ) equals 6 if and only if for any positive numberd, either (i) there exists a hyperbolic disc of radiusd precisely invariant under the trivial subgroup, or (ii) there exists the collar of widthd about the axis of a hyperbolic element of Γ. Dedicated to Professor K?taro Oikawa on his 60th birthday     

On discrete subgroups containing a lattice in a horospherical subgroup

We showed in [Oh] that for a simple real Lie groupG with real rank at least 2, if a discrete subgroup Γ ofG contains lattices in two opposite horospherical subgroups, then Γ must be a non-uniform arithmetic lattice inG, under some additional assumptions on the horospherical subgroups. Somewhat surprisingly, a similar result is true even if we only assume that Γ contains a lattice in one horospherical subgroup, provided Γ is Zariski dense inG.     

Polynomial representation growth and the congruence subgroup problem

Let Γ be anS-arithmetic group in a semisimple group. We show that if Γ has the congruence subgroup property then the number of isomorphism classes of irreducible complexn-dimensional characters of Γ is polynomially bounded. In characteristic zero, the converse is also true. We conjecture that the converse also holds in positive characteristic, and we prove some partial results in this direction. Dedicated to Andy Magid on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday     

Orbihedra of nonpositive curvature

A 2-dimensional orbihedron of nonpositive curvature is a pair (X, Γ), where X is a 2-dimensional simplicial complex with a piecewise smooth metric such that X has nonpositive curvature in the sense of Alexandrov and Busemann and Γ is a group of isometries of X which acts properly discontinuously and cocompactly. By analogy with Riemannian manifolds of nonpositive curvature we introduce a natural notion of rank 1 for (X, Γ) which turns out to depend only on Γ and prove that, if X is boundaryless, then either (X, Γ) has rank 1, or X is the product of two trees, or X is a thick Euclidean building. In the first case the geodesic flow on X is topologically transitive and closed geodesics are dense. Partially supported by MSRI, SFB256 and University of Maryland. Partially supported by MSRI, SFB256 and NSF DMS-9104134.     

On the negative case of the Singular Yamabe Problem

Let (M, g) be a compact Riemannian manifold of dimension n ≥3, and let Γ be a nonempty closed subset of M. The negative case of the Singular Yamabe Problem concerns the existence and behavior of a complete metric g on M∖Γ that has constant negative scalar curvature and is pointwise conformally related to the smooth metric g. Previous results have shown that when Γ is a smooth submanifold (with or without boundary) of dimension d, there exists such a metric if and only if . In this paper, we consider a more general class of closed sets and show the existence of a complete conformai metric ĝ with constant negative scalar curvature which depends on the dimension of the tangent cone to Γ at every point. Specifically, provided Γ admits a nice tangent cone at p, we show that when the dimension of the tangent cone to Γ at p is less than then there cannot exist a negative Singular Yamabe metric ĝ on M∖Γ.     

On the Petrials of thin rank 3 geometries

The aim of this paper is to extend the concept of a Petrial to thin (regular) rank three geometries. The main result is that if the Petrial of a thin regular residually connected geometry Γ is also a thin geometry, the geometry Γ has a linear diagram. Received 12 October 1999; revised 25 March 2000.