Property (T) and Kazhdan constants for discrete groups

Let be a group generated by a finite set S. We give a sufficient condition for to have Kazhdan's property (T). This condition is easy to check and gives Kazhdan constants. We give examples of groups to which this method applies. We prove that in some setting generic presentations define groups which satisfy this condition and thus have property (T). Moreover we prove that small changes in the presentation of a group satisfying this condition do not change the fact that the group has property (T).     

A Spectral Gap Property for Random Walks Under Unitary Representations

Let G be a locally compact group and μ a probability measure on G, which is not assumed to be absolutely continuous with respect to Haar measure. Given a unitary representation $\pi ,\mathcal{H}Let G be a locally compact group and μ a probability measure on G, which is not assumed to be absolutely continuous with respect to Haar measure. Given a unitary representation p,H\pi ,\mathcal{H} of G, we study spectral properties of the operator π(μ) acting on H\mathcal{H} Assume that μ is adapted and that the trivial representation 1 _G is not weakly contained in the tensor product p?[`(p)]\pi\otimes \overline\pi We show that π(μ) has a spectral gap, that is, for the spectral radius r_spec(p(m))r_{\rm spec}(\pi(\mu)) of π(μ), we have r_spec(p(m)) < 1.r_{\rm spec}(\pi(\mu))< 1. This provides a common generalization of several previously known results. Another consequence is that, if G has Kazhdan’s Property (T), then r_spec(p(m)) < 1r_{\rm spec}(\pi(\mu))< 1 for every unitary representation π of G without finite dimensional subrepresentations. Moreover, we give new examples of so-called identity excluding groups.     

Zwei Klassen lokalkompakter maximal fastperiodischer Gruppen

In this paper we study the class of all locally compact groupsG with the property that for each closed subgroupH ofG there exists a pair of homomorphisms into a compact group withH as coincidence set, and the class of all locally compact groupG with the property that finite dimensional unitary representations of subgroups ofG can be extended to finite dimensional representations ofG. It is shown that [MOORE]-groups (every irreducible unitary representation is finite dimensional) have these two properties. A solvable group in is a [MOORE]-group. Moreover, we prove a structure theorem for Lie groups in the class [MOORE], and show that compactly generated Lie groups in [MOORE] have faithful finite dimensional unitary representations.     

Relative Kazhdan Property

We perform a systematic investigation of Kazhdan's relative Property (T) for pairs (G,X), where G is a locally compact group and X is any subset. When G is a connected Lie group or a p-adic algebraic group, we provide an explicit characterization of subsets X⊂G such that (G,X) has relative Property (T). In order to extend this characterization to lattices Γ⊂G, a notion of “resolutions” is introduced, and various characterizations of it are given. Special attention is paid to subgroups of SU(2,1) and SO(4,1).     

Duality between compactness and discreteness beyond pontryagin duality

One of the most striking results of Pontryagin’s duality theory is the duality between compact and discrete locally compact abelian groups. This duality also persists in part for objects associated with noncommutative topological groups. In particular, it is well known that the dual space of a compact topological group is discrete, while the dual space of a discrete group is quasicompact (i.e., it satisfies the finite covering theorem but is not necessarily Hausdorff). The converse of the former assertion is also true, whereas the converse of the latter is not (there are simple examples of nondiscrete locally compact solvable groups of height 2 whose dual spaces are quasicompact and non-Hausdorff (they are T ₁ spaces)). However, in the class of locally compact groups all of whose irreducible unitary representations are finite-dimensional, a group is discrete if and only if its dual space is quasicompact (and is automatically a T ₁ space). The proof is based on the structural theorem for locally compact groups all of whose irreducible unitary representations are finite-dimensional. Certain duality between compactness and discreteness can also be revealed in groups that are not necessarily locally compact but are unitarily, or at least reflexively, representable, provided that (in the simplest case) the irreducible representations of a group form a sufficiently large family and have jointly bounded dimensions. The corresponding analogs of compactness and discreteness cannot always be easily identified, but they are still duals of each other to some extent.     

Weak regularity of group algebras

A Banach algebra \(\mathcal {A}\) is called weakly regular if its multiplicative semigroup is E-inversive. We show that for a unimodular group G which admits an integrable unitary representation, \(L^1(G)\) is weakly regular. Moreover for a locally compact Abelian group, \(L^1(G)\) is weakly regular if and only if G is compact; while \(L^1(G)^{**}\) is weakly regular if and only if G is finite. All of our results hold, if we replace \(L^1(G)\) with M(G).     

Isometric Group Actions on Banach Spaces and Representations Vanishing at Infinity

Our main result is that the simple Lie group G = Sp(n, 1) acts metrically properly isometrically on L ^p (G) if p > 4n + 2. To prove this, we introduce Property , with V being a Banach space: a locally compact group G has Property if every affine isometric action of G on V, such that the linear part is a C ₀-representation of G, either has a fixed point or is metrically proper. We prove that solvable groups, connected Lie groups, and linear algebraic groups over a local field of characteristic zero, have Property . As a consequence, for unitary representations, we characterize those groups in the latter classes for which the first cohomology with respect to the left regular representation on L ²(G) is nonzero; and we characterize uniform lattices in those groups for which the first L2-Betti number is nonzero.      

On the finite dimensional unitary representations of Kazhdan groups

We use A. Weil's criterion to prove that all finite dimensional unitary representations of a discrete Kazhdan group are locally rigid. It follows that any such representation is unitarily equivalent to a unitary representation over some algebraic number field.

     

On the topology of the Kasparov groups and its applications

In this paper we establish a direct connection between stable approximate unitary equivalence for *-homomorphisms and the topology of the KK-groups which avoids entirely C^*-algebra extension theory and does not require nuclearity assumptions. To this purpose we show that a topology on the Kasparov groups can be defined in terms of approximate unitary equivalence for Cuntz pairs and that this topology coincides with both Pimsner's topology and the Brown-Salinas topology. We study the generalized Rørdam group , and prove that if a separable exact residually finite dimensional C^*-algebra satisfies the universal coefficient theorem in KK-theory, then it embeds in the UHF algebra of type 2^∞. In particular such an embedding exists for the C^*-algebra of a second countable amenable locally compact maximally almost periodic group.     

On certain locally homogeneous Clifford manifolds

Given a manifoldM, a Clifford structure of orderm onM is a family ofm anticommuting complex structures generating a subalgebra of dimension 2 ^m of End(T(M)). In this paper we investigate the existence of locally invariant Clifford structures of orderm2 on a class of locally homogeneous manifolds. We study the case of solvable extensions ofH-type groups, showing in particular that the solvable Lie groups corresponding to the symmetric spaces of negative curvature carry invariant Clifford structures of orderm2. We also show that for eachm and any finite groupF, there is a compact flat manifold with holonomy groupF and carrying a Clifford structure of orderm.Partially supported by Conicor (Argentina)Partially supported by grants from Conicet, Conicor, SECYTUNg (Argentina), and I.C.T.P. (Trieste)Partially supported by grants from Conicet, Conicor, SECYTUNC (Argentina), T.W.A.S and I.C.T.P. (Trieste)     

Lattices on Nonuniform Trees

Let X be a locally finite tree, and let G=Aut(X). Then G is a locally compact group. We show that if X has more than one end, and if G contains a discrete subgroup such that the quotient graph of groups \\X is infinite but has finite covolume, then G contains a nonuniform lattice, that is, a discrete subgroup such that \G is not compact, yet has a finite G-invariant measure.     

Growth of homogenous spaces,density of discrete subgroups and Kazhdan's property (T)

Summary LetG be a semisimple Lie group with finite center and no compact factors. We show that ifH is a closed unimodular subgroup ofG such thatG/H has subexponential volume growth, thenH is Zariski dense inG. Moreover, ifG has Kazhdan's property (T) thenG/H must have finite volume. We extend these results to semisimple groups over a local field.Oblatum 5-VII-1991 & 2-I-1992This work was supported by an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship     

Amenable unitary representations of locally compact groups

Summary A notion of amenability for an arbitrary unitary group representation is introduced. This unifies and generalizes the notions of amenable homogeneous spaces and of inner-amenable groups. Amenable locally compact groups are characterized by the amenability of all their unitary representations. Amenable representations are characterized by several properties which are operator theoretic analogues of properties characterizing amenable groups. We give a generalization to arbitrary representations of Hulanicki-Reiter theorem. This is used in order to describe the amenable representations of the groups with Kazhdan property (T).     

Rate of Decay of Concentration Functions on Discrete Groups

Given an irreducible probability measure on a non-compact locally compact group G, it is known that the concentration functions associated with converge to zero. In this note the rate of this convergence is presented in the case where G is a non-locally finite discrete group. In particular it is shown that if the volume growth V(m) of G satisfies V(m) cm ^D then for any compact set K we have sup _gG ⁽ⁿ⁾(Kg) Cn ^–D/2.     

VC-sets and generic compact domination

Let X be a closed subset of a locally compact second countable group G whose family of translates has finite VC-dimension. We show that the topological border of X has Haar measure 0. Under an extra technical hypothesis, this also holds if X is constructible. We deduce from this generic compact domination for definably amenable NIP groups.     

Kazhdan Constants of Hyperbolic Groups

Let H be an infinite hyperbolic group with Kazhdan property (T) and let (H,X) denote the Kazhdan constant of H with respect to a generating set X. We prove that inf_X(H,X)=0, where the infimum is taken over all finite generating sets of H. In particular, this gives an answer to a Lubotzky question.     

A Note on Tortrat Groups

A locally compact group G is called a Tortrat group if for any probability measure on G which is not idempotent, the closure of {gg ^–1 | gG} does not contain any idempotent measure. We show that a connected Lie group G is a Tortrat group if and only if for all gG all eigenvalues of Ad g are of absolute value 1. Together with well-known results this also implies that a connected locally compact group is a Tortrat group if and only if it is of polynomial growth.     

On Uniformly Locally Compact Quasi-Uniform Hyperspaces

We characterize those Tychonoff quasi-uniform spaces for which the Hausdorff-Bourbaki quasi-uniformity is uniformly locally compact on the family of nonempty compact subsets of X. We deduce, among other results, that the Hausdorff-Bourbaki quasi-uniformity of the locally finite quasi-uniformity of a Tychonoff space Xis uniformly locally compact on if and only if Xis paracompact and locally compact. We also introduce the notion of a co-uniformly locally compact quasi-uniform space and show that a Hausdorff topological space is -compact if and only if its (lower) semi-continuous quasi-uniformity is co-uniformly locally compact. A characterization of those Hausdorff quasi-uniform spaces for which the Hausdorff-Bourbaki quasi-uniformity is co-uniformly locally compact on is obtained.     

On lightly and countably compact spaces in ZF

Abstract

Given a topological space X = (X, T ), we show in the Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory ZF that:

1. Every locally finite family of open sets of X is finite iff every pairwise disjoint, locally finite family of open sets is finite.

2. Every locally finite family of subsets of X is finite iff every pairwise disjoint, locally finite family of subsets of X is finite iff every locally finite family of closed subsets of X is finite.

3. The statement “every locally finite family of closed sets of X is finite” implies the proposition “every locally finite family of open sets of X is finite”. The converse holds true in case X is T₄ and the countable axiom of choice holds true.

   We also show:

4. It is relatively consistent with ZF the existence of a non countably compact T₁ space such that every pairwise disjoint locally finite family of closed subsets is finite but some locally finite family of subsets is infinite.

5. It is relatively consistent with ZF the existence of a countably compact T₄ space including an infinite pairwise disjoint locally finite family of open (resp. closed) sets.

     

Square Integrable Representation of Groupoids

A notion of an irreducible representation, as well as of a square integrable representation on an arbitrary locally compact groupoid, is introduced. A generalization of a version of Schur＇s lemma on a locally compact groupoid is given. This is used in order to extend some well-known results from locally compact groups to the case of locally compact groupoids. Indeed, we have proved that if L is a continuous irreducible representation of a compact groupoid G defined by a continuous Hilbert bundle H = （Hu）u∈G^0, then each Hu is finite dimensional. It is also shown that if L is an irreducible representation of a principal locally compact groupoid defined by a Hilbert bundle （G^0, （Hu）,μ）, then dimHu = 1 （u ∈ G^0）. Furthermore it is proved that every square integrable representation of a locally compact groupoid is unitary equivalent to a subrepresentation of the left regular representation. Furthermore, for r-discrete groupoids, it is shown that every irreducible subrepresentation of the left regular representation is square integrable.