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.     

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     

Elementarily λ-homogeneous binary functions

Characterizations of compact Hausdorff topological MV-algebras, StoneMV-algebras, and MV-algebras that are isomorphic to their profinite completionsare established. It is proved that compact Hausdorff topological MV-algebras areproducts (both topological and algebraic) of copies [0, 1] with the interval topologyand finite ?ukasiewicz chains with the discrete topology. Going one step further, wealso prove that Stone MV-algebras are products (both topological and algebraic) of finite ?ukasiewicz chains with the discrete topology. Finally, it is proved that an MV-algebra is isomorphic to its profinite completion if and only if it is profinite andeach of its maximal ideals of finite rank is principal.     

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.     

On Gorenstein injective discrete modules over profinite groups

Gorenstein homological algebra was introduced in categories of modules. But it has proved to be a fruitful way to study various other categories such as categories of complexes and of sheaves. In this paper, the research of relative homological algebra in categories of discrete modules over profinite groups is initiated. This seems appropriate since (in some sense) the subject of Gorenstein homological algebra had its beginning with Tate homology and cohomology over finite groups. We prove that if the profinite group has virtually finite cohomological dimension then every discrete module has a Gorenstein injective envelope, a Gorenstein injective cover and we study various cohomological dimensions relative to Gorenstein injective discrete modules. We also study the connection between relative and Tate cohomology theories.     

The Generalised Pro-Fitting Subgroup of a Profinite Group

The generalised Fitting subgroup of a finite group is the group generated by all subnormal subgroups that are either nilpotent or quasisimple. The importance of this subgroup in finite group theory stems from the fact that it always contains its own centraliser, so that any finite group is an abelian extension of a group of automorphisms of its generalised Fitting subgroup. We define a class of profinite groups which generalises this phenomenon, and explore some consequences for the structure of profinite groups.     

Prographes sylvestres et groupes profinis presque libres

In this article we want to give an analogous in the profinite case to the following theorem: an abstract group is free if and only if it acts freely on a tree. In a first time we define a combinatory object, the protrees, which are particular inductive systems extracted from projective systems of graphs. Then we define a notion of profinite action. These objects allow us to give the following analogous: a profinite group contains a dense abstract free subgroup if and only if it acts profreely on a protree.     

Le passage d'un groupe libre à sa complétion profinie: étude logique

Let G be a noncommutative free group and G its profinite completion. We display a universal sentence true in G and false in Ĝ. We prove that the theory of Ĝ is unstable and undecidable. We prove that some equations with parameters in G are solvable in G if they are solvable in Ĝ.     

Profinite groups associated with weakly primitive substitutions

A uniformly recurrent pseudoword is an element of a free profinite semigroup in which every finite factor appears in every sufficiently long finite factor. An alternative characterization is as a pseudoword that is a factor of all its infinite factors, i.e., one that lies in a -class with only finite words strictly -above it. Such a -class is regular, and therefore it has an associated profinite group, namely, any of its maximal subgroups. One way to produce such -classes is to iterate finite weakly primitive substitutions. This paper is a contribution to the computation of the profinite group associated with the -class that is generated by the infinite iteration of a finite weakly primitive substitution. The main result implies that the group is a free profinite group provided the substitution induced on the free group on the letters that appear in the images of all of its sufficiently long iterates is invertible. __________ Translated from Fundamentalnaya i Prikladnaya Matematika, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 13–48, 2005.     

Profinite groups with many commuting pairs or involutions

We prove that if the set of commuting pairs of a profinite group G has positive Haar measure then G is abelian by finite. Using this we show that the set I of involutions has positive measure exactly if I contains a nonempty open subset of G.     

Pro- $$\mathcal {C}$$ C congruence properties for groups of rooted tree automorphisms

We propose a generalisation of the congruence subgroup problem for groups acting on rooted trees. Instead of only comparing the profinite completion to that given by level stabilizers, we also compare pro- $$\mathcal {C}$$ completions of the group, where $$\mathcal {C}$$ is a pseudo-variety of finite groups. A group acting on a rooted, locally finite tree has the $$\mathcal {C}$$ -congruence subgroup property ( $$\mathcal {C}$$ -CSP) if its pro- $$\mathcal {C}$$ completion coincides with the completion with respect to level stabilizers. We give a sufficient condition for a weakly regular branch group to have the $$\mathcal {C}$$ -CSP. In the case where $$\mathcal {C}$$ is also closed under extensions (for instance the class of all finite p-groups for some prime p), our sufficient condition is also necessary. We apply the criterion to show that the Basilica group and the GGS-groups with constant defining vector (odd prime relatives of the Basilica group) have the p-CSP.     

Profinite groups with nonabelian crowns of bounded rank and their probabilistic zeta function

It has been conjectured by Mann that the infinite sum Σ _H μ(H,G)/|G:H| ^s , where H ranges over all open subgroups of a finitely generated profinite group G, converges absolutely in some half right plane if G is positively finitely generated. We prove that the conjecture is true if the nonabelian crowns of G have bounded rank. In particular Mann’s conjecture holds if G has polynomial subgroup growth or is an adelic profinite group.     

Idempotents and the multiplicative group of some totally bounded rings

In this paper, we extend some results of D.Dolzan on finite rings to profinite rings, a complete classification of profinite commutative rings with a monothetic group of units is given. We also prove the metrizability of commutative profinite rings with monothetic group of units and without nonzero Boolean ideals. Using a property of Mersenne numbers, we construct a family of power 2^ℵ0 commutative non-isomorphic profinite semiprimitive rings with monothetic group of units.     

Symmetries of the Partial Order of Traces

This paper deals with the automorphism group of the partial order of finite traces. We show that any group can arise as such an automorphism group if we allow arbitrary large dependence alphabets. Restricting to finite dependence alphabets, the automorphism groups are profinite and possess only finitely many simple decomposition factors. Finally, we show that the partial order associated with the Rado graph as dependence alphabet does not give rise to a homogeneous domain thereby answering an open question from Boldi, P., Cardone, F. and Sabadini, N. (1993).     

Presentations of Schützenberger groups of minimal subshifts

In previous work, the first author established a natural bijection between minimal subshifts and maximal regular J -classes of free profinite semigroups. In this paper, the Schützenberger groups of such J -classes are investigated, in particular in respect to a conjecture proposed by the first author concerning their profinite presentation. The conjecture is established for all non-periodic minimal subshifts associated with substitutions. It entails that it is decidable whether a finite group is a quotient of such a profinite group. As a further application, the Schützenberger group of the J -class corresponding to the Prouhet-Thue-Morse subshift is shown to admit a somewhat simpler presentation, from which it follows that it has rank three, and that it is non-free relatively to any pseudovariety of groups.     

Conjugacy separability of 1-acylindrical graphs of free groups

We use the theory of group actions on profinite trees to prove that the fundamental group of a finite, 1-acylindrical graph of free groups with finitely generated edge groups is conjugacy separable. This has several applications: we prove that positive, C′(1/6) one-relator groups are conjugacy separable; we provide a conjugacy separable version of the Rips construction; we use this latter to provide an example of two finitely presented, residually finite groups that have isomorphic profinite completions, such that one is conjugacy separable and the other does not even have solvable conjugacy problem.     

Maximal subgroups of the minimal ideal of a free profinite monoid are free

We answer a question of Margolis from 1997 by establishing that the maximal subgroup of the minimal ideal of a finitely generated free profinite monoid is a free profinite group. More generally, if H is variety of finite groups closed under extension and containing ℤ/pℤ for infinitely may primes p, the corresponding result holds for free pro-$ \bar H $ \bar H monoids.     

Relative cohomology theory for profinite groups

In this paper we define and develop the theory of the cohomology of a profinite group relative to a collection of closed subgroups. Having made the relevant definitions we establish a robust theory of cup products and use this theory to define profinite Poincaré duality pairs. We use the theory of groups acting on profinite trees to give Mayer–Vietoris sequences, and apply this to give results concerning decompositions of 3-manifold groups. Finally we discuss the relationship between discrete duality pairs and profinite duality pairs, culminating in the result that profinite completion of the fundamental group of a compact aspherical 3-manifold is a profinite Poincaré duality group relative to the profinite completions of the fundamental groups of its boundary components.     

Profinite groups, profinite completions and a conjecture of Moore

Let R be any ring (with 1), Γ a group and RΓ the corresponding group ring. Let H be a subgroup of Γ of finite index. Let M be an RΓ-module, whose restriction to RH is projective.Moore's conjecture (J. Pure Appl. Algebra 7(1976)287): Assume for every nontrivial element x in Γ, at least one of the following two conditions holds:

(M1)

〈x〉∩H≠{e} (in particular this holds if Γ is torsion free)

(M2)

ord(x) is finite and invertible in R.

Then M is projective as an RΓ-module.More generally, the conjecture has been formulated for crossed products R*Γ and even for strongly graded rings R(Γ). We prove the conjecture for new families of groups, in particular for groups whose profinite completion is torsion free.The conjecture can be formulated for profinite modules M over complete groups rings [[RΓ]] where R is a profinite ring and Γ a profinite group. We prove the conjecture for arbitrary profinite groups. This implies Serre's theorem on cohomological dimension of profinite groups.