Elliptic classes,McKay correspondence and theta identities

Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics - We revisit the construction of elliptic class given by Borisov and Libgober for singular algebraic varieties. Assuming torus action we adjust the theory to the...     

On <Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis>-rigid surfaces

Rigid algebraic varieties form an important class of complex varieties that exhibit interesting geometric phenomena. In this paper we propose a natural extension of rigidity to complex projective varieties with a finite group action (G-varieties) and focus on the first nontrivial case, namely, on G-rigid surfaces that can be represented as desingularizations of Galois coverings of the projective plane with Galois group G. We obtain local and global G-rigidity criteria for these G-surfaces and present several series of such surfaces that are rigid with respect to the action of the deck transformation group.     

Kodaira fibrations and beyond: methods for moduli theory

Kodaira fibred surfaces are remarkable examples of projective classifying spaces, and there are still many intriguing open questions concerning them, especially the slope question. The topological characterization of Kodaira fibrations is emblematic of the use of topological methods in the study of moduli spaces of surfaces and higher dimensional complex algebraic varieties, and their compactifications. Our tour through algebraic surfaces and their moduli (with results valid also for higher dimensional varieties) deals with fibrations, questions on monodromy and factorizations in the mapping class group, old and new results on Variation of Hodge Structures, especially a recent answer given (in joint work with Dettweiler) to a long standing question posed by Fujita. In the landscape of our tour, Galois coverings, deformations and rigid manifolds (there are by the way rigid Kodaira fibrations), projective classifying spaces, the action of the absolute Galois group on moduli spaces, stand also in the forefront. These questions lead to interesting algebraic surfaces, for instance remarkable surfaces constructed from VHS, surfaces isogenous to a product with automorphisms acting trivially on cohomology, hypersurfaces in Bagnera-de Franchis varieties, Inoue-type surfaces.     

The algebraic entropy of the special linear character automorphisms of a free group on two generators

In this note, we establish a connection between the dynamical degree, or algebraic entropy of a certain class of polynomial automorphisms of , and the maximum topological entropy of the action when restricted to compact invariant subvarieties. Indeed, when there is no cancellation of leading terms in the successive iterates of the polynomial automorphism, the two quantities are equal. In general, however, the algebraic entropy overestimates the topological entropy. These polynomial automorphisms arise as extensions of mapping class actions of a punctured torus on the relative -character varieties of embedded in . It is known that the topological entropy of these mapping class actions is maximized on the relative character variety comprised of reducible characters (those whose boundary holonomy is ). Here we calculate the algebraic entropy of the induced polynomial automorphisms on the character varieties and show that it too solely depends on the topology of .

     

Generalized logarithmic Gauss map and its relation to (co)amoebas

We define the generalized logarithmic Gauss map for algebraic varieties of the complex algebraic torus of any codimension. Moreover, we describe the set of critical points of the logarithmic mapping restricted to our variety, and we show an analogous of Mikhalkin's result on the critical points of the logarithmic map restricted to a hypersurface.     

Harmonic models and spanning forests of residually finite groups

We prove a number of identities relating the sofic entropy of a certain class of non-expansive algebraic dynamical systems, the sofic entropy of the Wired Spanning Forest and the tree entropy of Cayley graphs of residually finite groups. We also show that homoclinic points and periodic points in harmonic models are dense under general conditions.     

Zero entropy subgroups of mapping class groups

Given a group action on a surface with a finite invariant set we investigate how the algebraic properties of the induced group of permutations of that set affects the dynamical properties of the group. Our main result shows that in many circumstances if the induced permutation group is not solvable then among the homeomorphisms in the group there must be one with a pseudo-Anosov component. We formulate this in terms of the mapping class group relative to the finite set and show the stronger result that in many circumstances (e.g. if the surface has boundary) if this mapping class group has no elements with pseudo-Anosov components then it is itself solvable.     

Infinite groups with large balls of torsion elements and small entropy

We exhibit infinite, solvable, virtually abelian groups with a fixed number of generators, having arbitrarily large balls consisting of torsion elements. We also provide a sequence of 3-generator non-virtually nilpotent polycyclic groups of algebraic entropy tending to zero. All these examples are obtained by taking appropriate quotients of finitely presented groups mapping onto the first Grigorchuk group. Received: 3 August 2005     

Equivariant primary decomposition and toric sheaves

We study global primary decompositions in the category of sheaves on a scheme which are equivariant under the action of an algebraic group. We show that equivariant primary decompositions exist if the group is connected. As main application we consider the case of varieties which are quotients of a quasi-affine variety by the action of a diagonalizable group and thus admit a homogeneous coordinate ring, such as toric varieties. Comparing these decompositions with primary decompositions of graded modules over the homogeneous coordinate ring, we show that these are equivalent if the action of the diagonalizable group is free. We give some specific examples for the case of toric varieties.     

Hölder estimates for the\bar \partial - equation in some domains of finite typein some domains of finite type

We obtain Hölder estimates for the $\bar \partial - equation$ on some domains of finite type in ?ⁿ using proper mapping techniques. The domains considered are domains of finite type in the sense of D’Angelo and are defined by local coordinate expressions satisfying certain algebraic geometric conditions which prevent the existence of complex analytic varieties in the boundary of the domain. Using a proper mapping which is given by the finite type condition and which carries all the information about the intrinsic geometry of the boundary, we transform the finite type points into strongly pseudoconvex ones. At these strongly pseudoconvex points we compute an explicit solution using the Henkin integral formula and we obtain estimates that we are able to pull back to the original domain. We achieve this by exploiting the branching behavior of the proper mapping. We also construct some biholomorphic numerical invariants associated with some of the domains under consideration.     

From moment graphs to intersection cohomology

We describe a method of computing equivariant and ordinary intersection cohomology of certain varieties with actions of algebraic tori, in terms of structure of the zero- and one-dimensional orbits. The class of varieties to which our formula applies includes Schubert varieties in flag varieties and affine flag varieties. We also prove a monotonicity result on local intersection cohomology stalks. Received: 9 November 2000 / Published online: 24 September 2001     

Fuglede–Kadison Determinants and Sofic Entropy

We relate Fuglede–Kadison determinants to entropy of finitely-presented algebraic actions in essentially complete generality. We show that if \({f\in M_{m,n}(\mathbb{Z}(\Gamma))}\) is injective as a left multiplication operator on \({\ell^{2}(\Gamma)^{\oplus n},}\) then the topological entropy of the action of \({\Gamma}\) on the dual of \({\mathbb{Z}(\Gamma)^{\oplus n}/\mathbb{Z}(\Gamma)^{\oplus m}f}\) is at most the logarithm of the positive Fuglede–Kadison determinant of f, with equality if m = n. We also prove that when m = n the measure-theoretic entropy of the action of \({\Gamma}\) on the dual of \({\mathbb{Z}(\Gamma)^{\oplus n}/\mathbb{Z}(\Gamma)^{\oplus n}f}\) is the logarithm of the Fuglede–Kadison determinant of f. This work completely settles the connection between entropy of principal algebraic actions and Fuglede–Kadison determinants in the generality in which dynamical entropy is defined. Our main Theorem partially generalizes results of Li-Thom from amenable groups to sofic groups. Moreover, we show that the obvious full generalization of the Li-Thom theorem for amenable groups is false for general sofic groups. Lastly, we undertake a study of when the Yuzvinskiǐ addition formula fails for a non-amenable sofic group \({\Gamma}\), showing it always fails if \({\Gamma}\) contains a nonabelian free group, and relating it to the possible values of L ²-torsion in general.     

Generalized Markoff maps and McShane's identity

We study the (relative) SL(2,C) character varieties of the one-holed torus and the action of the mapping class group on the (relative) character variety. We show that the subset of characters satisfying two simple conditions called the Bowditch Q-conditions is open in the relative character variety and that the mapping class group acts properly discontinuously on this subset. Furthermore, this is the largest open subset for which this holds. We also show that a generalization of McShane's identity holds for all characters satisfying the Bowditch Q-conditions. Finally, we show that further variations of the McShane-Bowditch identity hold for characters which are fixed by an Anosov element of the mapping class group and which satisfy a relative version of the Bowditch Q-conditions, with applications to identities for incomplete hyperbolic structures on punctured torus bundles over the circle, and also for closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds which are obtained by hyperbolic Dehn surgery on such manifolds.     

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.     

Ergodic theory and the duality principle on homogeneous spaces

We prove mean and pointwise ergodic theorems for the action of a lattice subgroup in a connected algebraic Lie group on infinite volume homogeneous algebraic varieties. Under suitable necessary conditions, our results are quantitative, namely we establish rates of convergence in the mean and pointwise ergodic theorems, which can be estimated explicitly. Our results give a precise and in most cases optimal quantitative form to the duality principle governing dynamics on homogeneous spaces. We illustrate their scope in a variety of equidistribution problems.     

Rational smoothness and fixed points of torus actions

We obtain a criterion for rational smoothness of an algebraic variety with a torus action, with applications to orbit closures in flag varieties, and to closures of double classes in regular group completions. Dedicated to the memory of Claude Chevalley     

Algebraic -actions of entropy rank one

We investigate algebraic -actions of entropy rank one, namely those for which each element has finite entropy. Such actions can be completely described in terms of diagonal actions on products of local fields using standard adelic machinery. This leads to numerous alternative characterizations of entropy rank one, both geometric and algebraic. We then compute the measure entropy of a class of skew products, where the fiber maps are elements from an algebraic -action of entropy rank one. This leads, via the relative variational principle, to a formula for the topological entropy of continuous skew products as the maximum of a finite number of topological pressures. We use this to settle a conjecture concerning the relational entropy of commuting toral automorphisms.

     

Ultraproducts preserve finite subdirect reducibility

An algebraic structure A is said to be finitely subdirectly reducible if A is not finitely subdirectly irreducible. We show that for any signature providing only finitely many relation symbols, the class of finitely subdirectly reducible algebraic structures is closed with respect to the formation of ultraproducts. We provide some corollaries and examples for axiomatizable classes that are closed with respect to the formation of finite subdirect products, in particular, for varieties and quasivarieties.     

Equivariant completions of homogenous algebraic varieties by homogenous divisors

Complete smooth complex algebraic varieties with an almost transitive action of a linear algebraic group are studied. They are classified in the case, when the complement of the open orbit is a homogeneous hypersurface. If the group and the isotropy subgroup at a generic point are both reductive, then there exists a natural one-to-one correspondence between these two-orbit varieties and compact riemannian symmetric spaces of rank one.