Peripheral fillings of relatively hyperbolic groups

In this paper a group theoretic version of Dehn surgery is studied. Starting with an arbitrary relatively hyperbolic group G we define a peripheral filling procedure, which produces quotients of G by imitating the effect of the Dehn filling of a complete finite volume hyperbolic 3-manifold M on the fundamental group π₁(M). The main result of the paper is an algebraic counterpart of Thurston’s hyperbolic Dehn surgery theorem. We also show that peripheral subgroups of G ‘almost’ have the Congruence Extension Property and the group G is approximated (in an algebraic sense) by its quotients obtained by peripheral fillings. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 20F65, 20F67, 20F06, 57M27, 20E26     

The isomorphism problem for toral relatively hyperbolic groups

We provide a solution to the isomorphism problem for torsion-free relatively hyperbolic groups with abelian parabolics. As special cases we recover solutions to the isomorphism problem for: (i) torsion-free hyperbolic groups (Sela, [60] and unpublished); and (ii) finitely generated fully residually free groups (Bumagin, Kharlampovich and Miasnikov [14]). We also give a solution to the homeomorphism problem for finite volume hyperbolic n-manifolds, for n≥3. In the course of the proof of the main result, we prove that a particular JSJ decomposition of a freely indecomposable torsion-free relatively hyperbolic group with abelian parabolics is algorithmically constructible.     

Non-singly-generated closed ideals in group algebras

We investigate the problem whether every closed ideal in the group algebrasA(G) is generated by a single function. For the algebrasA _r(R ⁿ),n≧6, we give a negative solution. We also obtain some negative results for general locally compact abelian groups. This paper is a part of the author’s Ph. D. thesis prepared at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the supervision of Professor Y. Katznelson, to whom the author wishes to express his thanks for his helpful guidance, and valuable remarks.     

Thick metric spaces,relative hyperbolicity,and quasi-isometric rigidity

We study the geometry of non-relatively hyperbolic groups. Generalizing a result of Schwartz, any quasi-isometric image of a non-relatively hyperbolic space in a relatively hyperbolic space is contained in a bounded neighborhood of a single peripheral subgroup. This implies that a group being relatively hyperbolic with non-relatively hyperbolic peripheral subgroups is a quasi-isometry invariant. As an application, Artin groups are relatively hyperbolic if and only if freely decomposable. We also introduce a new quasi-isometry invariant of metric spaces called metrically thick, which is sufficient for a metric space to be non-hyperbolic relative to any non-trivial collection of subsets. Thick finitely generated groups include: mapping class groups of most surfaces; outer automorphism groups of most free groups; certain Artin groups; and others. Non-uniform lattices in higher rank semisimple Lie groups are thick and hence non-relatively hyperbolic, in contrast with rank one which provided the motivating examples of relatively hyperbolic groups. Mapping class groups are the first examples of non-relatively hyperbolic groups having cut points in any asymptotic cone, resolving several questions of Drutu and Sapir about the structure of relatively hyperbolic groups. Outside of group theory, Teichmüller spaces for surfaces of sufficiently large complexity are thick with respect to the Weil–Peterson metric, in contrast with Brock–Farb’s hyperbolicity result in low complexity.     

Nonsmooth eigenfunctions in problems of mathematical physics

We study whether V.A. Il’in’s method for proving the uniqueness of the solution of a mixed problem for a hyperbolic equation applies to a problem with transmission conditions in the interior of the interval. We show that the system of eigenfunctions corresponding to this problem is complete in the space L ²(0, l) and is a Riesz basis in this space.     

Homological vanishing theorems for locally analytic representations

Let G be the group of rational points of a split connected reductive group over a p-adic local field, and let Γ be a discrete and cocompact subgroup of G. Motivated by questions on the cohomology of p-adic symmetric spaces, we investigate the homology of Γ with coefficients in locally analytic principal series and related representations of G. The vanishing and finiteness results that we find partially rely on the compactness of certain Banach–Hecke operators. We also give a new construction of P. Schneider’s reduced Hodge–de Rham spectral sequence and show that the induced filtration is the Hodge–de Rham filtration. In a previously unknown case, our vanishing theorems then also imply two other of P. Schneider’s conjectures.     

Vanishing Results for Toric Varieties Associated To GL n and G2

Toric varieties associated with root systems appeared very naturally in the theory of group compactifications. Here they are considered in a very different context. We prove the vanishing of higher cohomology groups for certain line bundles on toric varieties associated to GL _n and G₂. This can be considered of general interest and it improves the previously known results for these varieties. We also show how these results give a simple proof of a converse to Mazur’s inequality for GL _n and G₂ respectively. It is known that the latter imply the nonemptiness of some affine Deligne–Lusztig varieties. Dedicated to Scarlett MccGwire and Dr. Christian Duhamel     

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.     

Weyl’s Theorems for Some Classes of Operators

We introduce the class of operators on Banach spaces having property (H) and study Weyl’s theorems, and related results for operators which satisfy this property. We show that a- Weyl’s theorem holds for every decomposable operator having property (H). We also show that a-Weyl’s theorem holds for every multiplier T of a commutative semi-simple regular Tauberian Banach algebra. In particular every convolution operator T_μ of a group algebra L¹(G), G a locally compact abelian group, satisfies a-Weyl’s theorem. Similar results are given for multipliers of other important commutative Banach algebras.     

Relative hyperbolicity and Artin groups

This paper considers the question of relative hyperbolicity of an Artin group with regard to the geometry of its associated Deligne complex. We prove that an Artin group is weakly hyperbolic relative to its finite (or spherical) type parabolic subgroups if and only if its Deligne complex is a Gromov hyperbolic space. For a two-dimensional Artin group the Deligne complex is Gromov hyperbolic precisely when the corresponding Davis complex is Gromov hyperbolic, that is, precisely when the underlying Coxeter group is a hyperbolic group. For Artin groups of FC type we give a sufficient condition for hyperbolicity of the Deligne complex which applies to a large class of these groups for which the underlying Coxeter group is hyperbolic. The key tool in the proof is an extension of the Milnor-Svarc Lemma which states that if a group G admits a discontinuous, co-compact action by isometries on a Gromov hyperbolic metric space, then G is weakly hyperbolic relative to the isotropy subgroups of the action.      

On the hyperbolic limit points of groups acting on hyperbolic spaces

We study the hyperbolic limit points of a groupG acting on a hyperbolic metric space, and consider the question of whether any attractive limit point corresponds to a unique repulsive limit point. In the special case whereG is a (non-elementary) finitely generated hyperbolic group acting on its Cayley graph, the answer is affirmative, and the resulting mapg ⁺↦g ⁻, is discontinuous everywhere on the hyperbolic boundary. We also provide a direct, combinatorial proof in the special case whereG is a (non-abelian) free group of finite type, by characterizing algebraically the hyperbolic ends ofG. Partially supported by a grant from M.U.R.S.T., Italy.     

Classical theorems of probability on Gelfand pairs—Khinchin’s theorems and Cramér’s theorem

We prove Khinchin’s Theorems for Gelfand pairs (G, K) satisfying a condition (*): (a)G is connected; (b)G is almost connected and Ad (G/M) is almost algebraic for some compact normal subgroupM; (c)G admits a compact open normal subgroup; (d) (G,K) is symmetric andG is 2-root compact; (e)G is a Zariski-connectedp-adic algebraic group; (f) compact extension of unipotent algebraic groups; (g) compact extension of connected nilpotent groups. In fact, condition (*) turns out to be necessary and sufficient forK-biinvariant measures on aforementioned Gelfand pairs to be Hungarian. We also prove that Cramér’s theorem does not hold for a class of Gaussians on compact Gelfand pairs. This author was supported by the European Commission (TMR 1998–2001 Network Harmonic Analysis).     

Congruence subgroups of the minimal covolume arithmetic Kleinian group

We consider the problem of finding the normal subgroups of the orientation preserving subgroup Δ⁺ of the [3,5,3]-Coxeter group with the factor group isomorphic to \operatornamePSL₂(\mathbb F_q)\operatorname{\mathrm{PSL}}_{2}(\mathbb {F}_{q}). We identify all such groups with particular congruence subgroups of an arithmetic subgroup of PSL ₂(ℂ) derived from a quaternion algebra over a quartic field. The result can be interpreted as a generalization of the Macbeath’s result on the classification of finite linear groups as Hurwitz groups to 3-dimensional hyperbolic space.     

On the stability of Jensen’s functional equation on groups

In this paper we establish the stability of Jensen’s functional equation on some classes of groups. We prove that Jensen equation is stable on noncommutative groups such as metabelian groups and T (2, K), where K is an arbitrary commutative field with characteristic different from two. We also prove that any group A can be embedded into some group G such that the Jensen functional equation is stable on G.     

Factorisation Theorems for T-decomposable Measures on Groups

 For a real or p-adic unipotent algebraic group G, given a T∈ Hom(G, G) and T-decomposable measure on G which is either ‘full’ or symmetric, we get a decomposition , where μ₀ is T-invariant and , and this decomposition is unique upto a shift. We also show that ν₀ is T-decomposable under some additional sufficient condition and give a counter example to justify this. We generalise the above to power bounded operators on p-adic Banach spaces. We also prove some convergence-of-types theorems on p-adic groups as well as Banach spaces. (Received 21 October 2000; in revised form 21 February 2001)     

Two cancellative commutative congruences and group diagrams

Remmers (Adv. Math. 36:283–296, 1980) uses group diagrams in the Euclidean plane to demonstrate how equality in a semigroup S “mirrors” that inside the group G sharing the same presentation with S, when S satisfies Adyan’s condition—no cycles in the left/right graphs of the semigroup’s presentation. Goldstein and Teymouri (Semigroup Forum 47:299–304, 1993) introduce a conjugacy equivalence relation for semigroups S. By closely examining the geometry of annular group diagrams in the plane, they show how their equivalence relation mirrors conjugacy inside G, for S satisfying Adyan’s. In this article we introduce two cancellative commutative congruences. Following their leads, we examine the geometry of group diagrams on closed surfaces of higher genera to demonstrate how these congruences mirror equality inside two naturally associated Abelian quotient groups G/[G,G] and G/G ², respectively. In these instances we can drop Adyan’s condition.     

on the o-minimal LS-category

We introduce the o-minimal LS-category of definable sets in o-minimal expansions of ordered fields and we establish a relation with the semialgebraic and the classical one. We also study the o-minimal LS-category of definable groups. Along the way, we show that two definably connected definably compact definable groups G and H are definable homotopy equivalent if and only if L(G) and L(H) are homotopy equivalent, where L is the functor which associates to each definable group its corresponding Lie group via Pillay’s conjecture.     

Entropy of Stationary Measures and Bounded Tangential de-Rham Cohomology of Semisimple Lie Group Actions

Let G be a connected noncompact semisimple Lie group with finite center, K a maximal compact subgroup, and X a compact manifold (or more generally, a Borel space) on which G acts. Assume that ν is a μ -stationary measure on X, where μ is an admissible measure on G, and that the G-action is essentially free. We consider the foliation of K\ X with Riemmanian leaves isometric to the symmetric space K\ G, and the associated tangential bounded de-Rham cohomology, which we show is an invariant of the action. We prove both vanishing and nonvanishing results for bounded tangential cohomology, whose range is dictated by the size of the maximal projective factor G/Q of (X, ν). We give examples showing that the results are often best possible. For the proofs we formulate a bounded tangential version of Stokes’ theorem, and establish a bounded tangential version of Poincaré’s Lemma. These results are made possible by the structure theory of semisimple Lie groups actions with stationary measure developed in Nevo and Zimmer [Ann of Math. 156, 565--594]. The structure theory assert, in particular, that the G-action is orbit equivalent to an action of a uniquely determined parabolic subgroup Q. The existence of Q allows us to establish Stokes’ and Poincaré’s Lemmas, and we show that it is the size of Q (determined by the entropy) which controls the bounded tangential cohomology. Supported by BSF and ISF. Supported by BSF and NSF.     

Complementing a finite subgroup of a hyperbolic group by a free factor

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a finite subgroup H of a hyperbolic group G to contain a free subgroup F of rank two in G such that F and H generate a free product F ∗ H. A verification algorithm for these conditions is pointed out.