We prove that the exceptional group $E_6(2)$ is not a Hurwitz group. In the course of proving this, we complete the classification up to conjugacy of all Hurwitz subgroups of $E_6(2)$, in particular, those isomorphic to $L_2(8)$ and $L_3(2)$.
We prove that two reflection factorizations of a given element in an exceptional rank-2 complex reflection group of tetrahedral type are Hurwitz-equivalent if and only if they generate the same subgroup and have the same multiset of conjugacy classes.
In this note, we provide a short and self-contained proof that the braid group on n strands acts transitively on the set of reduced factorizations of a Coxeter element in a Coxeter group of finite rank n into products of reflections. We moreover use the same argument to also show that all factorizations of an element in a parabolic subgroup of W lie as well in this parabolic subgroup.
We show that for a parabolic quasi-Coxeter element in an affine Coxeter group the Hurwitz action on its set of reduced factorizations into a product of reflections is transitive. We call an element of the Coxeter group parabolic quasi-Coxeter element if it has a reduced factorization into a product of reflections that generate a parabolic subgroup.
We provide a necessary and sufficient condition on an element of a finite Coxeter group to ensure the transitivity of the Hurwitz action on its set of reduced decompositions into products of reflections. We show that this action is transitive if and only if the element is a parabolic quasi-Coxeter element, that is, if and only if it has a reduced decomposition into a product of reflections that generate a parabolic subgroup.
It is proved that the commutator subgroup of the fundamental group of the complement of any plane affine irreducible Hurwitz curve (respectively, any plane affine irreducible pseudoholomorphic curve) is finitely presented. It is shown that there exists a pseudo-holomorphic curve (a Hurwitz curve) in $\mathbb C\mathbb P^2$ whose fundamental group of the complement is not Hopfian and, respectively, this group is not residually finite. In addition, it is proved that there exist an irreducible nonsingular algebraic curve $C\subset \mathbb C^2$ and a bi-disk $D\subset \mathbb C^2$ such that the fun…
In which it is proven that, for each parabolic quasi-Coxeter element in a finite real reflection group, the orbits of the Hurwitz action on its reflection factorizations are distinguished by the two obvious invariants
We prove that the subgroup permutability degree of the simple Suzuki groups vanishes asymptotically. In the course of the proof we establish that the limit of the probability of a subgroup of $\Sz(q)$ being a 2-group is equal to 1.
Let $G$ be a finite soluble group and $G^{(k)}$ the $k$th term of the derived series of $G$. We prove that $G^{(k)}$ is nilpotent if and only if $|ab|=|a||b|$ for any $δ_k$-values $a,b\in G$ of coprime orders. In the course of the proof we establish the following result of independent interest: Let $P$ be a Sylow $p$-subgroup of $G$. Then $P\cap G^{(k)}$ is generated by $δ_k$-values contained in $P$. This is related to the so-called Focal Subgroup Theorem.
We characterize the double centralizer of all parabolic subgroups of the braid groups. We apply this result to provide a new and potentially more efficient solution to the subgroup conjugacy problem for parabolic subgroups. In the course of the proof we also characterize the centralizer for all parabolic subgroups.
We will give a general criterion - the existence of an $F$-obstruction - for showing that a subgroup of $\mathrm{PL}_+ I$ does not embed into Thompson's group $F$. An immediate consequence is that Cleary's "golden ratio" group $F_τ$ does not embed into $F$. Our results also yield a new proof that Stein's groups $F_{p,q}$ do not embed into $F$, a result first established by Lodha using his theory of coherent actions. We develop the basic theory of $F$-obstructions and show that they exhibit certain rigidity phenomena of independent interest. In the course of establishing the main result of the …
We discuss various types of Tits Alternative for subgroups of graph products of groups, and prove that, under some natural conditions, a graph product of groups satisfies a given form of Tits Alternative if and only if each vertex group satisfies this alternative. As a corollary, we show that every finitely generated subgroup of a graph product of virtually solvable groups is either virtually solvable or large. As another corollary, we prove that every non-abelian subgroup of a right angled Artin group has an epimorphism onto the free group of rank 2. In the course of the paper we develop the …
Let R be a connected noetherian commutative ring, and let G be a simply connected reductive group over R of isotropic rank ge 2. The elementary subgroup E(R) of G(R) is the subgroup generated by the R-points U_P^+(R) and U_P^-(R) of the unipotent radicals of two opposite parabolic subgroups P^+ and P^- of G. Assume that 2 is invertible in R if G is of type B_n,C_n,F_4,G_2 and 3 is invertible in R if G is of type G_2. We prove that the congruence kernel of E(R), defined as the kernel of the natural homomorphism between the profinite completion of E(R) and the congruence completion of E(R) with …
Lie groups over local fields furnish prime examples of totally disconnected, locally compact groups. We discuss the scale, tidy subgroups and further subgroups (like contraction subgroups) for analytic endomorphisms of such groups. The text is both a research article and a worked out set of lecture notes for a mini-course held June 27-July 1, 2016 at the MATRIX research center in Creswick (Australia) as part of the "Winter of Disconnectedness". The text can be read in parallel to the earlier lecture notes arXiv:0804.2234 which are devoted to automorphisms, with sketches of proof. Complementary…
A remarkable result of Thompson states that a finite group is soluble if and only if its two-generated subgroups are soluble. This result has been generalized in numerous ways, and it is in the core of a wide area of research in the theory of groups, aiming for global properties of groups from local properties of two-generated (or more generally, $n$-generated) subgroups. We contribute an extension of Thompson's theorem from the perspective of factorized groups. More precisely, we study finite groups $G = AB$ with subgroups $A,\ B$ such that $\langle a, b\rangle$ is soluble for all $a \in A$ a…
Given a Chevalley group $\mathcal{G}$ of classical type and a Borel subgroup $\mathcal{B} \subseteq \mathcal{G}$, we compute the $Σ$-invariants of the $S$-arithmetic groups $\mathcal{B}(\mathbb{Z}[1/N])$, where $N$ is a product of large enough primes. To this end, we let $\mathcal{B}(\mathbb{Z}[1/N])$ act on a Euclidean building $X$ that is given by the product of Bruhat--Tits buildings $X_p$ associated to $\mathcal{G}$, where $p$ runs over the primes dividing $N$. In the course of the proof we introduce necessary and sufficient conditions for convex functions on $\mbox{CAT(0)}$-spaces to be c…
These are the lecture notes for my course at the 2011 Park City Mathematics Graduate Summer School. The first two lectures covered the basics of the Torelli group and the Johnson homomorphism, and the third and fourth lectures discussed the second cohomology group of the level p congruence subgroup of the mapping class group, following my papers "The second rational homology group of the moduli space of curves with level structures" and "The Picard group of the moduli space of curves with level structures".
We study totally disconnected locally compact second countable (t.d.l.c.s.c.) groups that contain a compact open subgroup with finite rank. We show such groups that additionally admit a pro-$π$ compact open subgroup for some finite set of primes $π$ are virtually an extension of a finite direct product of topologically simple groups by an elementary group. This result, in particular, applies to l.c.s.c. $p$-adic Lie groups. We go on to prove a decomposition result for all t.d.l.c.s.c. groups containing a compact open subgroup with finite rank. In the course of proving these theorems, we demons…
The purpose of this paper is to give presentations for projective $S$-unit groups of the Hurwitz order in Hamilton's quaternions over the rational field $\mathbb{Q}$. To our knowledge, this provides the first explicit presentations of an $S$-arithmetic lattice in a semisimple Lie group with $S$ large. In particular, we give presentations for groups acting irreducibly and cocompactly on a product of Bruhat--Tits trees. We also include some discussion and experimentation related to the congruence subgroup problem, which is open when $S$ contains at least two odd primes. In the appendix, we provi…
This book provides a gentle introduction to the study of arithmetic subgroups of semisimple Lie groups. This means that the goal is to understand the group SL(n,Z) and certain of its subgroups. Among the major results discussed in the later chapters are the Mostow Rigidity Theorem, the Margulis Superrigidity Theorem, Ratner's Theorems, and the classification of arithmetic subgroups of classical groups. As background for the proofs of these theorems, the book provides primers on lattice subgroups, arithmetic groups, real rank and Q-rank, ergodic theory, unitary representations, amenability, Kaz…
In the course of investigating regular subalgebras of E(10) related to cosmological solutions of 11-dimensional supergravity supporting an electric 4-form field, a class of rank 10 Coxeter subgroups of the Weyl group of E(10) was uncovered (hep-th/0606123). These Coxeter groups all share the property that their Coxeter graphs have incidence index 3, i.e. that each node is incident to three and only three single lines. Furthermore, the Coxeter exponents are either 2 or 3, but never infinity. We here go beyond subgroups of the Weyl group of E(10) and classify all rank 10 Coxeter groups with thes…