We construct several series of explicit presentations of infinite hyperbolic groups enjoying Kazhdan's property (T). Some of them are significantly shorter than the previously known shortest examples. Moreover, we show that some of those hyperbolic Kazhdan groups possess finite simple quotient groups of arbitrarily large rank; they constitute the first known specimens combining those properties. All the hyperbolic groups we consider are non-positively curved k-fold generalized triangle groups, i.e. groups that possess a simplicial action on a CAT(0) triangle complex, which is sharply transitive on the set of triangles, and such that edge-stabilizers are cyclic of order k.
This paper is a continuation of our first paper [10] in which we showed how deformation theory of representation varieties can be used to study finite simple quotients of triangle groups. While in Part I, we mainly used deformations of the principal homomorphism from ${\rm SO}(3,\R)$, in this part we use ${\rm PGL}_2(\R)$ as well as deformations of representations which are very different from the principal homomorphism.
Let $2 \leq a \leq b \leq c \in \mathbb{N}$ with $μ=1/a+1/b+1/c<1$ and let $T=T_{a,b,c}=< x,y,z: x^a=y^b=z^c=xyz=1>$ be the corresponding hyperbolic triangle group. Many papers have been dedicated to the following question: what are the finite (simple) groups which appear as quotients of $T$? (Classically, for $(a,b,c)=(2,3,7)$ and more recently also for general $(a,b,c)$.) These papers have used either explicit constructive methods or probabilistic ones. The goal of this paper is to present a new approach based on the theory of representation varieties (via deformation theory). As a corollary…
In this article, we construct partial periodic quotients of groups which have a non-elementary acylindrical action on a hyperbolic space. In particular, we provide infinite quotients of mapping class groups where a fixed power of every pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism is identified with a periodic or reducible element.
Let G be a non-elementary torsion-free hyperbolic group. We prove that the exponential growth rate of the periodic quotient G/G^n tends to the one of G as n odd approaches infinity. Moreover we provide an estimate at which the convergence is taking place.
This paper describes some generalizations of the results presented in the book "Geometry of defining Relations in Groups" , of A.Yu.Ol'shanskii to the case of non-cyclic torsion-free hyperbolic groups. In particular, it is proved that for every non-cyclic torsion-free hyperbolic group, there exists a non-Abelian torsion-free quotient group in which all proper subgroups are cyclic, and the intersection of any two of them is not trivial.
Pascal's triangle will give the number of geodesics from the identity to each point of ${\bf Z}^2$ if you write it in each of the quadrants. Given a group $G$ and generating set $\cal G$ we take the {\it Pascal's function} $p_{\cal G}: G \to {\bf Z}_{\ge 0}$ to be the function which assigns to each $g\in G$ the number of geodesics from $1$ to $g$. We give a general method for calculating this in hyperbolic groups and discuss the generic case in abelian groups.
We show that every non-elementary group $G$ acting properly and cocompactly by isometries on a proper geodesic Gromov hyperbolic space $X$ is growth tight. In other words, the exponential growth rate of $G$ for the geometric (pseudo)-distance induced by $X$ is greater than the exponential growth rate of any of its quotients by an infinite normal subgroup. This result generalizes from a unified framework previous works of Arzhantseva-Lysenok and Sambusetti, and provides an answer to a question of the latter.
In this paper we deal with the problem of classifying the genera of quotient curves $\mathcal{H}_q/G$, where $\mathcal{H}_q$ is the $\mathbb{F}_{q^2}$-maximal Hermitian curve and $G$ is an automorphism group of $\mathcal{H}_q$. The groups $G$ considered in the literature fix either a point or a triangle in the plane ${\rm PG}(2,q^6)$. In this paper, we give a complete list of genera of quotients $\mathcal{H}_q/G$, when $G \leq {\rm Aut}(\mathcal{H}_q) \cong {\rm PGU}(3,q)$ does not leave invariant any point or triangle in the plane. As a result, the classification of subgroups $G$ of ${\rm PGU…
Complex hyperbolic triangle groups were first considered by Mostow in building the first nonarithmetic lattices in PU(2, 1). They are a natural generalization of the classical triangle groups acting on the hyperbolic plane. A well-known theorem of Takeuchi is that there are only finitely many Fuchsian triangle groups that are also an arithmetic lattice in PSL_2(R). We consider similar finiteness theorem for complex hyperbolic triangle groups. In particular, we show that there are finitely many complex hyperbolic triangle groups with rational angular invariant which determine an arithmetic latt…
Let M be an orientable hyperbolic surface without boundary and let $γ$ be a closed geodesic in M. We prove that any side of any triangle formed by distinct lifts of $γ$ in H2 is shorter than $γ$.
We study random quotients of a fixed non-elementary hyperbolic group in the Gromov density model. Let $G=\langle S\;\vert\; T\rangle $ be a finite presentation of a non-elementary hyperbolic group, and let $Ann_{l,ω}(G)$ be the set of elements of norm between $l-ω(l)$ and $l$ in $G$. A random quotient at density $d$ and length $ω$-near $l$ is defined by killing a uniformly randomly chosen set of $\vert S_{l}(G)\vert ^{d}$ words in $Ann_{l,ω(l)}(G)$, where $ω(l) =o_{l}(l)$. We prove that for any d>1/3, such a quotient has Property (T) with probability tending to $1$ as $l$ tends to infinity. Th…
Let $G$ be either a non-elementary (word) hyperbolic group or a large group (both in the sense of Gromov). In this paper we describe several approaches for constructing continuous families of periodic quotients of $G$ with various properties. The first three methods work for any non-elementary hyperbolic group, producing three different continua of periodic quotients of $G$. They are based on the results and techniques, that were developed by Ivanov and Olshanskii in order to show that there exists an integer $n$ such that $G/G^n$ is an infinite group of exponent $n$. The fourth approach start…
The theory of complex hyperbolic discrete groups is still in its childhood but promises to grow into a rich subfield of geometry. In this paper I will discuss some recent progress that has been made on complex hyperbolic deformations of the modular group and, more generally, triangle groups. These are some of the simplest nontrivial complex hyperbolic discrete groups. In particular, I will talk about my recent discovery of a closed real hyperbolic 3-manifold which appears as the manifold at infinity for a complex hyperbolic discrete group.
We compute higher moments of the Siegel--Veech transform over quotients of $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ by the Hecke triangle groups. After fixing a normalization of the Haar measure on $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ we use geometric results and linear algebra to create explicit integration formulas which give information about densities of $k$-tuples of vectors in discrete subsets of $\mathbb{R}^2$ which arise as orbits of Hecke triangle groups. This generalizes work of W.~Schmidt on the variance of the Siegel transform over $SL(2,\mathbb{R})/SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$.
It is conjectured that the central quotient of every irreducible Artin group is either virtually cyclic or acylindrically hyperbolic. We prove this conjecture for Artin groups associated to triangle-free graphs and Artin groups of large type associated to cones over square-free bipartite graphs. In fact, we treat Artin groups that are known to be CAT(0) groups by a result of Brady and McCammond.
This paper is a continuation of our previous work with Margalit where we studied group actions on projection complexes. In that paper, we demonstrated sufficient conditions so that the normal closure of a family of subgroups of vertex stabilizers is a free product of certain conjugates of these subgroups. In this paper, we study both the quotient of the projection complex by this normal subgroup and the action of the quotient group on the quotient of the projection complex. We show that under certain conditions that the quotient complex is $δ$-hyperbolic. Additionally, under certain circumstan…
Let $Δ$ be a hyperbolic triangle with a fixed area $φ$. We prove that for all but countably many $φ$, generic choices of $Δ$ have the property that the group generated by the $π$--rotations about the midpoints of the sides of the triangle admits no nontrivial relations. By contrast, we show for all $φ\in(0,π)\setminus\mathbb{Q}π$, a dense set of triangles does afford nontrivial relations, which in the generic case map to hyperbolic translations. To establish this fact, we study the deformation space $\mathfrak{C}_θ$ of singular hyperbolic metrics on a torus with a single cone point of angle $θ…
For any orientable finite-volume hyperbolic 3-manifold, this paper proves that the profinite isomorphism type of the fundamental group uniquely determines the isomorphism type of the first integral cohomology, as marked with the Thurston norm and the fibered classes; moreover, up to finite ambiguity, the profinite isomorphism type determines the isomorphism type of the fundamental group, among the class of finitely generated 3-manifold groups.
We prove that in various natural models of a random quotient of a group, depending on a density parameter, for each hyperbolic group there is some critical density under which a random quotient is still hyperbolic with high probability, whereas above this critical value a random quotient is very probably trivial. We give explicit characterizations of these critical densities for the various models.
Our main result is that many triangles of Baumslag-Solitar groups collapse to finite groups, generalizing a famous example of Hirsch. A triangle of Baumslag-Solitar groups means a group with three generators, cyclically ordered, with each generator conjugating some power of the previous one to another power. There are six parameters, occurring in pairs, and we show that the triangle fails to be developable whenever one of the parameters divides its partner, except for a few special cases. Furthermore, under fairly general conditions, the group turns out to be finite and solvable of class<4. We…
Answering a question asked by Agol and Wise, we show that a desired stronger form of Wise's malnormal special quotient theorem does not hold. The counterexamples are generalizations of triangle groups, built using the Ramanujan graphs constructed by Lubotzky--Phillips--Sarnak.
We determine the minimal volume of arithmetic hyperbolic orientable n-dimensional orbifolds (compact and non-compact) for every odd dimension n>3. Combined with the previously known results it solves the minimal volume problem for arithmetic hyperbolic n-orbifolds in all dimensions.
We show that for any Polish group $G$ and any countable normal subgroup $Γ\triangleleft G$, the coset equivalence relation $G/Γ$ is a hyperfinite Borel equivalence relation. In particular, the outer automorphism group of any countable group is hyperfinite.
Let I(p,v) be Bourdon's building, the unique simply-connected 2-complex such that all 2-cells are regular right-angled hyperbolic p-gons and the link at each vertex is the complete bipartite graph K(v,v). We investigate and mostly determine the set of triples (p,v,g) for which there exists a uniform lattice Γ in Aut(I(p,v)) such that Γ\I(p,v) is a compact orientable surface of genus g. Surprisingly, the existence of Γ depends upon the value of v. The remaining cases lead to open questions in tessellations of surfaces and in number theory. Our construction of Γ, together with a theorem of Haglu…
In this paper we provide new examples of hyperbolic but nonsystolic groups by showing that the triangle groups $(2,4,5)$ and $(2,5,5)$ are not systolic. Along the way we prove some results about subsets of systolic complexes stable under involutions.
We prove that certain Fuchsian triangle groups are profinitely rigid in the absolute sense, i.e. each is distinguished from all other finitely generated, residually finite groups by its set of finite quotients. We also develop a method based on character varieties that can be used to distinguish between the profinite completions of certain groups.
In this article we prove that the set of torsion-free groups acting by isometries on a hyperbolic metric space whose entropy is bounded above and with a compact quotient is finite. The number of such groups can be estimated in terms of the hyperbolicity constant and of an upper bound of the entropy of the space and of an upper bound of the diameter of its quotient. As a consequence we show that the set of non cyclic torsion-free $δ$-hyperbolic marked groups whose entropy is bounded above by a number $H$ is finite with cardinality depending on $δ$ and $H$ alone. From these results, we draw homo…
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 $π_1(M)$. 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 obtain…
We prove that the profinite completion of the fundamental group of a compact 3-manifold $M$ satisfies a Tits alternative: if a closed subgroup $H$ does not contain a free pro-$p$ subgroup for any $p$, then $H$ is virtually soluble, and furthermore of a very particular form. In particular, the profinite completion of the fundamental group of a closed, hyperbolic 3-manifold does not contain a subgroup isomorphic to $\hat{\mathbb{Z}}^2$. This gives a profinite characterization of hyperbolicity among irreducible 3-manifolds. We also characterize Seifert fibred 3-manifolds as precisely those for wh…
In this paper it is proved that relative hyperbolicity is an invariant of quasi-isometry. As a byproduct of the arguments, simplified definitions of relative hyperbolicity are obtained. In particular we obtain a new definition very similar to the one of hyperbolicity, relying on the existence for every quasi-geodesic triangle of a central left coset of peripheral subgroup.
We prove that for a relatively hyperbolic group G there is a sequence of relatively hyperbolic proper quotients such that their growth rates converge to the growth rate of G. Under natural assumptions, the same conclusion holds for the critical exponent of a cusp-uniform action of G on a hyperbolic metric space. As a corollary, we obtain that the critical exponent of a torsion-free geometrically finite Kleinian group can be arbitrarily approximated by those of quotient groups. This resolves a question of Dal'bo-Peigné-Picaud-Sambusetti. Our approach is based on the study of Patterson-Sullivan …
We give the first examples of closed fibered hyperbolic 3-manifolds whose fundamental groups are distinguished from every other finitely generated, residually finite group by their finite quotients. One of the examples is also the first example of a non-orientable profinitely rigid hyperbolic 3-manifold.
