A group G has homological dimension less or equal to 1 if it is locally free. We prove the converse provided that G satisfies the Atiyah Conjecture about L^2-Betti numbers. We also show that a finitely generated elementary amenable group G of cohomological dimension less or equal to 2 possesses a finite 2-dimensional model for BG and in particular that G is finitely presented and the trivial ZG-module Z has a 2-dimensional resolution by finitely generated free ZG-modules.
It is shown that the strong Atiyah conjecture and the Lück approximation conjecture in the space of marked groups hold for locally indicable groups. In particular, this implies that one-relator groups satisfy both conjectures. We also show that the center conjecture, the independence conjecture and the strong eigenvalue conjecture hold for these groups. As a byproduct we prove that the group algebra of a locally indicable group over a field of characteristic zero has a Hughes-free epic division algebra and, in particular, it is embedded in a division algebra.
We state and prove a condition under which the strong Atiyah Conjecture carries over to subgroups. Moreover, we show that if a group satisfies the (strong) Atiyah Conjecture then any quotient with finite kernel does.
We provide new conditions for the Strong Atiyah conjecture to lift to finite group extensions. In particular, we show cocompact special groups satisfy these conditions, so the Strong Atiyah conjecture holds for virtually cocompact special groups.
We prove a generalized version of the Strong Atiyah Conjecture for the infinite dihedral group W, replacing the group von Neumann algebra NW with the Hecke-von Neumann algebra N_qW.
We prove the strong Atiyah conjecture for right-angled Artin groups and right-angled Coxeter groups. More generally, we prove it for groups which are certain finite extensions or elementary amenable extensions of such groups.
The Atiyah conjecture for a discrete group G states that the $L^2$-Betti numbers of a finite CW-complex with fundamental group G are integers if G is torsion-free and are rational with denominators determined by the finite subgroups of G in general. Here we establish conditions under which the Atiyah conjecture for a group G implies the Atiyah conjecture for every finite extension of G. The most important requirement is that the cohomology $H^*(G,\mathbb{Z}/p)$ is isomorphic to the cohomology of the p-adic completion of G for every prime p. An additional assumption is necessary, e.g. that the …
We give a criterion for bounding the homological finiteness length of certain HF-groups. This is used in two distinct contexts. Firstly, the homological finiteness length of a non-uniform lattice on a locally finite n-dimensional contractible CW-complex is less than n. In dimension two it solves a conjecture of Farb, Hruska and Thomas. As another corollary, we obtain an upper bound for the homological finiteness length of arithmetic groups over function fields. This gives an easier proof of a result of Bux and Wortman that solved a long-standing conjecture. Secondly, the criterion is applied t…
Paper withdrawn because of a gap in the proof of Proposition 3 of Thomas Schick: "Integrality of L2-Betti numbers", Math. Ann. 317, 727-750 (arXiv.org/abs/math.gt/0001101). Most results of the withdrawn paper were based on this proposition.
In this short note, we show that the Atiyah-Sutcliffe conjectures for $n = 2m$, related to the unitary groups $U(2m)$, imply the author's analogous conjectures, which are associated with the symplectic groups $Sp(m)$. The proof is based on the simple fact that the root system of $U(2m)$ dominates that of $Sp(m)$.
Let $Γ$ be a discrete group. Following Linnell and Schick one can define a continuous ring $c(Γ)$ associated with $Γ$. They proved that if the Atiyah Conjecture holds for a torsion-free group $Γ$, then $c(Γ)$ is a skew field. Also, if $Γ$ has torsion and the Strong Atiyah Conjecture holds for $Γ$, then $c(Γ)$ is a matrix ring over a skew field. The simplest example when the Strong Atiyah Conjecture fails is the lamplighter group $Γ=Z_2\wr Z$. It is known that $C(Z_2\wr Z)$ does not even have a classical ring of quotients. Our main result is that if $H$ is amenable, then $c(Z_2\wr H)$ is isomor…
Let G be a torsion free discrete group and let \bar{Q} denote the field of algebraic numbers in C. We prove that \bar{Q}[G] fulfills the Atiyah conjecture if G lies in a certain class of groups D, which contains in particular all groups which are residually torsion free elementary amenable or which are residually free. This result implies that there are no non-trivial zero-divisors in C[G]. The statement relies on new approximation results for L2-Betti numbers over \bar{Q}[G], which are the core of the work done in this paper. Another set of results in the paper is concerned with certain numbe…
We give an alternate proof of a Theorem of Elek and Szabo establishing Lück's determinant conjecture for sofic groups. Our proof is based on traces on group C*-algebras. We briefly discuss the relation with Atiyah's problem on the integrality of $L^2$-Betti numbers.
We prove that certain sequences of Artin monoids containing the braid monoid as a submonoid satisfy homological stability. When the $K(π,1)$ conjecture holds for the associated family of Artin groups this establishes homological stability for these groups. In particular, this recovers and extends Arnol'd's proof of stability for the Artin groups of type $A$, $B$ and $D$.
In this paper we establish some foundations regarding sheaves of vector spaces on graphs and their invariants, such as homology groups and their limits. We then use these ideas to prove the Hanna Neumann Conjecture of the 1950's; in fact, we prove a strengthened form of the conjecture. We introduce a notion of a sheaf of vector spaces on a graph, and develop the foundations of homology theories for such sheaves. One sheaf invariant, its "maximum excess," has a number of remarkable properties. It has a simple definition, with no reference to homology theory, that resembles graph expansion. Yet …
We construct the first aperiodic tiles for two amenable 3-dimensional Lie groups: Sol and the Heisenberg group. Our construction relies on the use of higher-dimensional uniformly finite homology. In particular, we settle completely the existence of aperiodic tiles for all of the non-compact geometries of 3-manifolds appearing in the geometrization conjecture.
We prove that every amenable group of cohomological dimension two whose integral group ring is a domain is solvable and investigate certain homological finiteness properties of groups that satisfy the analytic zero divisor conjecture and act on an acyclic CW-complex with amenable stabilisers.
We introduce the idea of *representation stability* (and several variations) for a sequence of representations V_n of groups G_n. A central application of the new viewpoint we introduce here is the importation of representation theory into the study of homological stability. This makes it possible to extend classical theorems of homological stability to a much broader variety of examples. Representation stability also provides a framework in which to find and to predict patterns, from classical representation theory (Littlewood--Richardson and Murnaghan rules, stability of Schur functors), to …
The Atiyah conjecture predicts that the L2-Betti numbers of a finite CW-complex with torsion-free fundamental group are integers. We show that the Atiyah conjecture holds (with an additional technical condition) for direct and inverse limits of directed systems of groups for which it is true. As a corollary it holds for residually torsion-free solvable groups, e.g. for pure braid groups or for positive 1-relator groups with torsion free abelianization. Putting everything together we establish a new class of groups for which the Atiyah conjecture holds, which contains all free groups and in par…
