A virtual endomorphism of a group G is a homomorphism f from H into G where H is a subgroup of G of finite index m. The triple (G,H,f) produces a state-closed (or, self-similar) representation t of G on the 1-rooted m-ary tree. This paper is a study of properties of the image G^t when G is nilpotent. In particular, it is shown that if G is finitely generated, torsion-free and nilpotent then G^t has solvability degree bounded above by the number of prime divisors of m.
We obtain sufficient criteria for endomorphisms of torsion-free nilpotent groups of finite rank to be automorphisms, by considering the induced maps on the torsion-free abelianisation and the centre. Whilst these results are known in the finitely generated case removing this assumption introduces several difficulties.
An algorithm is constructed that, when given an explicit presentation of a finitely generated nilpotent group $G,$ decides for any pair of endomorphisms $φ, ψ: G \to G$ and any pair of elements $u, v \in G,$ whether or not the equation $(xφ)u = v (xψ)$ has a solution $x \in G.$ Thus it is shown that the problem of the title is decidable. Also we present an algorithm that produces a finite set of generators of the subgroup (equalizer) $Eq_{φ, ψ}(G) \leq G$ of all elements $u \in G$ such that $u φ= u ψ.$
We prove that the growth rate of an endomorphism of a finitely generated nilpotent group equals to the growth rate of induced endomorphism on its abelinization, generalizing the corresponding result for an automorphism in [14]. We also study growth rates of endomorphisms for specific solvable groups, lattices of Sol, providing a counterexample to a known result in [5] and proving that the growth rate is an algebraic number.
We give a sufficient criterion for generic local functional equations for submodule zeta functions associated to nilpotent algebras of endomorphisms defined over number fields. This allows us, in particular, to prove various conjectures on such functional equations for ideal zeta functions of nilpotent Lie lattices. Via the Mal'cev correspondence, these results have corollaries pertaining to zeta functions enumerating normal subgroups of finite index in finitely generated nilpotent groups, most notably finitely generated free nilpotent groups of any given class.
A {\it Schmidt group} is a non-nilpotent finite group in which each proper subgroup is nilpotent. Each Schmidt group G can be described by three parameters p, q and v, where p and q are different primes and v is a natural number, $v\ge 1$. Denote by ${\mathcal{S}}$ the class of all Schmidt groups which have the same parameters p, q and v. It is shown in this paper that the class ${\mathcal{S}}$ can be characterized by the properties of the endomorphism semigroups of the groups of this class. It follows from this characterization that if $G\in {\mathcal{S}}$ and H is another group such that the…
A finitely generated group $Γ$ is called strongly scale-invariant if there exists an injective endomorphism $φ: Γ\to Γ$ with the image $φ(Γ)$ of finite index in $Γ$ and the subgroup $\displaystyle \bigcap_{n>0}φ^n(Γ)$ finite. The only known examples of such groups are virtually nilpotent, or equivalently, all examples have polynomial growth. A question by Nekrashevych and Pete asks whether these groups are the only possibilities for such endomorphisms, motivated by the positive answer due to Gromov in the special case of expanding group morphisms. In this paper, we study this question for the …
We consider the subgroup of points of finite orbit through the action of an endomorphism of a virtually free group, with particular emphasis on the subgroup of eventually fixed points, EvFix($φ$): points whose orbit contains a fixed point. We provide an algorithm to compute the subgroup of fixed points of an endomorphism of a finitely generated virtually free group and prove that finite orbits have cardinality bounded by a computable constant, which allows us to solve several algorithmic problems: deciding if $φ$ is a finite order element of End($G$), if $φ$ is aperiodic, if EvFix($φ$) is fini…
A direct consequence of Gromov's theorem is that if a group has polynomial geodesic growth with respect to some finite generating set then it is virtually nilpotent. However, until now the only examples known were virtually abelian. In this note we furnish an example of a virtually 2-step nilpotent group having polynomial geodesic growth with respect to a certain finite generating set.
We consider expansive group actions on a compact metric space containing a special fixed point denoted by $0$, and endomorphisms of such systems whose forward trajectories are attracted toward $0$. Such endomorphisms are called asymptotically nilpotent, and we study the conditions in which they are nilpotent, that is, map the entire space to $0$ in a finite number of iterations. We show that for a large class of discrete groups, this property of nil-rigidity holds for all expansive actions that satisfy a natural specification-like property and have dense homoclinic points. Our main result in p…
We prove that the subgroup zeta function and the normal zeta function of a finitely generated virtually nilpotent group are finite sums of Euler products of cone integrals over $\mathbb{Q}$ and we deduce from this that they have rational abscissa of convergence and some meromorphic continuation. We also define Mal'cev completions of a finitely generated virtually nilpotent group and we prove that the subgroup growth and the normal subgroup growth of the latter are invariants of its $\mathbb{Q}$-Mal'cev completion.
We offer in this note a self-contained proof of the fact that a finitely generated group is not virtually nilpotent if and only if it has a quotient with the infinite conjugacy class (ICC) propoerty. This proof is a modern presentation of the original proof, by McLain (1956) and Duguid and McLain (1956).
In this paper we study virtual rational Betti numbers of a nilpotent-by-abelian group $G$, where the abelianization $N/N'$ of its nilpotent part $N$ satisfies certain tameness property. More precisely, we prove that if $N/N'$ is $2(c(n-1)-1)$-tame as a $G/N$-module, $c$ the nilpotency class of $N$, then $\mathrm{vb}_j(G):=\sup_{M\in\mathcal{A}_G}\dim_\mathbb{Q} H_j(M,\mathbb{Q})$ is finite for all $0\leq j\leq n$, where $\mathcal{A}_G$ is the set of all finite index subgroups of $G$.
Aiming at a better understanding of finite groups as finite dynamical systems, we show that by a version of Fitting's Lemma for groups, each state space of an endomorphism of a finite group is a graph tensor product of a finite directed $1$-tree whose cycle is a loop with a disjoint union of cycles, generalizing results of Hernández-Toledo on linear finite dynamical systems, and we fully characterize the possible forms of state spaces of nilpotent endomorphisms via their "ramification behavior". Finally, as an application, we will count the isomorphism types of state spaces of endomorphisms of…
We consider coincidence Reidemeister zeta functions for tame endomorphism pairs of nilpotent groups of finite rank, shedding new light on the subject by means of profinite completion techniques. In particular, we provide a closed formula for coincidence Reidemeister numbers for iterations of endomorphism pairs of torsion-free nilpotent groups of finite rank, based on a weak commutativity condition, which derives from simultaneous triangularisability on abelian sections. Furthermore, we present results in support of a Pólya-Carlson dichotomy between rationality and a natural boundary for the an…
In [B] Bowen defined the growth rate of an endomorphism of a finitely generated group and related it to the entropy of a map $f:M \mapsto M$ on a compact manifold. In this note we study the purely group theoretic aspects of the growth rate of an endomorphism of a finitely generated group. We show that it is finite and bounded by the maximum length of the image of a generator. An equivalent formulation is given that ties the growth rate of an endomorphism to an increasing chain of subgroups. We then consider the relationship between growth rate of an endomorphism on a whole group and the growth…
We examine varieties of epigroups as unary semigroups, that is semigroups equipped with an additional unary operation of pseudoinversion. The article contains two main results. The first of them indicates a countably infinite family of injective endomorphisms of the lattice of all epigroup varieties. An epigroup variety is said to be a variety of finite degree if all its nilsemigroups are nilpotent. The second result of the article provides a characterization of epigroup varieties of finite degree in a language of identities and in terms of minimal forbidden subvarieties. Note that the first r…
We show that inductive limits of virtually nilpotent groups have strongly quasidiagonal C*-algebras, extending results of the first author on solvable virtually nilpotent groups. We use this result to show that the decomposition rank of the group C*-algebra of a finitely generated virtually nilpotent group $G$ is bounded by $2\cdot h(G)!-1$, where $h(G)$ is the Hirsch length of $G.$ This extends and sharpens results of the first and third authors on finitely generated nilpotent groups. It then follows that if a C*-algebra generated by an irreducible representation of a virtually nilpotent grou…
A fixed point theorem is proved for inverse transducers, leading to an automata-theoretic proof of the fixed point subgroup of an endomorphism of a finitely generated virtually free group being finitely generated. If the endomorphism is uniformly continuous for the hyperbolic metric, it is proved that the set of regular fixed points in the hyperbolic boundary has finitely many orbits under the action of the finite fixed points. In the automorphism case, it is shown that these regular fixed points are either exponentially stable attractors or exponentially stable repellers.
A nonpolycyclic nilpotent-by-cyclic group Gamma can be expressed as the HNN extension of a finitely-generated nilpotent group N. The first main result is that quasi-isometric nilpotent-by-cyclic groups are HNN extensions of quasi-isometric nilpotent groups. The nonsurjective injection defining such an extension induces an injective endomorphism phi of the Lie algebra g associated to the Lie group in which N is a lattice. A normal form for automorphisms of nilpotent Lie algebras--permuted absolute Jordan form-- is defined and conjectured to be a quasi-isometry invariant. We show that if phi, th…
It is proved that an endomorphism $φ$ of a hyperbolic group $G$ satisfies a Hölder condition with respect to a visual metric if and only if $φ$ is virtually injective and $Gφ$ is a quasiconvex subgroup of $G$. If $G$ is virtually free or torsion-free co-hopfian, then $φ$ is uniformly continuous if and only if it it satisfies a Hölder condition if and only if it is virtually injective. Lipschitz conditions are discussed for free group automorphisms.
The Addition Theorem for the algebraic entropy of group endomorphisms of torsion abelian groups was proved in [4]. Later, this result was extended to all abelian groups [3] and, recently, to all torsion finitely quasihamiltonian groups [7]. In contrast, when it comes to metabelian groups, the additivity of the algebraic entropy fails [8]. Continuing the research within the class of locally finite groups, we prove that the Addition Theorem holds for two-step nilpotent torsion groups.
Let X and Y be commuting nilpotent K-endomorphisms of a vector space V, where K is a field of characteristic p >= 0. If F=K(t) is the field of rational functions on the projective line, consider the K(t)-endomorphism A=X+tY of V. If p=0, or if the (p-1)-st power of A is 0, we show here that X and Y are tangent to the unipotent radical of the centralizer of A in GL(V). For all geometric points (a:b) of a suitable open subset of the projective line, it follows that X and Y are tangent to the unipotent radical of the centralizer of aX+bY. This answers a question of J. Pevtsova.
We show that, for a finitely generated residually finite group $Γ$, the word $[x_1, \ldots, x_k]$ is a probabilistic identity of $Γ$ if and only if $Γ$ is virtually nilpotent of class less than $k$. Related results, generalizations and problems are also discussed.
Let G be a finitely generated group with a given word metric. The asymptotic density of elements in G that have a particular property P is defined to be the limit, as r goes to infinity, of the proportion of elements in the ball of radius r which have the property P. We obtain a formula to compute the asymptotic density of finite-order elements in any virtually nilpotent group. Further, we show that the spectrum of numbers that occur as such asymptotic densities consists of exactly the rational numbers in [0,1).
Let $G$ be a finite group, and $c$ an element of $\mathbb{Z}\cup \{\infty\}$. A subgroup $H$ of $G$ is said to be {\it $c$-nilpotent} if it is nilpotent, and has nilpotency class at most $c$. A subset $X$ of $G$ is said to be {\it non-$c$-nilpotent} if it contains no two elements $x$ and $y$ such that the subgroup $< x,y>$ is $c$-nilpotent. In this paper we study the quantity $ω_c(G)$, defined to be the size of the largest non-$c$-nilpotent subset of $L$. In the case that $L$ is a finite group of Lie type, we identify covers of $L$ by $c$-nilpotent subgroups, and we use these covers to constru…
Let $Γ$ be a finitely generated torsion free nilpotent group, and let $A^ω$ be the space of infinite words over a finite alphabet $A$. We investigate two types of self-similar actions of $Γ$ on $A^ω$, namely the faithfull actions with dense orbits and the free actions. A criterion for the existence of a self-similar action of each type is established. Two corollaries about the nilmanifolds are deduced. The first involves the nilmanifolds endowed with an Anosov diffeomorphism, and the second about the existence of an affine structure. Then we investigate the virtual actions of $Γ$, i.e. actions…
In recent years, the RFRS condition has been used to analyze virtual fibering in 3-manifold topology. Agol's work shows that any 3-manifold with zero Euler characteristic satisfying the RFRS condition on its fundamental group virtually fibers over the circle. In this note we will show that a finitely generated nilpotent group is either virtually abelian or is not virtually RFRS, a result which may be of independent interest though not directly applicable to 3-manifold topology. As a corollary, we deduce that any RFRS group cannot contain a nonabelian torsion-free nilpotent group. This result a…
We extend Leth's notion of subsets of the integers satisfying the Standard interval measure (SIM) property to the class of virtually nilpotent groups and name the corresponding property the Standard ball measure (SBM) property. In order to do this, we define a natural measure on closed balls in asymptotic cones associated to such groups and show that this measure satisfies the Lebesgue density theorem. We then prove analogs of various properties known to hold for SIM sets in this broader context, occasionally assuming extra properties of the group, such as the small spheres property and the sm…
This paper initiates the study of effective twisted conjugacy separability for finitely generated groups, which measures the complexity of separating distinct twisted conjugacy classes via finite quotients. The focus is on nilpotent groups, and our main result shows that there is a polynomial upper bound for twisted conjugacy separability. That allows us to study regular conjugacy separability in the case of virtually nilpotent groups, where we compute a polynomial upper bound as well. As another application, we improve the work of the second author by giving a precise calculation of conjugacy…
This paper studies effective separability for subgroups of finitely generated nilpotent groups and more broadly effective subgroup separability of finitely generated nilpotent groups. We provide upper and lower bounds that are polynomial with respect to the logarithm of the word length for infinite index subgroups of nilpotent groups. In the case of normal subgroups, we provide an exact computation generalizing work of the second author. We introduce a function that quantifies subgroup separability, and we provide polynomial upper and lower bounds. We finish by demonstrating that our results e…
We continue our study of residual properties of mapping tori of free group endomorphisms. In this paper, we prove that each of these groups are virtually residually (finite $p$)-groups for all but finitely many primes$p$. The method involves further studies of polynomial maps over finite fields and $p$-adic completions of number fields.
A classical result by K.B. Lee states that every group morphism between almost crystallographic groups is induced by an affine map on the nilpotent Lie group whereon these groups by definition act. It is the main technique for studying morphisms between virtually nilpotent groups, having important applications in fixed point theory, for example as a tool to compute Nielsen numbers for self-maps on infra-nilmanifolds. In this paper we generalize this result to morphisms between virtually polycyclic groups, which are known to act crystallographically by affine transformations on a nilpotent Lie …
We discuss in the context of finite extensions two classical theorems of Takahasi and Howson on subgroups of free groups. We provide bounds for the rank of the intersection of subgroups within classes of groups such as virtually free groups, virtually nilpotent groups or fundamental groups of finite graphs of groups with virtually polycyclic vertex groups and finite edge groups. As an application of our generalization of Takahasi's Theorem, we provide an uniform bound for the rank of the periodic subgroup of any endomorphism of the fundamental group of a given finite graph of groups with finit…
We show that if a group G is finitely presented and nilpotent-by-abelian-by-finite, then there is an upper bound on the first betti number of M as M runs through all subgroups of finite index in G.
A generalized Baumslag-Solitar group (GBS group) is a finitely generated group $G$ which acts on a tree with all edge and vertex stabilizers infinite cyclic. We show that Out(G) either contains non-abelian free groups or is virtually nilpotent of class at most 2. It has torsion only at finitely many primes. One may decide algorithmically whether Out(G) is virtually nilpotent or not. If it is, one may decide whether it is virtually abelian, or finitely generated. The isomorphism problem is solvable among GBS groups with Out(G) virtually nilpotent. If $G$ is unimodular (virtually $F_n \times Z$)…
For a group hyperbolic relative to virtually nilpotent subgroups, on a cusped graph associated to the group, we construct a random walk whose Martin boundary is the Bowditch boundary of the group. Moreover, the harmonic measure is a conformal density corresponding to a hyperbolic Green metric and is exact dimensional on the Bowditch boundary. The latter equipped with a visual distance induced by the Green metric is an Ahlfors-regular metric measure space. The dimension is given in terms of the drift, a Green drift and the asymptotic entropy. The Patterson-Sullivan density for the action on the…
We describe the nilpotent subgroups of the group Bir(P^2(C)) of birational transformations of the complex projective plane. Let N be a nilpotent subgroup of class k>1; then either each element of N has finite order, or N is virtually metabelian.
The solvable Farb growth of a group quantifies how well-approximated the group is by its finite solvable quotients. In this note we present a new characterization of polycyclic groups which are virtually nilpotent. That is, we show that a group has solvable Farb growth which is at most polynomial in $\log(n)$ if and only if the group is polycyclic and virtually nilpotent. We also give new results concerning approximating oriented surface groups by nilpotent quotients. As a consequence of this, we prove that a natural number $C$ exists so that any nontrivial element of the $Ck$th term of the lo…
We determine all finite p-groups that admit a faithful, self-similar action on the p-ary rooted tree such that the first level stabilizer is abelian. A group is in this class if and only if it is a split extension of an elementary abelian p-group by a cyclic group of order p. The proof is based on use of virtual endomorphisms. In this context the result says that if G is a finite p-group with abelian subgroup H of index p, then there exists a virtual endomorphism of G with trivial core and domain H if and only if G is a split extension of H and H is an elementary abelian p-group.
The subgroup zeta function and the normal zeta function of a finitely generated virtually nilpotent group can be expressed as finite sums of Dirichlet series admitting Euler product factorization. We compute these series except for a finite number of local factors when the group is virtually nilpotent of Hirsch length 3. We deduce that they can be meromorphically continued to the whole complex plane and that they satisfy local functional equations. The complete computation (with no exception of local factors) is presented for those groups that are also torsion-free, that is, for the 3-dimensio…
Let $G$ be a compact $p$-adic analytic group. We recall the well-understood finite radical $Δ^+$ and FC-centre $Δ$, and introduce a $p$-adic analogue of Roseblade's subgroup $\mathrm{nio}(G)$, the unique largest orbitally sound open normal subgroup of $G$. Further, when $G$ is nilpotent-by-finite, we introduce the finite-by-(nilpotent $p$-valuable) radical $\mathbf{FN}_p(G)$, an open characteristic subgroup of $G$ contained in $\mathrm{nio}(G)$. By relating the already well-known theory of isolators with Lazard's notion of $p$-saturations, we introduce the isolated lower central (resp. isolate…
Let $m,n$ be positive integers. Suppose that $G$ is a residually finite group in which for every element $x \in G$ there exists a positive integer $q=q(x) \leqslant m$ such that $x^q$ is $n$-Engel. We show that $G$ is locally virtually nilpotent. Further, let $w$ be a multilinear commutator and $G$ a residually finite group in which for every product of at most $896$ $w$-values $x$ there exists a positive integer $q=q(x)$ dividing $m$ such that $x^q$ is $n$-Engel. Then $w(G)$ is locally virtually nilpotent.
We characterize the virtually nilpotent finitely generated groups (or, equivalently by Gromov's theorem, groups of polynomial growth) for which the Domino Problem is decidable: These are the virtually free groups, i.e. finite groups, and those having $\Z$ as a subgroup of finite index.
