Related papers: C^1 actions of the mapping class group on the circ…

The mapping class group $\mathrm{Mod}_{g, 1}$ of a surface with one marked point can be identified with an index two subgroup of $\mathrm{Aut}(\pi_1 \Sigma_g)$. For a surface of genus $g \geq 2$, we show that any action of $\mathrm{Mod}_{g,…

We show that if $G_1$ and $G_2$ are non-solvable groups, then no $C^{1,\tau}$ action of $(G_1\times G_2)*\mathbb{Z}$ on $S^1$ is faithful for $\tau>0$. As a corollary, if $S$ is an orientable surface of complexity at least three then the…

It has been known since the time of Nielsen that the mapping class group $\text{Mod}_{g,1}$ of a surface of genus $g$ and one puncture acts faithfully by homeomorphisms on the circle. In this note, we show that this standard representation…

Let $\Sigma_{g}$ be a closed, connected, and oriented surface of genus $g \geq 24$ and let $\Gamma$ be a finite index subgroup of the mapping class group $Mod(\Sigma_{g})$ that contains the Torelli group $\mathcal{I}(\Sigma_g)$. Then any…

In this partly expository monograph we develop a general framework for producing uncountable families of exotic actions of certain classically studied groups acting on the circle. We show that if $L$ is a nontrivial limit group then the…

We explore transformation groups of manifolds of the form $M\times S^n$, where $M$ is an asymmetric manifold, i.e. a manifold which does not admit any non-trivial action of a finite group. In particular, we prove that for $n=2$ there exists…

This expository paper describes the various methods that have yielded partial results on the conjecture that if n > 2, then no lattice in SL(n,R) has a faithful action on the circle (by homeomorphisms). Topics include amenability, Kazhdan's…

We construct a finitely presented, infinite, simple group that acts by homeomorphisms on the circle, but does not admit a non-trivial action by $C^1$-diffeomorphisms on the circle. The group emerges as a group of piecewise projective…

We study when the mapping class group of an infinite-type surface $S$ admits an action with unbounded orbits on a connected graph whose vertices are simple closed curves on $S$. We introduce a topological invariant for infinite-type…

Let the circle act in a Hamiltonian fashion on a compact symplectic manifold $(M, \omega)$ of dimension $2n$. Then the $S^1$-action has at least $n+1$ fixed points. We study the case when the fixed point set consists of precisely $n+1$…

Let $T$ be a compact fibered $3$--manifold, presented as a mapping torus of a compact, orientable surface $S$ with monodromy $\psi$, and let $M$ be a compact Riemannian manifold. Our main result is that if the induced action $\psi^*$ on…

In this paper we study Zimmer's conjecture for $C^1$ actions of lattice subgroup of a higher-rank simple Lie group with finite center on compact manifolds. We show that when the rank of an uniform lattice is larger than the dimension of the…

We study groups of C^1 orientation-preserving homeomorphisms of the plane, and pursue analogies between such groups and circularly-orderable groups. We show that every such group with a bounded orbit is circularly-orderable, and show that…

Let G be a finitely generated group having the property that any action of any finite-index subgroup of G by homeomorphisms of the circle must have a finite orbit. (By a theorem of E.Ghys, lattices in simple Lie groups of real rank at least…

The group SL(3,Z) cannot act (faithfully) on the circle (by homeomorphisms). We will see that many other arithmetic groups also cannot act on the circle. The discussion will involve several important topics in group theory, such as ordered…

Let $\Gamma$ denote the mapping class group of the plane minus a Cantor set. We show that every action of $\Gamma$ on the circle is either trivial or semi-conjugate to a unique minimal action on the so-called simple circle.

We show that no finite index subgroup of a sufficiently complicated mapping class group or braid group can act faithfully by $C^{1+\mathrm{bv}}$ diffeomorphisms on the circle, which generalizes a result of Farb-Franks, and which parallels a…

We prove that the space of actions of Z^d by C^1 (orientation-preserving) diffeomorphisms of either the interval or the circle is connected by arcs. This is proved by showing that all such actions can be C^0 conjugated via a 1-parameter…

It is proved that if S^6 possesses an integrable complex structure, then there exists a 1-dimensional family of pairwise different exotic complex structures on P_3(C). This follows immediately from the main result of the paper: S^6 is not…

Given an oriented surface of positive genus with finitely many punctures, we classify the finite orbits of the mapping class group action on the moduli space of semisimple complex special linear two dimensional representations of the…