Related papers: $C^1$-actions of Baumslag-Solitar groups on $S^1$

Let $BS(1,n) =< a, b \ | \ aba^{-1} = b^n >$ be the solvable Baumslag-Solitar group, where $ n\geq 2$. It is known that BS(1,n) is isomorphic to the group generated by the two affine maps of the real line: $f_0(x) = x + 1$ and $h_0(x) = nx…

Let $BS(1,n)= \langle a,b : a b a ^{-1} = b ^n\rangle$ be the solvable Baumslag-Solitar group for $n \geq 2$. We study representations of $BS(1, n)$ on the plane by orientation preserving homeomorphisms, assuming that $a$ acts as a linear…

Let BS(1,n)= < a,b: aba^{-1}=b^n >. We prove that any finitely-generated group quasi-isometric to BS(1,n) is (up to finite groups) isomorphic to BS(1,n). We also show that any uniform group of quasisimilarities of the real line is…

Let $BS(1,n)= <a,b : a b a ^{-1} = b ^n>$ be the solvable Baumslag-Solitar group, where $n \geq 2$. We study representations of $BS(1, n)$ by homeomorphisms of closed surfaces with (pseudo-)Anosov elements. That is, we consider a closed…

In this note we characterise all finitely generated groups elementarily equivalent to a solvable Baumslag-Solitar group BS$(1,n)$. It turns out that a finitely generated group $G$ is elementarily equivalent to BS$(1,n)$ if and only if $G$…

We prove a structural result for orientation-preserving actions of finitely generated solvable groups on real intervals, considered up to semi-conjugacy. As applications we obtain new answers to a problem first considered by J. F. Plante,…

It is shown that certain ascending HNN extensions of free abelian groups of finite rank, as well as various lamplighter groups, can be realized as automaton groups, i.e., can be given a self-similar structure. This includes the solvable…

We study convergent sequences of Baumslag-Solitar groups in the space of marked groups. We prove that BS(m,n) --> F_2 for |m|,|n| --> \infty and BS(1,n) --> Z \wr Z for |n| --> \infty. For m fixed, |m|>1, we show that the sequence…

We initiate the study of affine actions of groups on $\Lambda$-trees for a general ordered abelian group $\Lambda$; these are actions by dilations rather than isometries. This gives a common generalisation of isometric action on a…

Generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups (GBS groups) are groups that act on trees with infinite cyclic edge and vertex stabilizers. Such an action is described by a labeled graph (essentially, the quotient graph of groups). This paper addresses…

We verify Shalom's conjecture for the simple real-rank-one Lie group Sp(n ,1) for any n: i.e. we show that it admits a metrically proper affine action on a Hilbert space whose linear part is a uniformly bounded representation. We provide…

This self-contained paper is part of a series \cite{FF2,FF3} on actions by diffeomorphisms of infinite groups on compact manifolds. The two main results presented here are: 1) Any homomorphism of (almost any) mapping class group or…

This paper has two parts, on Baumslag-Solitar groups and on general G-trees. In the first part we establish bounds for stable commutator length (scl) in Baumslag-Solitar groups. For a certain class of elements, we further show that scl is…

For each Baumslag-Solitar group BS(m,n) (m,n nonzero integers), a totally disconnected, locally compact group, G_{m,n}, is constructed so that BS(m,n) is identified with a dense subgroup of G_{m,n}. The scale function on G_{m,n}, a…

Consider a lattice $\Gamma$ in a group $G = SL_2(\R), SO(1,n), SU(1,n)$, $SL_2(\Q_p)$. We discuss actions of $\Gamma$ by affine isometric transformations of Hilbert spaces. We show that for irreducible affine isometric action of $G$ its…

We study representations of groups by "affine" automorphisms of compact, convex spaces, with special focus on "irreducible" representations: equivalently "minimal" actions. When the group in question is PSL(2,R), we exhibit a one-one…

In this paper, we study a natural class of groups that act as affine transformations of $\mathbb T^N$. We investigate whether these solvable, "abelian-by-cyclic," groups can act smoothly and nonaffinely on $\mathbb T^N$ while remaining…

We prove that for any natural n>1, the abstract commensurator group of the Baumslag - Solitar group BS(1,n) is isomorphic to the group of 2 by 2 upper triangular matrices A over rational numbers with A_{11}=1. We also prove that for any…

We consider Abelian-by-cyclic groups for which the cyclic factor acts by hyperbolic automorphisms on the Abelian subgroup. We show that if such a group acts faithfully by $C^1$ diffeomorphisms of the closed interval with no global fixed…

In this paper we give a description of hypersurfaces with trivial ring $AK(S)$, introduced by the second author as following. Let $X$ be an affine variety and let $G(X)$ be the group generated by all $\Bbb {C}^+$-actions on $X$. Then…