Related papers: Some unique group-measure space decomposition resu…

We introduce a wide class of countable groups, called properly proximal, which contains all non-amenable bi-exact groups, all non-elementary convergence groups, and all lattices in non-compact semi-simple Lie groups, but excludes all inner…

Consider a countable group Gamma acting ergodically by measure preserving transformations on a probability space (X,mu), and let R_Gamma be the corresponding orbit equivalence relation on X. The following rigidity phenomenon is shown: there…

Using Popa's deformation/rigidity theory, we investigate prime decompositions of von Neumann algebras of the form $L(\mathcal{R})$ for countable probability measure preserving equivalence relations $\mathcal{R}$. We show that…

We introduce the notion of proper proximality for finite von Neumann algebras, which naturally extends the notion of proper proximality for groups. Apart from the group von Neumann algebras of properly proximal groups, we provide a number…

Expanding on previous work of the author, we initiate the model theoretic study of W$^*$-dynamical systems. We axiomatize continuous weight-preserving group actions of $G$ on von Neumann algebras for $G$ a given locally compact Hausdorff…

We consider group measure space II$_1$ factors $M=L^{\infty}(X)\rtimes\Gamma$ arising from Bernoulli actions of ICC property (T) groups $\Gamma$ (more generally, of groups $\Gamma$ containing an infinite normal subgroup with relative…

We show that several important normal subgroups $\Gamma$ of the mapping class group of a surface satisfy the following property: any free, ergodic, probability measure preserving action $\Gamma \curvearrowright X$ is stably OE-superrigid.…

The theorems of M. Ratner, describing the finite ergodic invariant measures and the orbit closures for unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces of Lie groups, are extended for actions of subgroups generated by unipotent elements. More…

We single out a large class of groups ${\mathscr{M}}$ for which the following unique prime factorization result holds: if $\Gamma_1,\dots,\Gamma_n\in {\mathscr{M}}$ and $\Gamma_1\times\dots\times\Gamma_n$ is measure equivalent to a product…

We prove that every group measure space II$_1$ factor $L^{\infty}(X)\rtimes\Gamma$ coming from a free ergodic rigid (in the sense of [Po01]) probability measure preserving action of a group $\Gamma$ with positive first $\ell^2$--Betti…

Let $G$ be a noncompact semisimple algebraic group with trivial center, $S < G$ a maximal split torus, $H < G$ the centralizer of $S$ in $G$ and $\Gamma < G$ an irreducible lattice. Consider the group measure space von Neumann algebra…

We construct discrete groups $G$ with infinite center that are nevertheless W*-superrigid, meaning that the group von Neumann algebra $L(G)$ fully remembers the group $G$. We obtain these rigidity results both up to isomorphisms and up to…

We survey Sorin Popa's recent work on Bernoulli actions. The paper was written on the occasion of the Bourbaki seminar. Using very original methods from operator algebras, Sorin Popa has shown that the orbit structure of the Bernoulli…

We generalize W*-superrigidity results about Bernoulli actions of rigid groups to general mixing Gaussian actions. We thus obtain the following: If \Gamma\ is any ICC group which is w-rigid (i.e. it contains an infinite normal subgroup with…

We show that the topological rank of an orbit full group generated by an ergodic, probability measure-preserving free action of a non-discrete unimodular locally compact Polish group is two. For this, we use the existence of a cross section…

Let $G_\Gamma\curvearrowright X$ and $G_\Lambda\curvearrowright Y$ be two free measure-preserving actions of one-ended right-angled Artin groups with trivial center on standard probability spaces. Assume they are irreducible, i.e. every…

We provide a unified and self-contained treatment of several of the recent uniqueness theorems for the group measure space decomposition of a II_1 factor. We single out a large class of groups \Gamma, characterized by a one-cohomology…

We prove that for any free ergodic probability measure preserving action \F_n \actson (X,\mu) of a free group on n generators \F_n, 2 \leq n \leq \infty, the associated group measure space II_1 factor $L^\infty(X) \rtimes \F_n$ has…

We prove that for any group G in a fairly large class of generalized wreath product groups, the associated von Neumann algebra L(G) completely "remembers" the group G. More precisely, if L(G) is isomorphic to the von Neumann algebra…

We show that the class $\mathscr{B}$, of discrete groups which satisfy the conclusion of Popa's Cocycle Superrigidity Theorem for Bernoulli actions, is invariant under measure equivalence. We generalize this to the setting of discrete…