Related papers: Distortion for diffeomorphisms of surfaces with bo…

If $\G$ is a finitely generated group with generators $\{g_1,...,g_j\}$ then an infinite order element $f \in \G$ is a {\em distortion element} of $\G$ provided $\displaystyle{\liminf_{n \to \infty} |f^n|/n = 0,}$ where $|f^n|$ is the word…

Let S be a compact orientable surface and f be an element of the group Homeo_{0}(S) of homeomorphisms of S isotopic to the identity. Denote by F a lift of f to the universal cover of S. In this article, the following result is proved: if…

We consider the group of smooth diffeomorphisms of the circle. We show that any recurrent $f$ (in the sense that $\{f^n\}_{n \in Z}$ is not discrete) is in fact a distortion element (in the sense that its iterates can be written as short…

Let $M$ be the circle or a compact interval, and let $\alpha=k+\tau\ge1$ be a real number such that $k=\lfloor \alpha\rfloor$. We write $\mathrm{Diff}_+^{\alpha}(M)$ for the group of $C^k$ diffeomorphisms of $M$ whose $k^{th}$ derivatives…

We show that there is a distortion element in a finitely-generated subgroup $G$ of the automorphism group of the full shift, namely an element of infinite order whose word norm grows polylogarithmically. As a corollary, we obtain a lower…

In these lectures we consider how algebraic properties of discrete subgroups of Lie groups restrict the possible actions of those groups on surfaces. The results show a strong parallel between the possible actions of such a group on the…

Let $\Diffeo=\Diffeo(\R)$ denote the group of infinitely-differentiable diffeomorphisms of the real line $\R$, under the operation of composition, and let $\Diffeo^+$ be the subgroup of diffeomorphisms of degree +1, i.e.…

In this article, we characterize the distortion elements of the group of smooth diffeomorphisms of the circle and of the group of compactly supported smooth diffeomorphisms of the real line. More precisely, we prove that, in this context,…

For a self mapping $f:\mathbb{D}\to \mathbb{D}$ of the unit disk in $\mathbb{C}$ which has finite distortion, we give a separation condition on the components of the set where the distortion is large - say greater than a given constant -…

We exhibit rigid rotations of spheres as distortion elements in groups of diffeomorphisms, thereby answering a question of J Franks and M Handel. We also show that every homeomorphism of a sphere is, in a suitable sense, as distorted as…

Let $G$ be the group ${\rm PAff}_+({\bf S}^1)$ of piecewise--affine circle homeomorphisms or the group ${\Diff}^{\infty}(\mathbb R/\mathbb Z)$ of smooth circle diffeomorphisms. A constructive proof that all irrational rotations are…

Let $f:S^1\times [0,1]\to S^1\times [0,1]$ be a real-analytic annulus diffeomorphism which is homotopic to the identity map and preserves an area form. Assume that for some lift $\tilde {f}:\mathbb{R}\times [0,1]\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\times…

If $\mathcal{G}$ is the group (under composition) of diffeomorphisms $f : {\bar{D}}(0;1) \rightarrow {\bar{D}}(0;1)$ of the closed unit disc ${\bar{D}}(0;1)$ which are the identity map $id : {\bar{D}}(0;1) \rightarrow {\bar{D}}(0;1)$ on the…

Let S be a compact connected surface and let f be an element of the group Homeo\_0(S) of homeomorphisms of S isotopic to the identity. Denote by \tilde{f} a lift of f to the universal cover of S. Fix a fundamental domain D of this universal…

We build the first examples of diffeomorphisms that are distorted in a group of $C^r$ diffeomorphisms yet undistorted in the corresponding group of $C^s$ diffeomorphisms, where $r < s$. This explicit construction is performed for the closed…

Bowden, Hensel, and Webb constructed infinitely many quasimorphisms on the diffeomorphism groups of orientable surfaces. In this paper, we extend their result to nonorientable surfaces. Namely, we prove that the space of nontrivial…

We consider $C^{1+\epsilon}$ diffeomorphisms of the torus, denoted $f,$ homotopic to the identity and whose rotation sets have interior. We give some uniform bounds on the displacement of points in the plane under iterates of a lift of $f,$…

If F is a surface with boundary, then a finitely generated subgroup without peripheral elements of G = {\pi}_1(F) can be separated from finitely many other elements of G by a finite index subgroup of G corresponding to a finite cover F'…

Let $f:X\to X $ be a dominant self-morphism of an algebraic variety over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. We consider the set $\Sigma_{f^{\infty}}$ of $f$-periodic (irreducible closed) subvarieties of small dynamical…

Let $f:\mathbb{R}^2 \to \mathbb{R}$ be a real homogeneous polynomial and $S(f)$ be the group of diffeomorphisms $h:\mathbb{R}^2 \to \mathbb{R}^2$ preserving $f$, i.e. $f \circ h = f$. Denote by $S(f,r)$, $(0\leq r \leq \infty)$, the…