Related papers: Finite subgroups of diffeomorphism groups

By a classical result of Jordan, each finite subgroup G of a complex linear group GL_n(C) has an abelian subgroup whose index in G is bounded by a constant depending only on n. We consider the problem if this remains true for finite…

Let $X$ be a smooth compact connected manifold. Let $G=\mbox{Diff}\, X$ be the group of diffeomorphisms of $X$, equipped with the $C^\infty$-topology, and let $H$ be the stabilizer of some point in $X$. Then the inclusion $H\to G$, which is…

Let M be a smooth manifold which is homeomorphic to the n-fold product of S^k, where k is odd. There is an induced homomorphism from the group of diffeomorphisms of M to the automorphism group of H k (M ; Z). We prove that the image of this…

Let $M$ be a nilmanifold with a fundamental group which is free $2$-step nilpotent on at least 4 generators. We will show that for any nonnegative integer $n$ there exists a self-diffeomorphism $h_n$ of $M$ such that $h_n$ has exactly $n$…

The deficiency of a group is the maximum over all presentations for that group of the number of generators minus the number of relators. Every finite group has non-positive deficiency. We show that every non-positive integer is the…

In this article we study two "strong" topologies for spaces of smooth functions from a finite-dimensional manifold to a (possibly infinite-dimensional) manifold modeled on a locally convex space. Namely, we construct Whitney type topologies…

For any smooth compact manifold $W$ of dimension at least two we prove that the classifying spaces of its group of diffeomorphisms which fix a set of $k$ points or $k$ embedded disks (up to permutation) satisfy homology stability. The same…

We introduce a new class of possibly noncompact n-dimensional manifolds without boundary associated to finite data which we call topological automata. This class is large enough to contain many interesting examples of open 2-dimensional and…

We give a new proof of Cartan's fixed point theorem using topological fixed point theory. For an odd dimensional, simply connected and complete manifold having non-positive curvature, we further prove that every isometry with finite order…

It is a celebrated result of Mather that the group of $C^k$--diffeomorphisms of an $n$--manifold is simple, provided that a mild isotopy condition is satisfied, with the possible exception of $k=n+1$. The purpose of this article is mostly…

Given a closed, smooth 4-manifold $X$ and self-diffeomorphism $f$ that is topologically pseudo-isotopic to the identity, we study the question of whether $f$ is moreover smoothly pseudo-isotopic to the identity. If the fundamental group of…

Let $f\colon M\to N$ be a proper map between two aspherical compact orientable 3-manifolds with empty or toroidal boundary. We assume that $N$ is not a closed graph-manifold. Suppose that $f$ induces an epimorphism on fundamental groups. We…

Let $M$ be a locally symmetric irreducible closed manifold of dimension $\ge 3$. A result of Borel [Bo] combined with Mostow rigidity imply that there exists a finite group $G = G(M)$ such that any finite subgroup of $\text{Homeo}^+(M)$ is…

Extending the work of the first author, we introduce a notion of semisimple topological field theory in arbitrary even dimension and show that such field theories necessarily lead to stable diffeomorphism invariants. The main result of this…

We recently established a Toponogov type triangle comparison theorem for a certain class of Finsler manifolds whose radial flag curvatures are bounded below by that of a von Mangoldt surface of revolution (arXiv:1205.3913). In this article,…

In this paper we study the uniform perfectness, boundedness and uniform simplicity of diffeomorphism groups of compact manifolds with boundary and open manifolds and obtain some upper bounds of their diameters with respect to commutator…

Groups of finite type (also called finitely constrained groups), introduced by Grigorchuk, are known to be the closure of regular branch groups. This article explores many of their properties. Firstly, we prove that being finitely…

We construct uncountably many discrete groups of type $FP$; in particular we construct groups of type $FP$ that do not embed in any finitely presented group. We compute the ordinary, $\ell^2$- and compactly-supported cohomology of these…

We prove finiteness properties for groups of homeomorphisms that have finitely many "singular points", and we describe the normal structure of such groups. As an application, we prove that every countable abelian group can be embedded into…

We prove the following result: Let $(M,g_0)$ be a complete noncompact manifold of dimension $n\geq 12$ with isotropic curvature bounded below by a positive constant, with scalar curvature bounded above, and with injectivity radius bounded…