Related papers: Big mapping class groups and rigidity of the simpl…

We show that if $\Gamma\curvearrowright (X^\Gamma,\mu^\Gamma)$ is a Bernoulli action of an i.c.c. nonamenable group $\Gamma$ which is weakly amenable with Cowling-Haagerup constant $1$, and $\Lambda\curvearrowright(Y,\nu)$ is a free ergodic…

Let $M$ be a compact closed manifold of variable negative curvature. Fix an element $\operatorname{id} \neq \gamma$ in the fundamental group $\Gamma$ of $M$, and denote the set of elements in $\Gamma$ that are conjugate to $\gamma$ by…

We present definitions of homology groups associated to a family of amalgamation functors. We show that if the generalized amalgamation properties hold, then the homology groups are trivial. We compute the group H_2 for strong types in…

We establish that, given $\Sigma$ a compact orientable surface, and $G$ a finitely presented one-ended group, the set of copies of $G$ in the mapping class group $\mathcal{MCG}(\Sigma)$ consisting of only pseudo-anosov elements except…

An element w in the free group on r letters defines a map f from G^r to G for each group G. In this note, we show that whenever w is non-trivial and G is a semisimple algebraic group, f is dominant. When G is a finite simple group, the…

Dehn twists around simple closed curves in oriented surfaces satisfy the braid relations. This gives rise to a group theoretic from the braid group to the mapping class group. We prove here that this map is trivial in stable homology with…

Let $G$ be $\text{SO}^\circ(n,1)$ for $n \geq 3$ and consider a lattice $\Gamma < G$. Given a standard Borel probability $\Gamma$-space $(\Omega,\mu)$, consider a measurable cocycle $\sigma:\Gamma \times \Omega \rightarrow…

For a locally finite graph $\Gamma$, we consider its mapping class group $\text{Map}(\Gamma)$ as defined by Algom-Kfir-Bestvina. For these groups, we prove a generalization of the results of Laudenbach and Brendle-Broaddus-Putman, producing…

Any nontrivial homomorphism from the mapping class group of an orientable surface of genus $g\geq 3$ to $\GL(2g,\C)$ is conjugate to the standard symplectic representation. It is also shown that the mapping class group has no faithful…

Consider a simple algebraic group G of adjoint type, and its wonderful compactification X. We show that X admits a unique family of minimal rational curves, and we explicitly describe the subfamily consisting of curves through a general…

Let $G/\Gamma$ be the quotient of a semisimple Lie group by an arithmetic lattice. We show that for reductive subgroups $H$ of $G$ that is large enough, the orbits of $H$ on $G/\Gamma$ intersect nontrivially with a fixed compact set. As a…

Partial connections are (singular) differential systems generalizing classical connections on principal bundles, yielding analogous decompositions for manifolds with nonfree group actions. Connection forms are interpreted as maps…

Given a surface $S$ and a finite group $G$ of automorphisms of $S$, consider the birational maps $S\dashrightarrow S'$ that commute with the action of $G$. This leads to the notion of a $G$-minimal variety. A natural question arises: for a…

We prove that if a countable discrete group $\Gamma$ is {\it w-rigid}, i.e. it contains an infinite normal subgroup $H$ with the relative property (T) (e.g. $\Gamma= SL(2,\Bbb Z) \ltimes \Bbb Z^2$, or $\Gamma = H \times H'$ with $H$ an…

An oriented compact closed manifold is called inflexible if the set of mapping degrees ranging over all continuous self-maps is finite. Inflexible manifolds have become of importance in the theory of functorial semi-norms on homology.…

We develop a class of homeomorphisms on a compact homogeneous space of a transitive group action and show how the class sheds new light on a decomposition problem. We further use this class to show that every such homogeneous space in a…

A group $\Gamma$ is defined to be cofinitely Hopfian if every homomorphism $\Gamma\to\Gamma$ whose image is of finite index is an automorphism. Geometrically significant groups enjoying this property include certain relatively hyperbolic…

We consider a finite, connected and simple graph $\Gamma$ that admits a vertex-transitive group of automorphisms $G$. Under the assumption that, for all $x \in V(\Gamma)$, the local action $G_x^{\Gamma(x)}$ is the action of…

Let $\Gamma$ be the mapping class group of an oriented surface $\Sigma$ of genus g with r boundary components. We prove that the first cohomology group $H^1(\Gamma, O(M_{SL(2, C)})^*)$ is non-trivial, where the coefficient module is the…

We present a simple approach to questions of topological orbit equivalence for actions of countable groups on topological and smooth manifolds. For example, for any action of a countable group $\Gamma$ on a topological manifold where the…