Related papers: Random Unitary Representations of Surface Groups I…

For general one-matrix models in the large $N$ limit, we introduce the cap amplitude $\psi(b)$ as the expansion coefficient of the 1-form $ydx$ on the spectral curve. We find that the dilaton equation for the discrete volume $N_{g,n}$ of…

Given a finitely-generated group $\pi$ and a linear algebraic group $G$, the representation variety Hom$(\pi,G)$ has a natural filtration by the characteristic varieties associated to a rational representation of $G$. Its algebraic…

If a group $G$ is the union of proper subgroups $H_1, \dots, H_k$, we say that the collection $\{H_1, \dots H_k \}$ is a cover of $G$, and the size of a minimal cover (supposing one exists) is the covering number of $G$, denoted…

Let $\mathfrak{S}_\infty$ be the infinity permutation group and $\Gamma$ an arbitrary group. Then $\mathfrak{S}_\infty$ admits a natural action on $\Gamma^\infty$ by automorphisms, so one can form a semidirect product $\Gamma^\infty\rtimes…

Let $G=\mathop{A\ast B}\limits_C$ be an amalgamated product of finite rank free groups $A$, $B$ and $C$. We introduce atomic measures and corresponding asymptotic densities on a set of normal forms of elements in $G$. We also define two…

We establish a relation between the Sprague-Grundy function $\text{sg}$ of a $p$-saturation of Welter's game and the degrees of the ordinary irreducible representations of symmetric groups. In this game, a position can be viewed as a…

Let $G$ be a complex connected simple algebraic group with a fixed real form $\sigma$. Let $G(\mathbb{R})=G^\sigma$ be the corresponding group of real points. This paper reports a finiteness theorem for the classification of irreducible…

We develop the theory of maximal representations of the fundamental group of a compact connected oriented surface with boundary, into a group of Hermitian type. For any such representation we define the Toledo invariant, for which we…

Let \Sigma_g be a closed orientable surface let Diff_0(\Sigma_g; area) be the identity component of the group of area-preserving diffeomorphisms of \Sigma_g. In this work we present an extension of Gambaudo-Ghys construction to the case of…

We announce new results concerning the asymptotic behavior of the Betti numbers of higher rank locally symmetric spaces as their volumes tend to infinity. Our main theorem is a uniform version of the L\"uck Approximation Theorem…

Let $G$ be a finite simple group. By a theorem of Guralnick and Kantor, $G$ contains a conjugacy class $C$ such that for each non-identity element $x \in G$, there exists $y \in C$ with $G = \langle x,y\rangle$. Building on this deep…

We show that every word hyperbolic, surface-by-(noncyclic) free group Gamma is as rigid as possible: the quasi-isometry group of Gamma equals the abstract commensurator group Comm(Gamma), which in turn contains Gamma as a finite index…

In this paper, we study the geometric and dynamical properties of maximal representations of surface groups into Hermitian Lie groups of rank 2. Combining tools from Higgs bundle theory, the theory of Anosov representations, and…

We introduce the notion of volume of the representation variety of a finitely presented discrete group in a compact Lie group using the push-forward measure associated to a map defined by a presentation of the discrete group. We show that…

We establish the universality of the singular numbers in random matrix products over $\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb{Q}_p)$ as the number of products approaches infinity, with a fixed $n\ge 1$. We demonstrate that, under a broad class of…

We prove that group homology of the diffeomorphism group of $\#^g S^n \times S^n$ as a discrete group is independent of $g$ in a range, provided that $n>2$. This answers the high dimensional version of a question posed by Morita about…

Given a finitely generated group $\Gamma$, we study the space ${\rm Isom}(\Gamma,{\mathbb Q\mathbb U})$ of all actions of $\Gamma$ by isometries of the rational Urysohn metric space ${\mathbb Q\mathbb U}$, where ${\rm Isom}(\Gamma,{\mathbb…

Let $\Gamma$ be a discrete group of finite virtual cohomological dimension with certain finiteness conditions of the type satisfied by arithmetic groups. We define a representation ring for $\Gamma$, determined on its elements of finite…

Let $\Gamma$ be a non-uniform lattice in $PU(p,1)$ without torsion and with $p\geq2 $. We introduce the notion of volume for a representation $\rho:\Gamma \rightarrow PU(m,1)$ where $m \geq p$. We use this notion to generalize the…

We show that Baumslag-Solitar groups are virtually 2-avoidable, that is, they admit finite index subgroup whose first homology is devoid of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ summand. We also prove virtual 2-avoidability for some other classes of one-relator…