Related papers: Non-smoothability for a class of groups of piecewi…
We show that certain groups of piecewise linear homeomorphims of the interval are invariably generated.
We study actions of groups by homeomorphisms on $\mathbf{R}$ (or an interval) that are minimal, have solvable germs at $\pm \infty$ and contain a pair of elements of a certain type. We call such actions coherent. We establish that such an…
By the Thurston stability theorem, a group of C^1 orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of the closed unit interval is locally indicable. We show that the local order structure of orbits gives a stronger criterion for nonsmoothability that…
We consider groups of piecewise-projective homeomorphisms of the line which are known to be non-amenable using notably the Carriere--Ghys theorem on ergodic equivalence relations. Replacing that theorem by an explicit fixed-point argument,…
Ghys and Sergiescu proved in the $80$s that Thompson's group $T$, and hence $F$, admits actions by $C^{\infty}$ diffeomorphisms of the circle . They proved that the standard actions of these groups are topologically conjugate to a group of…
We construct a finitely presented, infinite, simple group that acts by homeomorphisms on the circle, but does not admit a non-trivial action by $C^1$-diffeomorphisms on the circle. The group emerges as a group of piecewise projective…
We study the group of almost-periodic homeomorphisms of the real line. Our main result states that an action of a finitely generated group on the real line without global fixed point is conjugated to an almost-periodic action without almost…
We investigate subgroups of the group PLo(I) of piecewise-linear, orientation preserving homeomorphisms of the unit interval with finitely many breaks in slope, and also subgroups of Thompson's group F. We find geometric criteria…
The group of piecewise projective homeomorphisms of the line provides straightforward counter-examples to the so-called von Neumann conjecture. The examples are so simple that many additional properties can be established.
Let G be a cyclic group of order 3, 5 or 7, and X=E(n) be the relatively minimal elliptic surface with rational base. In this paper, we prove that under certain conditions on n, there exists a locally linear G-action on X which is…
Brin and Squier described how to classify the elements of the group of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line according to conjugacy. We supply a short account of the key step in their classification. The results in this document…
This paper presents the theory of non-smooth Lie group actions on chains of Banach manifolds. The rigorous functional analytic spaces are given to deal with quotients of such actions. A hydrodynamical example is studied in detail.
We consider the problem of defining the structure of a smooth manifold on the various spaces of piecewise-smooth loops in a smooth finite dimensional manifold. We succeed for a particular type of piecewise-smooth loops. We also examine the…
We introduce and study the notion of a chain group of homeomorphisms of a one-manifold, which is a certain generalization of Thompson's group $F$. The resulting class of groups exhibits a combination of uniformity and diversity. On the one…
We study the properties of rotation numbers for some groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the circle. We use these properties to obtain results on PL rigidity, non isomorphicity, non exoticity of automorphisms, non smoothability for…
We prove new cases of the Hilbert-Smith conjecture for actions by natural homeomorphisms in symplectic topology. Specifically, we prove that the group of $p$-adic integers $\mathbb Z_p$ does not admit non-trivial continuous actions by…
Averaging linear functional on the space continuous functions of the group of diffeomorphisms of interval is found. Amenability of several discrete subgroups of the group of diffeomorphisms $\Diff^3([0,1])$ of interval is prove. In…
We close the problem of the existence of period annuli in planar piecewise linear differential systems with a straight line of nonsmoothness. In fact, a characterization for the existence of such objects is provided by means of a few basic…
This expository paper describes the various methods that have yielded partial results on the conjecture that if n > 2, then no lattice in SL(n,R) has a faithful action on the circle (by homeomorphisms). Topics include amenability, Kazhdan's…
In this article, we show that the group comprising piecewise-linear homeomorphisms of the real line with bounded slopes is not simple. Furthermore, we establish that a quotient of this group is torsion-free, and importantly, the center of…