Related papers: Block mapping class groups and their finiteness pr…
In this paper we survey $n$-dimensional solenoidal manifolds for $n=1,2$ and 3, and present new results about them. Solenoidal manifolds of dimension $n$ are metric spaces locally modeled on the product of a Cantor set and an open…
The disjoint union of mapping class groups of surfaces forms a braided monoidal category $\mathcal M$, as the disjoint union of the braid groups $\mathcal B$ does. We give a concrete, and geometric meaning of the braiding $\beta_{r,s}$ in…
This paper is about cohomology of mapping class groups from the perspective of arithmetic groups. For a closed surface $S$ of genus $g$, the mapping class group $Mod(S)$ admits a well-known arithmetic quotient $Mod(S)\rightarrow Sp(2g, Z)$,…
Let G be a totally disconnected, locally compact group. A closed subgroup of G is locally normal if its normaliser is open in G. We begin an investigation of the structure of the family of closed locally normal subgroups of G. Modulo…
For a finitely generated free group F_n, of rank at least 2, any finite subgroup of Out(F_n) can be realized as a group of automorphisms of a graph with fundamental group F_n. This result, known as Out(F_n) realization, was proved by…
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…
For a compact surface $\Sigma$ (orientable or not, and with boundary or not) we show that the fixed subgroup, $\operatorname{Fix} B$, of any family $B$ of endomorphisms of $\pi_1(\Sigma)$ is compressed in $\pi_1(\Sigma)$ i.e.,…
For any positive integer $n$, we exhibit a cofinite subgroup $\Gamma_n$ of the mapping class group of a surface of genus at most two such that $\Gamma_n$ admits an epimorphism onto a free group of rank $n$. We conclude that…
A group G is a cn-group if for each subgroup H of G there exists a normal subgroup N of G such that the index of both H and N in HN is finite. The class of cn-groups contains properly the classes of core- finite groups and that of groups in…
We propose a new unifying framework for Thompson-like groups using a well-known device called operads and category theory as language. We discuss examples of operad groups which have appeared in the literature before. As a first…
The purpose of this note is twofold. In the first part we observe that two finitely generated non-amenable groups are quasi-isometric if and only if they admit topologically orbit equivalent Cantor minimal actions. In particular, free…
We study algebraic properties of groups of PL or smooth homeomorphisms of unit cubes in any dimension, fixed pointwise on the boundary, and more generally PL or smooth groups acting on manifolds and fixing pointwise a submanifold of…
The Ptolemy groupoid is a combinatorial groupoid generated by elementary moves on marked trivalent fatgraphs with three types of relations. Through the fatgraph decomposition of Teichm\"uller space, the Ptolemy groupoid is a mapping class…
Let $X$ be a smooth, pointed Riemann surface of genus zero, and $G$ a simple, simply-connected complex algebraic group. Associated to a finite number of weights of $G$ and a level is a vector space called the space of conformal blocks, and…
Consider a Hamiltonian action of a compact Lie group H on a compact symplectic manifold (M,w) and let G be a subgroup of the diffeomorphism group Diff(M). We develop techniques to decide when the maps on rational homotopy and rational…
In previous work, joint with Bux, Fluch, Marschler and Witzel, we proved that the braided Thompson groups are of type $\textrm{F}_\infty$. The proof utilized certain contractible cube complexes, which in this paper we prove are CAT(0). We…
In this paper, we develop a loop group description of harmonic maps $\mathcal{F}: M \rightarrow G/K$ ``of finite uniton type", from a Riemann surface $M$ into inner symmetric spaces of compact or non-compact type. This develops work of…
In this note we prove that the mapping class group of a compact topological manifold $M$ with boundary is of finite type, under assumptions on its dimension and connectivity.
Given a closed smooth manifold $M$ of even dimension $2n\ge6$ with finite fundamental group, we show that the classifying space ${\rm BDiff}(M)$ of the diffeomorphism group of $M$ is of finite type and has finitely generated homotopy groups…
We are concerned with mapping class groups of surfaces with nonempty boundary. We present a very natural method, due to Thurston, of finding many different left orderings of such groups. The construction involves equipping the surface with…