Related papers: Diagram rigidity for geometric amalgamations of fr…

We prove that simple, thick hyperbolic P-manifolds of dimension >2 exhibit Mostow rigidity. We also prove a quasi-isometry rigidity result for the fundamental groups of simple, thick hyperbolic P-manifolds of dimension >2. The key tool in…

We define the class of high dimensional graph manifolds. These are compact smooth manifolds supporting a decomposition into finitely many pieces, each of which is diffeomorphic to the product of a torus with a finite volume hyperbolic…

We show that diagram groups can be viewed as fundamental groups of spaces of positive paths on directed 2-complexes (these spaces of paths turn out to be classifying spaces). Thus diagram groups are analogs of second homotopy groups,…

We introduce the notion of graphical discreteness to group theory. A finitely generated group is graphically discrete if whenever it acts geometrically on a locally finite graph, the automorphism group of the graph is compact-by-discrete.…

Let $\pi$ be a group satisfying the Farrell-Jones conjecture and assume that $B\pi$ is a 4-dimensional Poincar\'e duality space. We consider topological, closed, connected manifolds with fundamental group $\pi$ whose canonical map to $B\pi$…

We prove a theorem relating the automorphism group of a Cartan geometry to the group on which the geometry is modeled: a component of the adjoint representation of the first embeds in the adjoint representation of the second. Consequences…

A bar-joint framework $(G,p)$ is the combination of a finite simple graph $G=(V,E)$ and a placement $p:V\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^d$. The framework is rigid if the only edge-length preserving continuous motions of the vertices arise from…

The homology groups of the automorphism group of a free group are known to stabilize as the number of generators of the free group goes to infinity, and this paper relativizes this result to a family of groups that can be defined in terms…

A bar-joint framework $(G,p)$ is the combination of a finite simple graph $G=(V,E)$ and a placement $p:V\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^d$. The framework is rigid if the only edge-length preserving continuous deformations of the vertices arise from…

We prove that rigid representations of the fundamental group of a surface into the group of oreintation-preserving homeomorphisms of the circle are geometric, thereby establishing a converse statement of a theorem by the first author.

We are concerned with orderable groups and particularly those with orderings invariant not only under multiplication, but also under a given automorphism or family of automorphisms. Several applications to topology are given: we prove that…

In this survey paper, we outline the proofs of the rigidity results for simple, thick, hyperbolic P-manifolds found in our three earlier papers math.GR/0506518, math.GT/0410476, and math.GR/0409586. We discuss how the arguments change in…

A family of closed manifolds is called cohomologically rigid if a cohomology ring isomorphism implies a diffeomorphism for any two manifolds in the family. We establish cohomological rigidity for large families of 3-dimensional and…

We study the geometry of warped cones over free, minimal isometric group actions and related constructions of expander graphs. We prove a rigidity theorem for the coarse geometry of such warped cones: Namely, if a group has no abelian…

Let $\Gamma$ be a word hyperbolic group with a cyclic JSJ decomposition that has only rigid vertex groups, which are all fundamental groups of closed surface groups. We show that any group $H$ quasi-isometric to $\Gamma$ is abstractly…

This paper is devoted to the construction of norm-preserving maps between bounded cohomology groups. For a graph of groups with amenable edge groups we construct an isometric embedding of the direct sum of the bounded cohomology of the…

In the study of holomorphic maps, the term "rigidity" refers to certain types of results that give us very specific information about a general class of holomorphic maps owing to the geometry of their domains or target spaces. Under this…

Let $G$ be a hyperbolic group that splits as a graph of free groups with cyclic edge groups. We prove that, unless $G$ is isomorphic to a free product of free and surface groups, every finite abelian group $M$ appears as a direct summand in…

We prove that a topological homeomorphism conjugating two generic 1-parameter unfoldings of 1-variable complex analytic resonant diffeomorphisms is holomorphic or anti-holomorphic by restriction to the unperturbed parameter. We provide…

We prove a general homological stability theorem for certain families of groups equipped with product maps, followed by two theorems of a new kind that give information about the last two homology groups outside the stable range. (These…