English

Growth of permutational extensions

Group Theory 2015-01-29 v2

Abstract

We study the geometry of a class of group extensions, containing permutational wreath products, which we call "permutational extensions". We construct for all natural number k a torsion group with growth function asymptotically exp(n1(1α)k),233/α+222/α+211/α=2\exp(n^{1-(1-\alpha)^k}),\quad 2^{3-3/\alpha}+2^{2-2/\alpha}+2^{1-1/\alpha}=2, and a torsion-free group with growth function asymptotically exp(log(n)n1(1α)k)\exp(\log(n)n^{1-(1-\alpha)^k}). These are the first examples of groups of intermediate growth for which the growth function is known. We construct a group of intermediate growth that contains the group of finitely supported permutations of a countable set as a subgroup. This gives the first example of a group of intermediate growth containing an infinite simple group as a subgroup.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1011.5266,
  title  = {Growth of permutational extensions},
  author = {Laurent Bartholdi and Anna G. Erschler},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1011.5266},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

Revision with a few typos fixed. to appear in Inventiones Mathematicae

R2 v1 2026-06-21T16:48:12.122Z