arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Khalid Bou-Rabee.
Any non-residually finite Baumslag-Solitar group has a non-residually finite image in the abstract commensuration of a nonabelian free group. This gives a new proof (avoiding Britton's Lemma) of the classification of residually finite Baumslag-Solitar groups.
Residual finiteness growth gives an invariant that indicates how well-approximated a finitely generated group is by its finite quotients. We briefly survey the state of the subject. We then improve on the best known upper and lower bounds for lamplighter groups. Notably, any lamplighter group has super-linear residual finiteness growth. In our proof, we quantify a congruence subgroup property for lamplighter groups.
Let $\Gamma$ be the fundamental group of a surface of finite type and Comm$(\Gamma)$ be its abstract commensurator. Then Comm$(\Gamma)$ contains the solvable Baumslag--Solitar groups $\langle a ,b : a b a^{-1} = b^n \rangle$ for any $n > 1$. Moreover, the Baumslag--Solitar group $\langle a ,b : a b^2 a^{-1} = b^3 \rangle$ has an image in Comm$(\Gamma)$ that is not residually finite. Our proofs are computer-assisted. Our results also illustrate that finitely-generated subgroups of Comm$(\Gamma)$ are concrete objects amenable to computational methods. For example, we give a proof that $\langle a ,b : a b^2 a^{-1} = b^3 \rangle$ is not residually finite without the use of normal forms of HNN extensions.
Fixing a subgroup $\Gamma$ in a group $G$, the full commensurability growth function assigns to each $n$ the cardinality of the set of subgroups $\Delta$ of $G$ with $[\Gamma: \Gamma \cap \Delta][\Delta : \Gamma \cap \Delta] \leq n$. For pairs $\Gamma \leq G$, where $G$ is a Chevalley group scheme defined over $\mathbb{Z}$ and $\Gamma$ is an arithmetic lattice in $G$, we give precise estimates for the full commensurability growth, relating it to subgroup growth and a computable invariant that depends only on $G$.
Fixing a subgroup $\Gamma$ in a group $G$, the commensurability growth function assigns to each $n$ the cardinality of the set of subgroups $\Delta$ of $G$ with $[\Gamma: \Gamma \cap \Delta][\Delta : \Gamma \cap \Delta] = n$. For pairs $\Gamma \leq A$, where $A$ is the automorphism group of a $p$-regular tree and $\Gamma$ is finitely generated, we show that this function can take on finite, countable, or uncountable cardinals. For almost all known branch groups $\Gamma$ (the first Grigorchuk group, the twisted twin Grigorchuk group, Pervova groups, Gupta-Sidki groups, etc.) acting on $p$-regular trees, this function is precisely $\aleph_0$ for any $n = p^k$.
Fixing an arithmetic lattice $\Gamma$ in an algebraic group $G$, the commensurability growth function assigns to each $n$ the cardinality of the set of subgroups $\Delta$ with $[\Gamma : \Gamma \cap \Delta] [\Delta: \Gamma \cap \Delta] = n$. This growth function gives a new setting where methods of F. Grunewald, D. Segal, and G. C. Smith's "Subgroups of finite index in nilpotent groups" apply to study arithmetic lattices in an algebraic group. In particular, we show that for any unipotent algebraic $\mathbb{Z}$-group with arithmetic lattice $\Gamma$, the Dirichlet function associated to the commensurability growth function satisfies an Euler decomposition. Moreover, the local parts are rational functions in $p^{-s}$, where the degrees of the numerator and denominator are independent of $p$. This gives regularity results for the set of arithmetic lattices in $G$.
Let $P_k$ be the subgroup generated by $k$th powers of primitive elements in $F_r$, the free group of rank $r$. We show that $F_2/P_k$ is finite if and only if $k$ is $1$, $2$, or $3$. We also fully characterize $F_2/P_k$ for $k = 2,3,4$. In particular, we give a faithful nine dimensional representation of $F_2/P_4$ with infinite image.
We give a short proof of Masbaum and Reid's result that mapping class groups involve any finite group, appealing to free quotients of surface groups and a result of Gilman, following Dunfield-Thurston.
The commensurability index between two subgroups $A, B$ of a group $G$ is $[A : A \cap B] [B : A\cap B]$. This gives a notion of distance amongst finite-index subgroups of $G$, which is encoded in the p-local commensurability graphs of $G$. We show that for any metabelian group, any component of the $p$-local commensurabilty graph of $G$ has diameter bounded above by 4. However, no universal upper bound on diameters of components exists for the class of finite solvable groups. In the appendix we give a complete classification of components for upper triangular matrix groups in $\text{GL}(2, \mathbb{F}_q)$.
A function $\mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N}$ is near exponential if it is bounded above and below by functions of the form $2^{n^c}$ for some $c > 0$. In this article we develop tools to recognize the near exponential residual finiteness growth in groups acting on rooted trees. In particular, we show the near exponential residual finiteness growth for certain branch groups, including the first Grigorchuk group, the family of Gupta-Sidki groups and their variations, and Fabrykowski-Gupta groups. We also show that the family of Gupta-Sidki p-groups, for $p\geq 5$, have super-exponential residual finiteness growths.
We initiate the study of the $p$-local commensurability graph of a group, where $p$ is a prime. This graph has vertices consisting of all finite-index subgroups of a group, where an edge is drawn between $A$ and $B$ if $[A : A\cap B]$ and $[B: A\cap B]$ are both powers of $p$. We show that any component of the $p$-local commensurability graph of a group with all nilpotent finite quotients is complete. Further, this topological criterion characterizes such groups. In contrast to this result, we show that for any prime $p$ the $p$-local commensurability graph of any large group (e.g. a nonabelian free group or a surface group of genus two or more or, more generally, any virtually special group) has geodesics of arbitrarily long length.
Let $G$ be a finitely generated regular branch group acting by automorphisms on a regular rooted tree $T$. It is well-known that stabilizers of infinite rays in $T$ (aka parabolic subgroups) are weakly maximal subgroups in $G$, that is, maximal among subgroups of infinite index. We show that, given a finite subgroup $Q\leq G$, $G$ possesses uncountably many automorphism equivalence classes of weakly maximal subgroups containing $Q$. In particular, for Grigorchuk-Gupta-Sidki type groups this implies that they have uncountably many automorphism equivalence classes of weakly maximal subgroups that are not parabolic.
We prove that the residual girth of any finitely generated linear group is at most exponential. This means that the smallest finite quotient in which the $n$-ball injects has at most exponential size. If the group is also not virtually nilpotent, it follows that the residual girth is precisely exponential.
Full residual finiteness growth of a finitely generated group $G$ measures how efficiently word metric $n$-balls of $G$ inject into finite quotients of $G$. We initiate a study of this growth over the class of nilpotent groups. When the last term of the lower central series of $G$ has finite index in the center of $G$ we show that the growth is precisely $n^b$, where $b$ is the product of the nilpotency class and dimension of $G$. In the general case, we give a method for finding an upper bound of the form $n^b$ where $b$ is a natural number determined by what we call a terraced filtration of $G$. Finally, we characterize nilpotent groups for which the word growth and full residual finiteness growth coincide.
Residual finiteness growth measures how well-approximated a group is by its finite quotients. We prove that some related growth functions characterize linearity for a class of groups including all hyperbolic groups.
Let $G$ be a virtually special group. Then the residual finiteness growth of $G$ is at most linear. This result cannot be found by embedding $G$ into a special linear group. Indeed, the special linear group $\text{SL}_k(\mathbb{Z})$, for $k > 2$, has residual finiteness growth $n^{k-1}$.
When does Borel's theorem on free subgroups of semisimple groups generalize to other groups? We initiate a systematic study of this question and find positive and negative answers for it. In particular, we fully classify fundamental groups of surfaces and von Dyck groups that satisfy Borel's theorem. Further, as a byproduct of this theory, we make headway on a question of Breuillard, Green, Guralnick, and Tao concerning double word maps.
The intersection growth of a group $G$ is the asymptotic behavior of the index of the intersection of all subgroups of $G$ with index at most $n$, and measures the Hausdorff dimension of $G$ in profinite metrics. We study intersection growth in free groups and special linear groups and relate intersection growth to quantifying residual finiteness.