Sur les espaces test pour la moyennabilit\'e

Abstract

We observe that a Polish group $G$ is amenable if and only if every continuous action of $G$ on the Hilbert cube admits an invariant probability measure. This generalizes a result of Bogatyi and Fedorchuk. We also show that actions on the Cantor space can be used to detect amenability and extreme amenability of Polish non-archimedean groups as well as amenability at infinity of discrete countable groups. As corollary, the latter property can also be tested by actions on the Hilbert cube. These results generalize a criterion due to Giordano and de la Harpe.