On invariant von Neumann subalgebras rigidity property

Abstract

We say that a countable discrete group $\Gamma$ satisfies the invariant von Neumann subalgebras rigidity (ISR) property if every $\Gamma$- invariant von Neumann subalgebra $\mathcal{M}$ in $L(\Gamma)$ is of the form $L(\Lambda)$ for some normal subgroup $\Lambda\lhd \Gamma$. We show many ``negatively curved" groups, including all torsion free non-amenable hyperbolic groups and torsion free groups with positive first $L^2$-Betti number under a mild assumption, and certain finite direct product of them have this property. We also discuss whether the torsion-free assumption can be relaxed.