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Adrien Le Boudec

Publications and source records attributed to Adrien Le Boudec.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Lattices determined by their commensurator

Let $Γ$ be a finitely generated cocompact lattice of a totally disconnected locally compact group $G$, and $C$ a dense subgroup of $G$ that contains and commensurates $Γ$. We study the problem of describing all finitely generated commensurated subgroups of $C$. We establish general rigidity results ensuring every finitely generated commensurated subgroup of $C$ is virtually contained in $Γ$. In more concrete situations, in fact we conclude that up to commensurability, $Γ$ is the only infinite finitely generated commensurated subgroup of $C$. For instance this last conclusion holds when $G$ is the automorphism group of a tree. This settles in particular the problem whether two non-commensurable cocompact tree lattices may have the same commensurator. Further applications include commensurators of cocompact lattices in other groups of automorphisms of trees, as well as commensurators of graph product of finite groups in automorphism groups of right-angled building.

math.GR↗
arXiv2025

Rigidity and flexibility results for groups with a common cocompact envelope

A locally compact group $G$ is a cocompact envelope of a group $Γ$ if $G$ contains a copy of $Γ$ as a discrete and cocompact subgroup. We study the problem that takes two finitely generated groups $Γ,Λ$ having a common cocompact envelope, and asks what properties must be shared between $Γ$ and $Λ$. We first consider the setting where the common cocompact envelope is totally disconnected. In that situation we show that if $Γ$ admits a finitely generated nilpotent normal subgroup $A$, then virtually $Λ$ admits a normal subgroup $B$ such that $A$ and $B$ are virtually isomorphic. We establish both rigidity and flexibility results when $Γ$ belongs to the class of solvable groups of finite rank. On the rigidity perspective, we show that if $Γ$ is solvable of finite rank, and the locally finite radical of $Λ$ is finite, then $Λ$ must be virtually solvable of finite rank. On the flexibility perspective, we exhibit groups $Γ,Λ$ with a common cocompact envelope such that $Γ$ is solvable of finite rank, while $Λ$ is not virtually solvable. In particular the class of solvable groups of finite rank is not QI-rigid. We also exhibit flexibility behaviours among finitely presented groups, and more generally among groups with type $F_n$ for arbitrary $n \geq 1$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2025

On commensurators of free groups and free pro-p groups

We study the commensurators of free groups and free pro-$p$ groups, as well as certain subgroups of these. We prove that the commensurator $Comm(F)$ of a non-abelian free group of finite rank $F$ is not virtually simple, answering a question of Lubotzky. On the other hand, we exhibit a family of easy-to-define finitely generated subgroups of $Comm(F)$ and show that some groups in this family are simple. For a prime $p$, we also consider the p-commensurator $Comm_p(F)$, which is the commensurator of $F$ viewed as a group with pro-$p$ topology. By contrast with $Comm(F)$, we prove that $Comm_p(F)$ has a simple subgroup of index at most 2. Further, while the isomorphism class of $Comm(F)$ does not depend on the rank of $F$, we prove that the isomorphism class of $Comm_p(F)$ depends on the rank of $F$ and determine the exact dependency. If $\mathbf F$ is the pro-$p$ completion of $F$ (which is a free pro-$p$ group), $Comm(\mathbf F)$ is a totally disconnected locally compact (tdlc) group containing $\mathbf F$ as an open subgroup. We use $Comm_p(F)$ to construct an abstractly simple subgroup of $Comm(\mathbf F)$ containing $\mathbf F$ as well as a family of non-discrete tdlc groups which are compactly generated and simple.

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arXiv2025

On the growth of actions of free products

If $G$ is a finitely generated group and $X$ a $G$-set, the growth of the action of $G$ on $X$ is the function that measures the largest cardinality of a ball of radius $n$ in the Schreier graph $Γ(G,X)$. In this note we consider the following stability problem: if $G,H$ are finitely generated groups admitting a faithful action of growth bounded above by a function $f$, does the free product $G \ast H$ also admit a faithful action of growth bounded above by $f$? We show that the answer is positive under additional assumptions, and negative in general. In the negative direction, our counter-examples are obtained with $G$ either the commutator subgroup of the topological full group of a minimal and expansive homeomorphism of the Cantor space; or $G$ a Houghton group. In both cases, the group $G$ admits a faithful action of linear growth, and we show that $G\ast H$ admits no faithful action of subquadratic growth provided $H$ is non-trivial. In the positive direction, we describe a class of groups that admit actions of linear growth and is closed under free products and exhibit examples within this class, among which the Grigorchuk group.

math.GR↗
arXiv2025

On closure operations in the space of subgroups and applications

We establish some interactions between uniformly recurrent subgroups (URSs) of a group $G$ and cosets topologies $τ_\mathcal{N}$ on $G$ associated to a family $\mathcal{N}$ of normal subgroups of $G$. We show that when $\mathcal{N}$ consists of finite index subgroups of $G$, there is a natural closure operation $\mathcal{H} \mapsto \mathrm{cl}_\mathcal{N}(\mathcal{H})$ that associates to a URS $\mathcal{H}$ another URS $\mathrm{cl}_\mathcal{N}(\mathcal{H})$, called the $τ_\mathcal{N}$-closure of $\mathcal{H}$. We give a characterization of the URSs $\mathcal{H}$ that are $τ_\mathcal{N}$-closed in terms of stabilizer URSs. This has consequences on arbitrary URSs when $G$ belongs to the class of groups for which every faithful minimal profinite action is topologically free. We also consider the largest amenable URS $\mathcal{A}_G$, and prove that for certain coset topologies on $G$, almost all subgroups $H \in \mathcal{A}_G$ have the same closure. For groups in which amenability is detected by a set of laws (a property that is variant of the Tits alternative), we deduce a criterion for $\mathcal{A}_G$ to be a singleton based on residual properties of $G$.

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arXiv2023

Continuity of the stabilizer map and irreducible extensions

Let $G$ be a locally compact group. For every $G$-flow $X$, one can consider the stabilizer map $x \mapsto G_x$, from $X$ to the space $\mathrm{Sub}(G)$ of closed subgroups of $G$. This map is not continuous in general. We prove that if one passes from $X$ to the universal irreducible extension of $X$, the stabilizer map becomes continuous. This result provides, in particular, a common generalization of a theorem of Frolík (that the set of fixed points of a homeomorphism of an extremally disconnected compact space is open) and a theorem of Veech (that the action of a locally compact group on its greatest ambit is free). It also allows to naturally associate to every $G$-flow $X$ a stabilizer $G$-flow $\mathrm{S}_G(X)$ in the space $\mathrm{Sub}(G)$, which generalizes the notion of stabilizer uniformly recurrent subgroup associated to a minimal $G$-flow introduced by Glasner and Weiss.

math.GR↗
arXiv2023

Some torsion-free solvable groups with few subquotients

We construct finitely generated torsion-free solvable groups $G$ that have infinite rank, but such that all finitely generated torsion-free metabelian subquotients of $G$ are virtually abelian. In particular all finitely generated metabelian subgroups of $G$ are virtually abelian. The existence of such groups shows that there is no "torsion-free version" of P. Kropholler's theorem, which characterises solvable groups of infinite rank via their metabelian subquotients.

math.GR↗
arXiv2023

A commutator lemma for confined subgroups and applications to groups acting on rooted trees

A subgroup $H$ of a group $G$ is confined if the $G$-orbit of $H$ under conjugation is bounded away from the trivial subgroup in the space $\operatorname{Sub}(G)$ of subgroups of $G$. We prove a commutator lemma for confined subgroups. For groups of homeomorphisms, this provides the exact analogue for confined subgroups (hence in particular for URSs) of the classical commutator lemma for normal subgroups: if $G$ is a group of homeomorphisms of a Hausdorff space $X$ and $H$ is a confined subgroup of $G$, then $H$ contains the derived subgroup of the rigid stabilizer of some open subset of $X$. We apply this commutator lemma in the setting of groups acting on rooted trees. We prove a theorem describing the structure of URSs of weakly branch groups and of their non-topologically free minimal actions. Among the applications of these results, we show: 1) if $G$ is a finitely generated branch group, the $G$-action on $\partial T$ has the smallest possible growth among all faithful $G$-actions; 2) if $G$ is a finitely generated branch group, then every embedding from $G$ into a group of homeomorphisms of strongly bounded type (e.g. a bounded automaton group) must be spatially realized; 3) if $G$ is a finitely generated weakly branch group, then $G$ does not embed into the group IET of interval exchange transformations.

math.GR↗
arXiv2022

Piecewise strongly proximal actions, free boundaries and the Neretin groups

A closed subgroup $H$ of a locally compact group $G$ is confined if the closure of the conjugacy class of $H$ in the Chabauty space of $G$ does not contain the trivial subgroup. We establish a dynamical criterion on the action of a totally disconnected locally compact group $G$ on a compact space $X$ ensuring that no relatively amenable subgroup of $G$ can be confined. This property is equivalent to the fact that the action of $G$ on its Furstenberg boundary is free. Our criterion applies to the Neretin groups. We deduce that each Neretin group has two inequivalent irreducible unitary representations that are weakly equivalent. This implies that the Neretin groups are not of type I, thereby answering a question of Y.~Neretin.

math.GR↗
arXiv2022

Growth of actions of solvable groups

Given a finitely generated group $G$, we are interested in common geometric properties of all graphs of faithful actions of $G$. In this article we focus on their growth. We say that a group $G$ has a Schreier growth gap $f(n)$ if every faithful $G$-set $X$ satisfies $\mathrm{vol}_{G, X}(n)\succcurlyeq f(n)$, where $\mathrm{vol}_{G, X}(n)$ is the growth of the action of $G$ on $X$. Here we study Schreier growth gaps for finitely generated solvable groups. We prove that if a metabelian group $G$ is either finitely presented or torsion-free, then $G$ has a Schreier growth gap $n^2$, provided $G$ is not virtually abelian. We also prove that if $G$ is a metabelian group of Krull dimension $k$, then $G$ has a Schreier growth gap $n^k$. For instance the wreath product $C_p \wr \mathbb{Z}^d$ has a Schreier growth gap $n^d$, and $\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z}^d$ has a Schreier growth gap $n^{d+1}$. These lower bounds are sharp. For solvable groups of finite Prüfer rank, we establish a Schreier growth gap $\exp(n)$, provided $G$ is not virtually nilpotent. This covers all solvable groups that are linear over $\mathbb{Q}$. Finally for a vast class of torsion-free solvable groups, which includes solvable groups that are linear, we establish a Schreier growth gap $n^2$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2021

Confined subgroups and high transitivity

An action of a group $G$ is highly transitive if $G$ acts transitively on $k$-tuples of distinct points for all $k \geq 1$. Many examples of groups with a rich geometric or dynamical action admit highly transitive actions. We prove that if a group $G$ admits a highly transitive action such that $G$ does not contain the subgroup of finitary alternating permutations, and if $H$ is a confined subgroup of $G$, then the action of $H$ remains highly transitive, possibly after discarding finitely many points. This result provides a tool to rule out the existence of highly transitive actions, and to classify highly transitive actions of a given group. We give concrete illustrations of these applications in the realm of groups of dynamical origin. In particular we obtain the first non-trivial classification of highly transitive actions of a finitely generated group.

math.GR↗
arXiv2021

Commensurated subgroups and micro-supported actions

Let $Γ$ be a finitely generated group and $X$ be a minimal compact $Γ$-space. We assume that the $Γ$-action is micro-supported, i.e. for every non-empty open subset $U \subseteq X$, there is an element of $Γ$ acting non-trivially on $U$ and trivially on the complement $X \setminus U$. We show that, under suitable assumptions, the existence of certain commensurated subgroups in $Γ$ yields strong restrictions on the dynamics of the $Γ$-action: the space $X$ has compressible open subsets, and it is an almost $Γ$-boundary. Those properties yield in turn restrictions on the structure of $Γ$: $Γ$ is neither amenable nor residually finite. Among the applications, we show that the (alternating subgroup of the) topological full group associated to a minimal and expansive Cantor action of a finitely generated amenable group has no commensurated subgroups other than the trivial ones. Similarly, every commensurated subgroup of a finitely generated branch group is commensurate to a normal subgroup; the latter assertion relies on an appendix by Dominik Francoeur, and generalizes a result of Phillip Wesolek on finitely generated just-infinite branch groups. Other applications concern discrete groups acting on the circle, and the centralizer lattice of non-discrete totally disconnected locally compact (tdlc) groups. Our results rely, in an essential way, on recent results on the structure of tdlc groups, on the dynamics of their micro-supported actions, and on the notion of uniformly recurrent subgroups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2021

Triple transitivity and non-free actions in dimension one

The transitivity degree of a group $G$ is the supremum of all integers $k$ such that $G$ admits a faithful $k$-transitive action. Few obstructions are known to impose an upper bound on the transitivity degree for infinite groups. The results of this article provide two new classes of groups whose transitivity degree can be computed, as a corollary of a classification of all $3$-transitive actions of these groups. More precisely, suppose that $G$ is a subgroup of the homeomorphism group of the circle $\mathsf{Homeo}(\mathbb{S}^1)$ or the automorphism group of a tree $\mathsf{Aut}(\mathbb{T})$. Under natural assumptions on the stabilizers of the action of $G$ on $\mathbb{S}^1$ or $\partial \mathbb{T}$, we use the dynamics of this action to show that every faithful action of $G$ on a set that is at least $3$-transitive must be conjugate to the action of $G$ on one of its orbits in $\mathbb{S}^1$ or $\partial \mathbb{T}$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2020

Amenable uniformly recurrent subgroups and lattice embeddings

We study lattice embeddings for the class of countable groups $Γ$ defined by the property that the largest amenable uniformly recurrent subgroup $A_Γ$ is continuous. When $A_Γ$ comes from an extremely proximal action and the envelope of $A_Γ$ is co-amenable in $Γ$, we obtain restrictions on the locally compact groups $G$ that contain a copy of $Γ$ as a lattice, notably regarding normal subgroups of $G$, product decompositions of $G$, and more generally dense mappings from $G$ to a product of locally compact groups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2020

Simple groups and irreducible lattices in wreath products

We consider the finitely generated groups acting on a regular tree with almost prescribed local action. We show that these groups embed as cocompact irreducible lattices in some locally compact wreath products. This provides examples of finitely generated simple groups quasi-isometric to a wreath product $C \wr F$, where $C$ is a finite group and $F$ a non-abelian free group.

math.GR↗
arXiv2019

Bounding the covolume of lattices in products

We study lattices in a product $G = G_1 \times \dots \times G_n$ of non-discrete, compactly generated, totally disconnected locally compact (tdlc) groups. We assume that each factor is quasi just-non-compact, meaning that $G_i$ is non-compact and every closed normal subgroup of $G_i$ is discrete or cocompact (e.g. $G_i$ is topologically simple). We show that the set of discrete subgroups of $G$ containing a fixed cocompact lattice $Γ$ with dense projections is finite. The same result holds if $Γ$ is non-uniform, provided $G$ has Kazhdan's property (T). We show that for any compact subset $K \subset G$, the collection of discrete subgroups $Γ\leq G$ with $G = ΓK$ and dense projections is uniformly discrete, hence of covolume bounded away from $0$. When the ambient group $G$ is compactly presented, we show in addition that the collection of those lattices falls into finitely many $Aut(G)$-orbits. As an application, we establish finiteness results for discrete groups acting on products of locally finite graphs with semiprimitive local action on each factor. We also present several intermediate results of independent interest. Notably it is shown that if a non-discrete, compactly generated quasi just-non-compact tdlc group $G$ is a Chabauty limit of discrete subgroups, then some compact open subgroup of $G$ is an infinitely generated pro-$p$ group for some prime $p$. It is also shown that in any Kazhdan group with discrete amenable radical, the lattices form an open subset of the Chabauty space of closed subgroups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2017

Densely related groups

We study the class of densely related groups. These are finitely generated (or more generally, compactly generated locally compact) groups satisfying a strong negation of being finitely presented, in the sense that new relations appear at all scales. Here, new relations means relations that do not follow from relations of smaller size. Being densely related is a quasi-isometry invariant among finitely generated groups. We check that a densely related group has none of its asymptotic cones simply connected. In particular a lacunary hyperbolic group cannot be densely related. We prove that the Grigorchuk group is densely related. We also show that a finitely generated group that is (infinite locally finite)-by-cyclic and which satisfies a law must be densely related. Given a class $\mathcal{C}$ of finitely generated groups, we consider the following dichotomy: every group in $\mathcal{C}$ is either finitely presented or densely related. We show that this holds within the class of nilpotent-by-cyclic groups and the class of metabelian groups. In contrast, this dichotomy is no longer true for the class of $3$-step solvable groups.

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