arXiv subjects

Brandon Seward

Publications and source records attributed to Brandon Seward.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Existentially closed measure-preserving actions of approximately treeable groups

Given a countable group $\Gamma$, letting $\mathcal{K}_\Gamma$ denote the class of {\pmp} actions of $\Gamma$, we study the question of when the model companion of $\mathcal{K}_\Gamma$ exists. Berenstein, Henson, and Ibarluc\'ia showed that the model companion of $\mathcal{K}_\Gamma$ exists when $\Gamma$ is a nonabelian free group on a countable number of generators. We significantly generalize their result by showing that the model companion of $\cal K_\Gamma$ exists whenever $\Gamma$ is an approximately treeable group. The class of approximately treeable groups contain the class of treeable groups as well as the class of universally free groups, that is, the class of groups with the same universal theory as nonabelian free groups. We prove this result using an open mapping characterization of when the model companion exists; moreover, this open mapping characterization provides concrete, ergodic-theoretic axioms for the model companion when it exists. We show how to simplify these axioms in the case of treeable groups, providing an alternate axiomatization for the model companion in the case of the free group, which was first axiomatized by Berenstein, Henson, and Ibarluc\'ia using techniques from model-theoretic stability theory. Along the way, we prove a purely ergodic-theoretic result of independent interest, namely that finitely generated universally free groups (also known as limit groups) have Kechris' property MD. We also show that for groups with Kechris' EMD property, the profinite completion action is existentially closed, and for groups without property (T), the generic existentially closed action is weakly mixing, generalizing results of Berenstein, Henson, and Ibarluc\'ia for the case of nonabelian free groups.

math.LO↗

arXiv2024

Borel Combinatorics of Abelian Group Actions

We study the free part of the Bernoulli action of $\mathbb{Z}^n$ for $n\geq 2$ and the Borel combinatorics of the associated Schreier graphs. We construct orthogonal decompositions of the spaces into marker sets with various additional properties. In general, for Borel graphs $\Gamma$ admitting weakly orthogonal decompositions, we show that $\chi_B(\Gamma)\leq 2\chi(\Gamma)-1$ under some mild assumptions. As a consequence, we deduce that the Borel chromatic number for $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^n})$ is $3$ for all $n\geq 2$. Weakly orthogonal decompositions also give rise to Borel unlayered toast structures. We also construct orthogonal decompositions of $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^2})$ with strong topological regularity, in particular with all atoms homeomorphic to a disk. This allows us to show that there is a Borel perfect matching for $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^n})$ for all $n\geq 2$ and that there is a Borel lining of $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^2})$.

math.LO↗

arXiv2023

Continuous Combinatorics of Abelian Group Actions

This paper develops techniques which are used to answer a number of questions in the theory of equivalence relations generated by continuous actions of abelian groups. The methods center around the construction of certain specialized hyper-aperiodic elements, which produce compact subflows with useful properties. For example, we show that there is no continuous $3$-coloring of the Cayley graph on $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^2})$, the free part of the shift action of $\mathbb{Z}^2$ on $2^{\mathbb{Z}^2}$. With earlier work of the authors this computes the continuous chromatic number of $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^2})$ to be exactly $4$. Combined with marker arguments for the positive directions, our methods allow us to analyze continuous homomorphisms into graphs, and more generally equivariant maps into subshifts of finite type. We present a general construction of a finite set of "tiles" for $2^{\mathbb{Z}^n}$ (there are $12$ for $n=2$) such that questions about the existence of continuous homomorphisms into various structures reduce to finitary combinatorial questions about the tiles. This tile analysis is used to deduce a number of results about $F(2^{\mathbb{Z}^n})$.

math.LO↗

arXiv2022

Borel asymptotic dimension and hyperfinite equivalence relations

A long standing open problem in the theory of hyperfinite equivalence relations asks if the orbit equivalence relation generated by a Borel action of a countable amenable group is hyperfinite. In this paper we prove that this question always has a positive answer when the acting group is polycyclic, and we obtain a positive answer for all free actions of a large class of groups including the lamplighter group and all virtually solvable groups having finite Prüfer rank. This marks the first time that a group of exponential volume-growth has been verified to have this property. In obtaining this result we introduce a new tool for studying Borel equivalence relations by extending Gromov's notion of asymptotic dimension to the Borel setting. We show that countable Borel equivalence relations of finite Borel asymptotic dimension are hyperfinite, and more generally we prove under a mild compatibility assumption that increasing unions of such equivalence relations are hyperfinite. As part of our main theorem, we prove for a large class of solvable groups that all of their free Borel actions have finite Borel asymptotic dimension (and finite dynamic asymptotic dimension in the case of a continuous action on a zero-dimensional space). We also provide applications to Borel chromatic numbers, Borel and continuous Folner tilings, topological dynamics, and $C^*$-algebras.

math.DS↗

arXiv2022

Minimal subdynamics and minimal flows without characteristic measures

Given a countable group $G$ and a $G$-flow $X$, a measure $\mu\in P(X)$ is called characteristic if it is $\mathrm{Aut}(X, G)$-invariant. Frisch and Tamuz asked about the existence of a minimal $G$-flow, for any group $G$, which does not admit a characteristic measure. We construct for every countable group $G$ such a minimal flow. Along the way, we are motivated to consider a family of questions we refer to as minimal subdynamics: Given a countable group $G$ and a collection of infinite subgroups $\{\Delta_i: i\in I\}$, when is there a faithful $G$-flow for which every $\Delta_i$ acts minimally?

math.DS↗

arXiv2020

Krieger's finite generator theorem for actions of countable groups III

We continue the study of Rokhlin entropy, an isomorphism invariant for probability-measure-preserving actions of countable groups introduced in Part I. In this paper we prove a non-ergodic finite generator theorem and use it to establish sub-additivity and semi-continuity properties of Rokhlin entropy. We also obtain formulas for Rokhlin entropy in terms of ergodic decompositions and inverse limits. Finally, we clarify the relationship between Rokhlin entropy, sofic entropy, and classical Kolmogorov--Sinai entropy. In particular, using Rokhlin entropy we give a new proof of the fact that ergodic actions with positive sofic entropy have finite stabilizers.

math.DS↗

arXiv2019

Positive entropy actions of countable groups factor onto Bernoulli shifts

We prove that if a free ergodic action of a countably infinite group has positive Rokhlin entropy (or, less generally, positive sofic entropy) then it factors onto all Bernoulli shifts of lesser or equal entropy. This extends to all countably infinite groups the well-known Sinai factor theorem from classical entropy theory.

math.DS↗

arXiv2019

Krieger's finite generator theorem for actions of countable groups I

For an ergodic probability-measure-preserving action $G \curvearrowright (X, μ)$ of a countable group $G$, we define the Rokhlin entropy $h_G^{\mathrm{Rok}}(X, μ)$ to be the infimum of the Shannon entropies of countable generating partitions. It is known that for free ergodic actions of amenable groups this notion coincides with classical Kolmogorov--Sinai entropy. It is thus natural to view Rokhlin entropy as a close analogue to classical entropy. Under this analogy we prove that Krieger's finite generator theorem holds for all countably infinite groups. Specifically, if $h_G^{\mathrm{Rok}}(X, μ) < \log(k)$ then there exists a generating partition consisting of $k$ sets.

math.DS↗

arXiv2019

Krieger's finite generator theorem for actions of countable groups II

We continue the study of Rokhlin entropy, an isomorphism invariant for probability-measure-preserving actions of countable groups introduced in the previous paper. We prove that every free ergodic action with finite Rokhlin entropy admits generating partitions which are almost Bernoulli, strengthening the theorem of Abért--Weiss that all free actions weakly contain Bernoulli shifts. We then use this result to study the Rokhlin entropy of Bernoulli shifts. Under the assumption that every countable group admits a free ergodic action of positive Rokhlin entropy, we prove that: (i) the Rokhlin entropy of a Bernoulli shift is equal to the Shannon entropy of its base; (ii) Bernoulli shifts have completely positive Rokhlin entropy; and (iii) Gottschalk's surjunctivity conjecture and Kaplansky's direct finiteness conjecture are true.

math.DS↗

arXiv2018

Bernoulli shifts with bases of equal entropy are isomorphic

We prove that if $G$ is a countably infinite group and $(L, λ)$ and $(K, κ)$ are probability spaces having equal Shannon entropy, then the Bernoulli shifts $G \curvearrowright (L^G, λ^G)$ and $G \curvearrowright (K^G, κ^G)$ are isomorphic. This extends Ornstein's famous isomorphism theorem to all countably infinite groups. Our proof builds on a slightly weaker theorem by Lewis Bowen in 2011 that required both $λ$ and $κ$ have at least $3$ points in their support. We furthermore produce finitary isomorphisms in the case where both $L$ and $K$ are finite.

math.DS↗

arXiv2018

The Koopman representation and positive Rokhlin entropy

In a prior paper, the author generalized the classical factor theorem of Sinai to actions of arbitrary countably infinite groups. In the present paper, we use this theorem and the techniques of its proof in order to study connections between positive entropy phenomena and the Koopman representation. Following the line of work initiated by Hayes for sofic entropy, we show in a certain precise manner that all positive entropy must come from portions of the Koopman representation that embed into the left-regular representation. By combining this result with the generalized factor theorem of the previous paper, we conclude that for actions having completely positive outer entropy, the Koopman representation must be isomorphic to the countable direct sum of the left-regular representation. This generalizes a theorem of Dooley--Golodets for countable amenable groups. As a final consequence, we observe that actions with completely positive outer entropy must be mixing, and when the group is non-amenable they must be strongly ergodic and have spectral gap. We also prove generalizations of these results that apply relative to sub-$σ$-algebras and apply to non-free actions.

math.DS↗

arXiv2018

Folner tilings for actions of amenable groups

We show that every probability-measure-preserving action of a countable amenable group G can be tiled, modulo a null set, using finitely many finite subsets of G ("shapes") with prescribed approximate invariance so that the collection of tiling centers for each shape is Borel. This is a dynamical version of the Downarowicz--Huczek--Zhang tiling theorem for countable amenable groups and strengthens the Ornstein--Weiss Rokhlin lemma. As an application we prove that, for every countably infinite amenable group G, the crossed product of a generic free minimal action of G on the Cantor set is Z-stable.

math.DS↗

arXiv2017

Cost, $\ell^2$-Betti numbers and the sofic entropy of some algebraic actions

In 1987, Ornstein and Weiss discovered that the Bernoulli $2$-shift over the rank two free group factors onto the seemingly larger Bernoulli $4$-shift. With the recent creation of an entropy theory for actions of sofic groups (in particular free groups), their example shows the surprising fact that entropy can increase under factor maps. In order to better understand this phenomenon, we study a natural generalization of the Ornstein--Weiss map for countable groups. We relate the increase in entropy to the cost and to the first $\ell^2$-Betti number of the group. More generally, we study coboundary maps arising from simplicial actions and, under certain assumptions, relate $\ell^2$-Betti numbers to the failure of the Juzvinski{\uı} addition formula. This work is built upon a study of entropy theory for algebraic actions. We prove that for actions on profinite groups via continuous group automorphisms, topological sofic entropy is equal to measure sofic entropy with respect to Haar measure whenever the homoclinic subgroup is dense. For algebraic actions of residually finite groups we find sufficient conditions for the sofic entropy to be equal to the supremum exponential growth rate of periodic points.

math.GR↗

arXiv2017

Weak containment and Rokhlin entropy

We define a new notion of weak containment for joinings, and we show that this notion implies an inequality between relative Rokhlin entropies. This leads to new upper bounds to Rokhlin entropy. We also use this notion to study how Pinsker algebras behave under direct products, and we study the Rokhlin entropy of restricted actions of finite-index subgroups.

math.DS↗

arXiv2016

Hyperfiniteness and Borel combinatorics

We study the relationship between hyperfiniteness and problems in Borel graph combinatorics by adapting game-theoretic techniques introduced by Marks to the hyperfinite setting. We compute the possible Borel chromatic numbers and edge chromatic numbers of bounded degree acyclic hyperfinite Borel graphs and use this to answer a question of Kechris and Marks about the relationship between Borel chromatic number and measure chromatic number. We also show that for every $d > 1$ there is a $d$-regular acyclic hyperfinite Borel bipartite graph with no Borel perfect matching. These techniques also give examples of hyperfinite bounded degree Borel graphs for which the Borel local lemma fails, in contrast to the recent results of Csóka, Grabowski, Máthé, Pikhurko, and Tyros. Related to the Borel Ruziewicz problem, we show there is a continuous paradoxical action of $(\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})^{*3}$ on a Polish space that admits a finitely additive invariant Borel probability measure, but admits no countably additive invariant Borel probability measure. In the context of studying ultrafilters on the quotient space of equivalence relations under $\mathrm{AD}$, we also construct an ultrafilter $U$ on the quotient of $E_0$ which has surprising complexity. In particular, Martin's measure is Rudin-Kiesler reducible to $U$. We end with a problem about whether every hyperfinite bounded degree Borel graph has a witness to its hyperfiniteness which is uniformly bounded below in size.

math.LO↗

arXiv2015

Forcing constructions and countable Borel equivalence relations

We prove a number of results about countable Borel equivalence relations with forcing constructions and arguments. These results reveal hidden regularity properties of Borel complete sections on certain orbits. As consequences they imply the nonexistence of Borel complete sections with certain features.

math.LO↗

arXiv2015

Finite entropy actions of free groups, rigidity of stabilizers, and a Howe-Moore type phenomenon

We study a notion of entropy for probability measure preserving actions of finitely generated free groups, called f-invariant entropy, introduced by Lewis Bowen. In the degenerate case, the f-invariant entropy is negative infinity. In this paper we investigate the qualitative consequences of having finite f-invariant entropy. We find three main properties of such actions. First, the stabilizers occurring in factors of such actions are highly restricted. Specifically, the stabilizer of almost every point must be either trivial or of finite index. Second, such actions are very chaotic in the sense that, when the space is not essentially countable, every non-identity group element acts with infinite Kolmogorov--Sinai entropy. Finally, we show that such actions display behavior reminiscent of the Howe--Moore property. Specifically, if the action is ergodic then there is an integer n such that for every non-trivial normal subgroup K the number of K-ergodic components is at most n. Our results are based on a new formula for f-invariant entropy.

math.DS↗

arXiv2014

Every action of a non-amenable group is the factor of a small action

It is well known that if $G$ is a countable amenable group and $G \curvearrowright (Y, ν)$ factors onto $G \curvearrowright (X, μ)$, then the entropy of the first action must be greater than or equal to the entropy of the second action. In particular, if $G \curvearrowright (X, μ)$ has infinite entropy, then the action $G \curvearrowright (Y, ν)$ does not admit any finite generating partition. On the other hand, we prove that if $G$ is a countable non-amenable group then there exists a finite integer $n$ with the following property: for every probability-measure-preserving action $G \curvearrowright (X, μ)$ there is a $G$-invariant probability measure $ν$ on $n^G$ such that $G \curvearrowright (n^G, ν)$ factors onto $G \curvearrowright (X, μ)$. For many non-amenable groups, $n$ can be chosen to be $4$ or smaller. We also obtain a similar result with respect to continuous actions on compact spaces and continuous factor maps.

math.DS↗