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Mikhail Ershov

Publications and source records attributed to Mikhail Ershov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

On finite presentability of some partial Torelli subgroups of Aut(F_n)

Let $F_n$ be the free group of rank $n$, and let $\rho_{ab}:\mathrm{Aut}(F_n)\to \mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb Z)$ be the map induced by the natural projection $F_n\to\mathbb Z^n$. It is a long-standing open problem whether the subgroup of $\mathrm{IA}$-automorphisms $\mathrm{IA}_n=\mathrm{Ker}\rho_{ab}$ is finitely presented for $n\geq 4$. In this paper we establish finite presentability of certain infinite index subgroups of $\mathrm{Aut}(F_n)$ containing $\mathrm{IA}_n$. In the terminology of Putman, these subgroups are natural analogues of partial Torelli subgroups of mapping class groups.

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.

math.GR↗
arXiv2025

Dense and empty BNSR-invariants of the McCool groups

An automorphism of the free group $F_n$ is called pure symmetric if it sends each generator to a conjugate of itself. The group $\mathrm{PSA}_n$ of all pure symmetric automorphisms and its quotient $\mathrm{PSO}_n$ by the group of inner automorphisms are called the McCool groups. In this paper we prove that every BNSR-invariant $\Sigma^m$ of a McCool group is either dense or empty in the character sphere, and we characterize precisely when each situation occurs. Our techniques involve understanding higher generation properties of abelian subgroups of McCool groups, coming from the McCullough-Miller space. We also investigate further properties of the second invariant $\Sigma^2$ for McCool groups using a general criterion due to Meinert for a character to lie in $\Sigma^2$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2023

Effective finite generation for [IA_n,IA_n] and the Johnson kernel

Let $IA_n$ denote the group of $IA$-automorphisms of a free group of rank $n$, and let $\mathcal I_n^b$ denote the Torelli subgroup of the mapping class group of an orientable surface of genus $n$ with $b$ boundary components, $b=0,1$. In 1935 Magnus proved that $IA_n$ is finitely generated for all $n$, and in 1983 Johnson proved that $\mathcal I_n^b$ is finitely generated for $n\geq 3$. It was recently shown that for each $k\in\mathbb N$, the $k^{\rm th}$ terms of the lower central series $γ_k IA_n$ and $γ_k\mathcal I_n^b$ are finitely generated when $n>>k$; however, no information about finite generating sets was known for $k>1$. The main goal of this paper is to construct an explicit finite generating set for $γ_2 IA_n = [IA_n,IA_n]$ and almost explicit finite generating sets for $γ_2\mathcal I_n^b$ and the Johnson kernel, which contains $γ_2\mathcal I_n^b$ as a finite index subgroup.

math.GR↗
arXiv2022

On the second cohomology of the norm one group of a p-adic division algebra

Let $F$ be a $p$-adic field, that is, a finite extension of $\mathbb Q_p$. Let $D$ be a finite-dimensional central division algebra over $F$ and let $SL_1(D)$ be the group of elements of reduced norm $1$ in $D$. Prasad and Raghunathan proved that $H^2(SL_1(D),\mathbb R/\mathbb Z)$ is a cyclic $p$-group whose order is bounded from below by the number of $p$-power roots of unity in $F$, unless $D$ is a quaternion algebra over $\mathbb Q_2$. In this paper we give an explicit upper bound for the order of $H^2(SL_1(D),\mathbb R/\mathbb Z)$ for $p\geq 5$ and determine $H^2(SL_1(D),\mathbb R/\mathbb Z)$ precisely when $F$ is cyclotomic, $p\geq 19$ and the degree of $D$ is not a power of $p$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2021

On finite generation of the Johnson filtrations

We prove that every term of the lower central series and Johnson filtrations of the Torelli subgroups of the mapping class group and the automorphism group of a free group is finitely generated in a linear stable range. This was originally proved for the second terms by Ershov and He.

math.GR↗
arXiv2018

On finiteness properties of the Johnson filtrations

Let A denote either the automorphism group of the free group of rank n>=4 or the mapping class group of an orientable surface of genus n>=12 with at most 1 boundary component, and let G be either the subgroup of IA-automorphisms or the Torelli subgroup of A, respectively. For a natural number N denote by G_N the Nth term of the lower central series of G. We prove that (i) any subgroup of G containing [G,G] (in particular, the Johnson kernel in the mapping class group case) is finitely generated; (ii) if N=2 or n>=8N-4 and K is any subgroup of G containing G_N (for instance, K can be the Nth term of the Johnson filtration of G), then G/[K,K] is nilpotent and hence the abelianization of K is finitely generated; (iii) if H is any finite index subgroup of A containing G_N, with N as in (ii), then H has finite abelianization.

math.GR↗
arXiv2017

Property (T) for Kac-Moody groups over rings

Let R be a finitely generated commutative ring with 1, let A be an indecomposable 2-spherical generalized Cartan matrix of size at least 2 and M=M(A) the largest absolute value of a non-diagonal entry of A. We prove that there exists an integer n=n(A) such that the Kac-Moody group G_A(R) has property (T) whenever R has no proper ideals of index less than n and all positive integers less than or equal to M are invertible in R.

math.GR↗
arXiv2014

The Tarski numbers of groups

The Tarski number of a non-amenable group G is the minimal number of pieces in a paradoxical decomposition of G. In this paper we investigate how Tarski numbers may change under various group-theoretic operations. Using these estimates and known properties of Golod-Shafarevich groups, we show that the Tarski numbers of 2-generated non-amenable groups can be arbitrarily large. We also use the cost of group actions to show that there exist groups with Tarski numbers 5 and 6. These provide the first examples of non-amenable groups without free subgroups whose Tarski number has been computed precisely.

math.GR↗
arXiv2014

Property (T) for groups graded by root systems

We introduce and study the class of groups graded by root systems. We prove that if Φ is an irreducible classical root system of rank at least 2 and G is a group graded by Φ, then under certain natural conditions on the grading, the union of the root subgroups is a Kazhdan subset of G. As the main application of this theorem we prove that for any reduced irreducible classical root system Φ of rank at least 2 and a finitely generated commutative ring R with 1, the Steinberg group St_Φ(R) and the elementary Chevalley group E_Φ(R) have property (T). We also show that there exists a group with property (T) which maps onto all finite simple groups of Lie type and rank at least 2, thereby providing a "unified" proof of expansion in these groups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2014

The first $L^2$-Betti number and approximation in arbitrary characteristic

Let G be a finitely generated group and (G_i) a descending chain of finite index normal subgroups of G. Given a field K, we consider the sequence b_1(G_i;K)/[G:G_i] of normalized first Betti numbers of G_i with coefficients in K, which we call a K-approximation for b_1^(2)(G), the first L^2-Betti number of G. In this paper we address the questions of when Q-approximation and F_p-approximation have a limit, when these limits coincide, when they are independent of the sequence (G_i) and how they are related to b_1^(2)(G). In particular, we show that the limit of the sequence b_1(G_i;F_p)/[G:G_i] is greater than or equal to b_1^(2)(G) under the assumptions that (G_i) has trivial intersection and each G/G_i is a finite p-group.

math.GR↗
arXiv2012

Golod-Shafarevich groups: a survey

In this paper we survey the main results about Golod-Shafarevich groups and their applications in algebra, number theory and topology.

math.GR↗
arXiv2011

Abstract commensurators of profinite groups

In this paper we initiate a systematic study of the abstract commensurators of profinite groups. The abstract commensurator of a profinite group $G$ is a group $Comm(G)$ which depends only on the commensurability class of $G$. We study various properties of $Comm(G)$; in particular, we find two natural ways to turn it into a topological group. We also use $Comm(G)$ to study topological groups which contain $G$ as an open subgroup (all such groups are totally disconnected and locally compact). For instance, we construct a topologically simple group which contains the pro-2 completion of the Grigorchuk group as an open subgroup. On the other hand, we show that some profinite groups cannot be embedded as open subgroups of compactly generated topologically simple groups. Several celebrated rigidity theorems, like Pink's analogue of Mostow's strong rigidity theorem for simple algebraic groups defined over local fields and the Neukirch-Uchida theorem, can be reformulated as structure theorems for the commensurators of certain profinite groups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2011

Kazhdan quotients of Golod-Shafarevich groups

The main goal of this paper is to prove that every Golod-Shafarevich group has an infinite quotient with Kazhdan's property $(T)$. In particular, this gives an affirmative answer to the well-known question about non-amenability of Golod-Shafarevich groups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2011

Groups of positive weighted deficiency and their applications

In this paper we introduce the concept of weighted deficiency for abstract and pro-$p$ groups and study groups of positive weighted deficiency which generalize Golod-Shafarevich groups. In order to study weighted deficiency we introduce weighted versions of the notions of rank for groups and index for subgroups and establish weighted analogues of several classical results in combinatorial group theory, including the Schreier index formula. Two main applications of groups of positive weighted deficiency are given. First we construct infinite finitely generated residually finite $p$-torsion groups in which every finitely generated subgroup is either finite or of finite index -- these groups can be thought of as residually finite analogues of Tarski monsters. Second we develop a new method for constructing just-infinite groups (abstract or pro-$p$) with prescribed properties; in particular, we show that graded group algebras of just-infinite groups can have exponential growth. We also prove that every group of positive weighted deficiency has a hereditarily just-infinite quotient. This disproves a conjecture of Boston on the structure of quotients of certain Galois groups and solves Problem~15.18 from Kourovka notebook.

math.GR↗
arXiv2011

The congruence subgroup property for $Aut F_2$: A group-theoretic proof of Asada's theorem

The goal of this paper is to give a group-theoretic proof of the congruence subgroup property for $Aut(F_2)$, the group of automorphisms of a free group on two generators. This result was first proved by Asada using techniques from anabelian geometry, and our proof is, to a large extent, a translation of Asada's proof into group-theoretic language. This translation enables us to simplify many parts of Asada's original argument and prove a quantitative version of the congruence subgroup property for $Aut(F_2)$.

math.GR↗
arXiv2010

Abstract simplicity of complete Kac-Moody groups over finite fields

Let $G$ be a Kac-Moody group over a finite field corresponding to a generalized Cartan matrix $A$, as constructed by Tits. It is known that $G$ admits the structure of a BN-pair, and acts on its corresponding building. We study the complete Kac-Moody group $\hat{G}$ which is defined to be the closure of $G$ in the automorphism group of its building. Our main goal is to determine when complete Kac-Moody groups are abstractly simple, that is have no proper non-trivial normal subgroups. Abstract simplicity of $\hat{G}$ was previously known to hold when A is of affine type. We extend this result to many indefinite cases, including all hyperbolic generalized Cartan matrices $A$ of rank at least four. Our proof uses Tits' simplicity theorem for groups with a BN-pair and methods from the theory of pro-$p$ groups.

math.GR↗