arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Mladen Bestvina.
Let S be a closed surface of genus g >= 2 and z in S a marked point. We prove that the subgroup of the mapping class group Map(S,z) corresponding to the fundamental group pi_1(S,z) of the closed surface does not lift to the group of diffeomorphisms of S fixing z. As a corollary, we show that the Atiyah-Kodaira surface bundles admit no invariant flat connection, and obtain another proof of Morita's non-lifting theorem.
We generalize Conway's approach to integral binary quadratic forms on Q to study integral binary hermitian forms on quadratic imaginary extensions of Q. In Conway's case, an indefinite form that doesn't represent 0 determines a line ("river") in the spine T associated with SL(2,Z) in the hyperbolic plane. In our generalization, such a form determines a plane ("ocean") in Mendoza's spine associated with the corresponding Bianchi group SL(2,A) in hyperbolic 3-space.
This is the first in a planned series of papers giving an alternate approach to Zlil Sela's work on the Tarski problems. The present paper is an exposition of work of Kharlampovich-Myasnikov and Sela giving a parametrization of Hom(G,F) where G is a finitely generated group and F is a non-abelian free group.
We provide partial results towards a conjectural generalization of a theorem of Lubotzky-Mozes-Raghunathan for arithmetic groups (over number fields or function fields) that implies, in low dimensions, both polynomial isoperimetric inequalities and finiteness properties. As a tool in our proof, we establish polynomial isoperimetric inequalities and finiteness properties for certain solvable groups that appear as subgroups of parabolic groups in semisimple groups, thus generalizing a theorem of Bux. We also develop a precise version of reduction theory for arithmetic groups whose proof is, for the most part, independent of whether the underlying global field is a number field or a function field.
We study the asymmetry of the Lipschitz metric d on Outer space. We introduce an (asymmetric) Finsler norm that induces d. There is an Out(F_n)-invariant potential Ψon Outer space such that when the Lipschitz norm is corrected by the derivative of Ψ, the resulting norm is quasisymmetric. As an application, we give new proofs of two theorems of Handel-Mosher, that the Lipschitz metric is quasi-symmetric when restricted to a thick part of Outer space, and that there is a uniform bound, depending only on the rank, on the ratio of logs of growth rates of any irreducible outer automorphism f in Out(F_n) and its inverse.
Using Lipschitz distance on Outer space we give another proof of the train track theorem.
For any finite collection $f_i$ of fully irreducible automorphisms of the free group $F_n$ we construct a connected $δ$-hyperbolic $Out(F_n)$-complex in which each $f_i$ has positive translation length.
For a fully irreducible automorphism ϕof the free group F_k we compute the asymptotics of the intersection number n \mapsto i(T,T'ϕ^n) for trees T,T' in Outer space. We also obtain qualitative information about the geometry of the Guirardel core for the trees T and T'ϕ^n for n large.
Let $M$ be complete nonpositively curved Riemannian manifold of finite volume whose fundamental group $Γ$ does not contain a finite index subgroup which is a product of infinite groups. We show that the universal cover $\tilde M$ is a higher rank symmetric space iff $H^2_b(M;\R)\to H^2(M;\R)$ is injective (and otherwise the kernel is infinite-dimensional). This is the converse of a theorem of Burger-Monod. The proof uses the celebrated Rank Rigidity Theorem, as well as a new construction of quasi-homomorphisms on groups that act on CAT(0) spaces and contain rank 1 elements.
We prove that the cohomological dimension of the Torelli group for a closed connected orientable surface of genus g at least 2 is equal to 3g-5. This answers a question of Mess, who proved the lower bound and settled the case of g=2. We also find the cohomological dimension of the Johnson kernel (the subgroup of the Torelli group generated by Dehn twists about separating curves) to be 2g-3. For g at least 2, we prove that the top dimensional homology of the Torelli group is infinitely generated. Finally, we give a new proof of the theorem of Mess that gives a precise description of the Torelli group in genus 2. The main tool is a new contractible complex, called the "complex of cycles", on which the Torelli group acts.
We study atomic right-angled Artin groups -- those whose defining graph has no cycles of length less than five, and no separating vertices, separating edges, or separating vertex stars. We show that these groups are not quasi-isometrically rigid, but that an intermediate form of rigidity does hold. We deduce from this that two atomic groups are quasi-isometric iff they are isomorphic.
We refine the construction of quasi-homomorphisms on mapping class groups. It is useful to know that there are unbounded quasi-homomorphisms which are bounded when restricted to particular subgroups since then one deduces that the mapping class group is not boundedly generated by these subgroups. In this note we enlarge the class of such subgroups. The generalization is motivated by considerations in first order theory of free groups.
Let T_n be the kernel of the natural map from Out(F_n) to GL(n,Z). We use combinatorial Morse theory to prove that T_n has an Eilenberg-MacLane space which is (2n-4)-dimensional and that H_{2n-4}(T_n,Z) is not finitely generated (n at least 3). In particular, this recovers the result of Krstic-McCool that T_3 is not finitely presented. We also give a new proof of the fact, due to Magnus, that T_n is finitely generated.
We prove that every limit group acts geometrically on a CAT(0) space with the isolated flats property.
Let F be a non-abelian finite rank free group, and let H_g be the fundamental group of a surface of genus g with one boundary component represented by D_g in H_g. So, H_g is the free group and D_g is the product of commutators [a_1,b_1]...[a_g,b_g]. Given x in F, we are interested in the number num(x) of primitive, i.e. root-free, images of monomorphisms (H_g,D_g) -> (F,x). Our main result is that f(g) >= 2^g where f(g)=sup num(x), where sup is taken over all elements x in F. This answers a question of Zlil Sela that is related to his work on the Tarski problem. We also show that f is independent of F and go on to obtain similar results where the monomorphisms considered are additionally required to have minimal genus.
We will survey the work on the topology of $Out(F_n)$ in the last 20 years or so. Much of the development is driven by the tantalizing analogy with mapping class groups. Unfortunately, $Out(F_n)$ is more complicated and less well-behaved. Culler and Vogtmann constructed Outer Space $X_n$, the analog of Teichmüller space, a contractible complex on which $Out(F_n)$ acts with finite stabilizers. Paths in $X_n$ can be generated using ``foldings'' of graphs, an operation introduced by Stallings to give alternative solutions for many algorithmic questions about free groups. The most conceptual proof of the contractibility of $X_n$ involves folding. There is a normal form of an automorphism, analogous to Thurston's normal form for surface homeomorphisms. This normal form, called a ``(relative) train track map'', consists of a cellular map on a graph and has good properties with respect to iteration. One may think of building an automorphism in stages, adding to the previous stages a building block that either grows exponentially or polynomially. A complicating feature is that these blocks are not ``disjoint'' as in Thurston's theory, but interact as upper stages can map over the lower stages. Applications include the study of growth rates (a surprising feature of free group automorphisms is that the growth rate of $f$ is generally different from the growth rate of $f^{-1}$), of the fixed subgroup of a given automorphism, and the proof of the Tits alternative for $Out(F_n)$.
We show that every subgroup of the mapping class group MCG(S) of a compact surface S is either virtually abelian or it has infinite dimensional second bounded cohomology. As an application, we give another proof of the Farb-Kaimanovich-Masur rigidity theorem that states that MCG(S) does not contain a higher rank lattice as a subgroup.
Every lattice H in a connected semi-simple Lie group G acts properly discontinuously by isometries on the contractible manifold G/K (K a maximal compact subgroup of G). We prove that if H acts on a contractible manifold W and if either 1) the action is properly discontinuous, or 2) W is equipped with a complete Riemannian metric, the action is by isometries and with unbounded orbits, G is simple with finite center and rank >1, then dim W is not less than dim G/K.