Topics in Groups and Geometry

This book provides a detailed exposition of a wide range of topics in geometric group theory, inspired by Gromov's pivotal work in the 1980s. It includes classical theorems on nilpotent groups and solvable groups, a fundamental study of the growth of groups, a detailed look at asymptotic cones, and a discussion of related subjects including filters and ultrafilters, dimension theory, hyperbolic geometry, amenability, the Burnside problem, and random walks on groups. The results are unified under the common theme of Gromov's theorem, namely that finitely generated groups of polynomial growth are virtually nilpotent. This beautiful result gave birth to a fascinating new area of research which is still active today. The purpose of the book is to collect these naturally related results together in one place, most of which are scattered throughout the literature, some of them appearing here in book form for the first time. In this way, the connections between these topics are revealed, providing a pleasant introduction to geometric group theory based on ideas surrounding Gromov's theorem.

The book will be of interest to mature undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics who are familiar with basic group theory and topology, and who wish to learn more about geometric, analytic, and probabilistic aspects of infinite groups.

Provides an introduction to geometric group theory based on the unifying theme of Gromov's theorem Shows the connections between a wide range of topics in geometric group theory Collects together, for the first time, results previously scattered throughout the literature With a Foreword by Efim I. Zelmanov

Autorentext

Tullio Ceccherini-Silberstein obtained his BS in Mathematics (1990) from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and his PhD in Mathematics (1994) from UCLA. Currently, he is professor of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Sannio (Benevento). He is an Editor of the EMS journal "Groups, Geometry, and Dynamics". He has authored more than 90 research articles in Functional and Harmonic Analysis, Group Theory, Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems, and Theoretical Computer Science and has co-authored 5 monographs on Harmonic Analysis and Representation Theory. Fabio Scarabotti obtained his BS in Mathematics (1989) and his PhD in Mathematics (1994) from the University of Rome "La Sapienza". Currently, he is professor of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Rome "La Sapienza". He has authored more than 40 research articles in Harmonic Analysis, Group Theory, Combinatorics, Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems, and TheoreticalComputer Science and has co-authored 4 monographs on Harmonic Analysis and Representation Theory. Filippo Tolli obtained his BS in Mathematics (1991) from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and his PhD in Mathematics (1996) from UCLA. Currently, he is professor of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Roma Tre. He has authored more than 30 research articles in Harmonic Analysis, Group Theory, Combinatorics, Lie Groups and Partial Differential Equations and has co-authored 4 monographs on Harmonic Analysis and Representation Theory.

Inhalt

• Foreword.- Preface.- Part I Algebraic Theory: 1. Free Groups.- 2. Nilpotent Groups.- 3. Residual Finiteness and the Zassenhaus Filtration.- 4. Solvable Groups.- 5. Polycyclic Groups.- 6. The Burnside Problem.- Part II Geometric Theory: 7. Finitely Generated Groups and Their Growth Functions.- 8. Hyperbolic Plane Geometry and the Tits Alternative.- 9. Topological Groups, Lie Groups, and Hilbert Fifth Problem.- 10. Dimension Theory.- 11. Ultralters, Ultraproducts, Ultrapowers, and Asymptotic Cones.- 12. Gromov's Theorem.- Part III Analytic and Probabilistic Theory: 13. The Theorems of Polya and Varopoulos.- 14. Amenability, Isoperimetric Prole, and Følner Functions.- 15. Solutions or Hints to Selected Exercises.- References.- Subject Index.- Index of Authors.