Orbit inequivalent actions for groups containing a copy of \(\mathbb{F}_{2}\) (Q635847): Difference between revisions

Free, ergodic, probability measure preserving actions of countable discrete groups \(\Gamma_1\), \(\Gamma_2\) on standard probability spaces \(X_1\), \(X_2\) are said to be orbit equivalent if there is an isomorphism \(\theta:X_1\to X_2\) of measure spaces with \(\theta(\Gamma_1x)=\Gamma_2(\theta x)\) almost everywhere (that is, if the two actions induce measurably isomorphic equivalence relations). \textit{H. A. Dye} [Am. J. Math. 81, 119--159 (1959; Zbl 0087.11501)] showed that all such actions are orbit equivalent if \(\Gamma_1\) and \(\Gamma_1\) are abelian, and this was extended to all amenable groups in work of \textit{D. S. Ornstein} and \textit{B. Weiss} [Bull. Am. Math. Soc., New Ser. 2, 161--164 (1980; Zbl 0427.28018)] and \textit{A. Connes, J. Feldman} and \textit{B. Weiss} [Ergodic Theory Dyn. Syst. 1, 431--450 (1981; Zbl 0491.28018)]. For non-amenable groups the situation is more rigid, and \textit{A. Connes} and \textit{B. Weiss} [Isr. J. Math. 37, 209--210 (1980; Zbl 0479.28017)] (and others) showed that a non-amenable group admits at least two actions that are not orbit equivalent. More recently, it has been shown that groups with property (T), free groups, weakly rigid groups, non-amenable products of infinite groups and mapping class groups all have the property that they admit uncountably many actions that are not orbit equivalent. In this paper another large class of groups is added to this list, with a proof that the same property holds for any group containing a copy of the free group on two generators. This result covers most -- but not all -- non-amenable groups. The proof realizes the free group as a subgroup of finite index in \(SL_2({\mathbb Z})\), and then exploits the relative property (T).