Lie algebras and growth in branch groups. (Q859814)

In this interesting paper the author considers applications of certain Lie algebras to branch groups (Grigorchuk group, Gupta-Sidki group, and the like). Quite a lot of definitions and examples are included for the benefit of the reader. One of the features is using diagrams, called Lie graphs, to describe Lie algebras similarly to how Cayley graphs are used to describe groups. This machinary seems to be especially suitable for working with branch groups, which are often defined in terms of actions on rooted trees. Lie algebras that can be defined for arbitrary (discrete, or periodic) groups are so-called associated Lie algebras defined on the direct sum of the factors of some \(N\)-series (= filtration), e.g., the lower central series, or \(p\)-lower central series. These Lie algebras are not in as good a correspondence as for Lie groups. The author points out several natural open questions arising at the very start. Yet the author demonstrates that ``questions of growth, geometry, and normal subgroup structure are illuminated by Lie-algebraic considerations''. The author determines the structure of the Lie algebra associated with the Gupta-Sidki group and thus shows that this group is not of finite width. By contrast, another similar group is shown to have Lie algebra of finite width. These results rely on a description of group elements as branch portraits, which shows the relation between the group and its Lie algebra. A general result is proved that, in the class of branch groups, the growth of the homogeneous space \(G/P\), where \(P\) is a parabolic subgroup, is bounded below in terms of the growth of the associated Lie algebra of \(G\). This information is used to explicitly describe all the normal subgroups of the Grigorchuk group. All these subgroups turn out to be characteristic and of finite indices equal to powers of \(2\); exact formulae for the number of subgroups of index \(2^n\) are found.