Geometric characterization of flat groups of automorphisms (Q1049910)

The flat group of automorphisms of a totally disconnected locally compact group was introduced and extensively studied by the third author in [New York J. Math. 10, 1--35 (2004; Zbl 1029.22006)]. Let \(H\) be a group of automorphisms of a totally disconnected, locally compact group \(G\), and let \(B(G)\) be the metric space of compact, open subgroups of \(G\) (equipped with the metric \(d(U,V)=\log (|U:U\cap V|\cdot|V: V\cap U|)\)). In the paper under review the authors impressively study those \(H\) whose orbits in \(B(G)\) are quasi-isometric to some (finite dimensional) Euclidean spaces. As the main result they prove: In the case where the metric space \(B(G)\) is proper, if some (equivalently, every) orbit of \(H\) in \(B(G)\) is quasi-isometric to \(\mathbb{R}^n\) for some \(n\in\mathbb{N},\) then \(H\) has a subgroup of finite index which is a flat group of automorphisms of \(G\) of rank \(n\). They also obtain the same result under some weaker hypotheses. An interesting illuminating example is also included.