The scale, tidy subgroups and flat groups (Q1622931)

This work is a contribution to the solution to Hilbert's fifth problem. Given any locally compact group \(G\), there is a unique largest connected subgroup \(G^0\) such that the group \(G/G^0\) of left cosets, endowed with the quotient topology group of components, is a totally disconnected locally compact (t.d.l.c.) group. Suppose \(U\) is a compact open subgroup of a t.d.l.c. group \(G\) and \(\alpha\) is an endomorphism of \(G\), then \(\alpha (U)\) is a compact subgroup of \(G\), and the scale of \(\alpha\) is the positive integer: \[ s (\alpha)= \text{min} \{[\alpha (U):\alpha (U)\cap U]\mid U \leq G \text{ is compact and open}\}. \] Define the sets: \[ U_+=\{x \in U \mid \exists \{x_n\}_{n\in \mathbb N}\subset U\text{ with } x_0= x \text{ and }\alpha(x_{n+1})= x_n, \, \forall n \in \mathbb N\} \] and \(U_-=\{x \in U\mid \alpha^n(x) \in U,\, \forall n \in \mathbb N\}, \) then \(U\) is tidy for \(\alpha \) if it satisfies \(U= U_+ U_-\), and any \(U\) at which the minimum is attained is minimizing for \(\alpha\). In 1994, the author [Math. Ann. 300, No. 2, 341--363 (1994; Zbl 0811.22004)] showed that every t.d.l.c. group contains a so-called tidy subgroup and a special function on its automorphisms, the scale function, thereby advancing the knowledge of the local structure. In the work under review, the author studies the applications and properties of the scale function. He discusses subgroups associated with endomorphisms \(\alpha\), the tidy subgroup, the parabolic subgroup: \[ \overrightarrow{\text{par}}(\alpha) = \{ x \in G\mid \{\alpha^n(x)\}_{n \in \mathbb N} \quad \text{ is pre-compact}\}, \] the anti-parabolic subgroup: \[ \overleftarrow{\text{par}}(\alpha)= \{ x \in G \mid \exists \{x_n\}_{n=0}^\infty\text{ pre-compact } \, / \, x_0= x, \text{ and } \alpha(x_{n+1})= x_n \}, \] and the Levi subgroup: \(\text{lev}(\alpha) = \overrightarrow{\text{par}}(\alpha)\cap \overleftarrow{\text{par}}(\alpha)\). He defines the flat groups of automorphisms, the flat rank and various results about flat groups on t.d.l.c. groups. Some properties of the geometry of t.d.l.c. groups are also studied. For the entire collection see [Zbl 1394.00023].