Contraction groups and scales of automorphisms of totally disconnected locally compact groups (Q1881742)

The article under review achieves major progress concerning automorphisms of totally disconnected, locally compact groups and their contraction groups. Recall that the contraction group of an automorphism \(\alpha\) of a topological group \(G\) is the set \(U_\alpha\) of all \(x\in G\) such that \(\alpha^n(x)\to 1\) as \(n\to\infty\). More generally, given \(H\subseteq G\) one considers the set \(U_{\alpha/H}\) of all \(x\in G\) such that \(\alpha^n(x)\to 1\) modulo \(H\), i.e., \(\alpha^n(x)\in VH\) eventually for each \(1\)-neighbourhood \(V\subseteq G\). If \(H\) is a neutral subgroup of \(G\) (in particular, if \(H\) is compact or normal), then \(U_{\alpha/H}\) is a group. In the following, let \(G\) be a metrizable, totally disconnected, locally compact group. The main result of the paper (Theorem 3.8) guarantees that \(U_{\alpha/H}=U_\alpha H\) for each automorphism \(\alpha\) of \(G\) and each \(\alpha\)-stable closed subgroup \(H\subseteq G\) (viz. \(\alpha(H)=H\)). Previously, this was only known for \(G\) a \(p\)-adic Lie group and compact \(H\) [\textit{S. G. Dani} and \textit{R. Shah}, Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 110, 299--306 (1991; Zbl 0736.43001)] (cf. \textit{W. Hazod} and \textit{E. Siebert} [Semigroup Forum 33, 111--143 (1986; Zbl 0582.22005) and J. Theor. Probab. 1, 211--225 (1988; Zbl 0659.60020)] for the case of real Lie groups). The proof rests on a clever use of tools from the second author's structure theory of totally disconnected groups initiated in [Math. Ann. 300, 341--363 (1994; Zbl 0811.22004)]. Notably, tidy subgroups play a role, viz. compact, open subgroups \(V\subseteq G\) such that (T1) \(V=V_+V_-\), where \(V_\pm:=\bigcap_{n\geq 0} \alpha^{\pm n}(V)\); and (T2) \(\bigcup_{n\geq 0}\alpha^n(V_+)\) is closed in \(G\). Another profound result is Theorem 3.32, which provides 12 equivalent characterizations for closedness of the contraction group \(U_\alpha\). In particular, \(U_\alpha\) is closed if and only if there exist arbitrarily small subgroups tidy for \(\alpha\), if and only if every compact open subgroup satisfying (T1) satisfies (T2) as well. It is also of interest that the authors succeed to transfer concepts from the theory of algebraic groups to the case of general metrizable totally disconnected groups (e.g., the notions of parabolic subgroups and Levi factors). Remarks. 1. As clarified with the authors, \(VHV\) reads \(VH\) in the definition of convergence to \(e\) modulo \(H\). 2. Some of the results remain valid also for non-metrizable groups, if one assumes that small tidy subgroups exist [the reviewer, ``Contraction groups for tidy automorphisms of totally disconnected groups'', to appear in Glasgow Math. J.].