Actions of Baumslag-Solitar groups on surfaces (Q1948782)

The authors study the dynamics of actions of the solvable Baumslag-Solitar group \(\mathrm{BS}(1,n)=<a,b| aba^{-1}=b^n >\), for \(n\geq 2\), on closed surfaces. It is known that \(\mathrm{BS}(1,n)\) is isomorphic to the group generated by the two affine maps of the real line: \(f_0(x)=x+1\) and \(h_0(x)=nx\). The authors exhibit a smooth \(\mathrm{BS}(1,n)\)-action with finite orbits on the 2-torus \(\mathbb{T}^2\), they study its dynamical behavior and the one of its \(C^1\)-perturbations, and they prove that it is not locally rigid. They also develop a general framework for the dynamical study of the faithful topological \(\mathrm{BS}(1,n)\)-actions on closed surfaces. Such actions admit a minimal set included in the fixed point set of the element \(a\) acting on the surface. In the case of action on the two-torus, the authors show that there exists a positive integer \(N\) such that the fixed point set of \(f^N\) is non-empty and contains a minimal set of the action. As a corollary, they obtain that there are no minimal faithful topological actions of \(\mathrm{BS}(1,n)\) on \(\mathbb{T}^2\). In the case of a closed orientable surface of genus \(\geq 2\) and when the automorphism \(a\) is isotopic to the identity, then its fixed point set is nonempty and contains a minimal set of the action. If moreover this action is \(C^1\) then the fixed point set contains any minimal set.