Relative entropy and the Pinsker product formula for sofic groups (Q2245013)

From the abstract: ``We continue our study of the outer Pinsker factor for probability measure-preserving actions of sofic groups. Using the notion of local and doubly empirical convergence developed by Austin we prove that in many cases the outer Pinsker factor of a product action is the product of the outer Pinsker factors. Our results are parallel to those of Seward for Rokhlin entropy. We use these Pinsker product formulas to show that if \(X\) is a compact group, and \(G\) is a sofic group with \(G\curvearrowright X\) by automorphisms, then the outer Pinsker factor of \(G\curvearrowright (X,m_X)\) is given as a quotient by a \(G\)-invariant, closed, normal subgroup of \(X\). We use our results to show that if \(G\) is sofic and \(f\in M_n (\mathbb{Z}(G))\) is invertible as a convolution operator \(\ell^2 (G)^{\oplus n}\to \ell^2 (G)^{\oplus n}\), then the action of \(G\) on the Pontryagin dual of \(\mathbb{Z} (G)^{\oplus n}/\mathbb{Z} (G)^{\oplus n}f\) has completely positive measure-theoretic entropy with respect to the Haar measure.'' The definition of sofic group is given and other auxiliary notions are recalled. The relative entropy for actions of sofic groups is defined and its main properties are discussed. The relative outer Pinsker algebra is defined. Some preliminaries on local and doubly empirical convergence, the definition of strong soficity, and applications to actions on compact groups by automorphisms, are given. Actions which are strongly sofic with respect to any sofic approximation of a countable, discrete, and sofic group, are considered with examples. Certain permanence properties of strong soficity are proven. The author also gives a product formula for outer Pinsker factors of strongly sofic actions and uses it in the study of algebraic actions. It is shown that ``the given definition of (upper) relative entropy for actions of sofic groups agrees with the usual definition when the group is amenable''.