Unsmoothable group actions on compact one-manifolds (Q2319579)

Consider the right-angled Artin group \(A(P_4)=\langle a,b,c,d\mid [b,d]=[d,a]=[a,c]=1\rangle\). The main result of the paper under review is that \(A(P_4)\) admits no faithful action on a compact one-manifold by \(C^{1+\mathrm{bv}}\) diffeomorphisms. This should be compared with the previous work of the authors [Israel J. Math. 213, 175--182 (2016; Zbl 1398.20045)], where it is proved that every right-angled Artin group \(A(\Gamma)\) admits faithful actions on \(\mathbb{R}\) by \(C^\infty\) diffeomorphisms. The authors deduce several remarkable results. To state them, let \(S=S_{g,n,b}\) be a compact surface of genus \(g\), \(n\) marked points and \(b\) boundary components, and write \(c(S)=3g-3+n+b\). Then the mapping class group \(\mathrm{Mod}(S)\) virtually injects into the group \(\mathrm{Diff}^{1+\mathrm{bv}}_+(M)\) of orientation-preserving \(C^{1+\mathrm{bv}}\) diffeomorphisms of a compact one-manifold \(M\), if and only if \(c(S)\le 1\). In other words, for surfaces \(S\) with sufficiently rich topology, there is no finite index subgroup of \(\mathrm{Mod}(S)\) acting faithfully on a compact one-manifold by \(C^{1+\mathrm{bv}}\) diffeomorphisms. Related previous results appear in [\textit{B. Farb} and \textit{J. Franks}, Ergodic Theory Dyn. Syst. 23, No. 5, 1467--1484 (2003; Zbl 1037.37020)] and [\textit{K. Parwani}, Algebr. Geom. Topol. 8, 935--944 (2008; Zbl 1155.37028)], but these are specific to the whole mapping class group \(\mathrm{Mod}(S)\), and not its finite index subgroups. The innovative approach here is to remark that \(A(P_4)\) embeds in every finite index subgroup of \(\mathrm{Mod}(S)\), whenever \(c(S)\ge 2\) [\textit{T. Koberda}, Geom. Funct. Anal. 22, 1541--1590 (2012; Zbl 1282.37024)]. For the same reason, the following groups do not virtually embed into \(\mathrm{Diff}^{1+\mathrm{bv}}_+(M)\): \begin{itemize} \item \(\mathrm{Aut}(F_n)\) and \(\mathrm{Out}(F_n)\) for \(n\ge 3\); \item every term of the Johnson filtration \(\{\mathfrak{J}_k(S) \}_{k\ge 1}\), when \(g\ge 5\); \item \(\mathfrak{J}_2(S)\) (the Torelli group) and \(\mathfrak{J}_3(S)\), when \(g\ge 3\). \end{itemize} Let us write a few words about the proof of the main result, which relies on classical results on one-dimensional actions. Using the Denjoy theorem, the situation can be easily reduced to the case where \(M\) is a compact interval. Then, using the Kopell lemma about commuting \(C^{1+\mathrm{bv}}\) diffeomorphisms of the interval, the authors find that if there was any faithful \(C^{1+\mathrm{bv}}\) action of \(A(P_4)\), then the connected components of the open supports of generators \(a\) and \(d\) would display a quite particular configuration. Elementary \(C^1\) estimates provide a contradiction.