Expanders and box spaces (Q2357485)

A map \(f:X\to Y\) is a coarse equivalence if it is almost surjective, i.e., there exists \(R\geq 0\) such that \(Y\) is the \(R\)-neighborhood of \(f(X)\). Let \(G\) be a finitely generated, residually finite group. A decreasing sequence \((N_k)_{k>0}\) of finite index normal subgroups of \(G\) with trivial intersections is called a filtration of \(G\). The box space \(\square_{(N_k)}G\) is the metrized disjoint union of the \(G/N_k\)'s. It is shown that the group \(\mathrm{SL}_n(\mathbb Z)\), \(n\geq 2\) has a continuum of the box spaces which are pairwise non-coarsely equivalent expanders. It is proved that the family of finite groups \((\mathrm{PSL}_2(\mathbb Z/p^n\mathbb Z))_{n\geq 1}\) (where \(p\) is a prime) can be turned in infinitely many ways into a 6-regular expander. The full box space of \(G\) is introduced as the metric disjoint union of all finite quotients of \(G\). It is shown that the full box space of a group mapping onto the free group \(\mathbb F_2\) is not coarsely equivalent to the full box space of an \(S\)-arithmetric group with the congruent subgroup property.