Large scale geometry of certain solvable groups. (Q2379367)

A class of finitely generated groups \(\mathcal C\) is said to be quasi-isometrically rigid if any group that is quasi-isometric to some group in \(\mathcal C\) is, itself, in \(\mathcal C\). In [Pure Appl. Math. Q. 3, No. 4, 927-947 (2007; Zbl 1167.22007)], \textit{A. Eskin, D. Fisher} and \textit{K. Whyte} conjectured that the class of all polycyclic groups is quasi-isometrically rigid. As a first step towards proving this theorem, they show the following theorem: Suppose \(M\) is a diagonalizable matrix with \(\det M=1\) and no eigenvalues on the unit circle. Let \(G_M=\mathbb R\ltimes_M\mathbb R^n\). If \(\Gamma\) is a finitely generated group quasi-isometric to \(G_M\) then \(\Gamma\) is virtually a lattice in \(\mathbb R\ltimes_{M'}\mathbb R^n\) where \(M'\) is a matrix that has the same absolute Jordan form as \(M^\alpha\) for some \(\alpha\in\mathbb R\). This theorem was proven in two steps for Sol geometry by \textit{A. Eskin, D. Fisher} and \textit{K. Whyte} [in the preprints ``Coarse differentiation of quasi-isometries. I, II'' (\url{arXiv:math/0607207v2} and \url{arXiv:0706.0940v1})], and the general case of the first step was proven by \textit{I. Peng} [in the preprints ``The quasi-isometry group of a subclass of solvable Lie groups. I, II'']. The paper under review provides the second step of the proof of the above theorem in the general case. To do this, the author studies maps of \((\mathbb R^n,D)\), where \(D\) is not quite a metric (it fails to satisfy the triangle inequality, although some power of it does). The group of quasi-similarities with respect to \(D\), \(\text{QSim}_D(\mathbb R^n)\), is the group of bilipschitz maps \(F\) satisfying \(K_1D(x,y)\leq D(F(x),F(y))\leq K_2D(x,y)\). A uniform group of quasi-similarities is one where the ratio \(K_2/K_1\) is fixed. The group of almost similarities, \(\text{ASim}_D(\mathbb R^n)\) is a similarity (i.e. \(K_1=K_2\)) composed with an ``almost translation'' that is also a \(\text{QSim}_D\) map. The main result of the paper under review is the following: Let \(\mathcal G\) be a uniform separable subgroup of \(\text{QSim}_D(\mathbb R^n)\) that acts cocompactly on the space of distinct pairs of points of \(\mathbb R^n\). Then there exists a map \(F\in\text{QSim}_D(\mathbb R^n)\) such that \(F\mathcal GF^{-1}\subset\text{ASim}_D(\mathbb R^n)\). The connection with the theorem of [Zbl 1167.22007] is made clear in the paper: the solvable Lie group \(G_M\) has natural foliations by negatively curved homogeneous spaces whose boundaries can be identified with \((\mathbb R^n,D)\). Quasi-isometries (respectively, isometries) of \(G_M\) give rise to quasi-similarities, \(\text{QSim}_D\) maps, of \((\mathbb R^n,D)\) (respectively similarities, \(\text{Sim}_D\) maps, of \((\mathbb R^n,D)\)).