Size of subsets of groups and Haar null sets (Q2575147)

For a discrete group \(G\) and a subset \(A\subset G\) put \[ a(A):=\inf \Bigl\{\sup_{g\in G}\mu(gA):\mu\text{ a probability measure on } G\Bigr\} \] and \[ u(A):=\inf \Bigl\{\sup_{g\in G}\mu (gA):\mu\text{ a unif. distr. probability measure on } F\subset G,\;F\text{ finite}\Bigr\} \] and \(a^T(A)\) resp. \(u^T(A)\) defined by considering \(\sup_{g,h\in G}\mu(gAh)\) instead of \(\mu(gA)\) in the above definitions. Similar notions were previously considered by \textit{T. Mitchell} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 119, 244--261 (1965; Zbl 0146.12005)] and \textit{M. M. Day} [Pac. J. Math. 62, 71--92 (1982; Zbl 0439.43003)]. The main theorem states that for any amenable groups \(a=u\), whereas if \(G\) contains \(F_2\) as a subgroup, there exists \(A\subset G\) with \(u(A)>a(A)\). On the other hand for any discrete group \(a^T=u^T\). Furthermore it is shown that \(u=u^T\) iff \(G\) is FC, i.e. if all conjugacy classes of \(G\) are finite. On a Polish group \(G\) subsets \(A\) are called universally measurable if they are measurable with respect to each Borel probability measure on \(G\). A subset \(A\) is called Haar null set (resp. left Haar null set) if it is contained in a universally measurable set \(A^\prime\) with \(\mu(gA^\prime h)=0\) (resp. \(\mu(gA^\prime)=0)\) for some Borel probability measure \(\mu\) on \(G\) and all \(g,h\in G\). It is shown that for the countable products \(H=\prod_n H_n\) of countable groups \(H_n\) left Haar null sets are Haar null sets iff almost all groups \(H_n\) are FC or iff for any universally measurable subset \(A\subset H\) which is not Haar null the identity is contained in the interior of \(A^{-1}A\). This provides further examples of nonlocally compact groups for which not all left Haar null sets are Haar null sets and answers questions raised by \textit{J. Mycielski} [Ulam Q. 1, 30--37 (1992; Zbl 0846.28006)] and \textit{J. P. R. Christensen} [Topology and Borel structure. Amsterdam etc.: North Holland (1974; Zbl 0273.28001)].