On small abstract quotients of Lie groups and locally compact groups (Q506941)

The author considers an `abstract' surjective homomorphism \(\varphi : G \to \Gamma\) from a locally compact group \(G\) onto a discrete, finitely generated group \(\Gamma\) and asks what conditions on \(G\) and \(\Gamma\) imply that \(\varphi\) is automatically continuous. He shows that each of the following implies that \(\varphi\) is continuous and open: (a) \(G\) is a locally compact abelian group such that \(G/G^\circ\) is topologically finitely generated and \(\Gamma\) is countable residually finite; (b) \(G\) is an almost connected Lie group and \(\Gamma\) is finitely generated; (c) \(G\) is a locally compact group such that \(G/G^\circ\) is compact and topologically finitely generated and \(\Gamma\) is finitely generated. The former two cases employ the well-known structure theories of topologically finitely generated locally compact abelian groups and of almost connected Lie groups. The last case invokes a result by \textit{N. Nikolov} and \textit{D. Segal} [Invent. Math. 190, No. 3, 513--602 (2012; Zbl 1268.20031)] on the finiteness of quotients of compact groups. In cases (b) and (c) it also follows that \(\Gamma\) is finite. The remainder of the paper deals with quotients of locally compact groups and independently proves a weaker result than the Nikolov and Segal theorem. This leads to an investigation of normal subgroups in infinite products and ultraproducts of groups.