Compact groups with probabilistically central monothetic subgroups (Q6109879)

Let \(G\) be a compact group, let \(K\) be a closed subgroup of \(G\) and \(\varepsilon\) be a positive number. The probability that a randomly chosen pair \((k,g)\in K\times G\) commutes is naturally defined as \(\operatorname{Pr}(K,G)=(\nu\times \mu)(\{(x,y)\in K\times G: xy=yx\})\) where \(\nu\) and \(\mu\) are the normalized Haar measures on \(K\) and \(G\), respectively. The authors show (Proposition 1.1.) that if \(\operatorname{Pr}(K,G)\ge \varepsilon\) then there exists a normal subgroup \(T\le G\) and a subgroup \(B\le K\) such that the indices \([G:T]\) and \([K:B]\) and the order of the commutator subgroup \([T,B]\) are \( \varepsilon\)-bounded (i.e., have upper bounds which only depend on \(\varepsilon\)). A \textit{verbatim} version of this statement was proved by \textit{E. Detomi} and the second author in the context of finite groups [Proc. R. Soc. Edinb., Sect. A, Math. 152, No. 6, 1551--1564 (2022; Zbl 1515.20118)]. The latter result was in itself a remarkable generalization of a well-known result by P. M. Neumann. The authors single out the following theorem as the main application of this result (Theorem 1.2): If \(\operatorname{Pr}(\langle g\rangle ,G)\ge \varepsilon\) for every \(g\in K\), then there is an \(\varepsilon\)-bounded natural number \(e\) and a finite-index normal subgroup \(T\le G\) such that both the index \([G:T]\) and the order of \([K^e,T]\) are \(\varepsilon\)-bounded.