Actions of large finite groups on manifolds (Q6573209)

This survey article gathers results on actions of large finite groups on manifolds. In the background is a question that was raised by Étienne Ghys a couple of decades ago.\N\NFor a closed manifold \(X\), does there exist a constant \(C\) such that for every finite group \(G\) acting effectively on \(X\) there is an abelian (later revised to nilpotent) subgroup \(A\subseteq G\) of index less than \(C\)?\N\N\textit{V. L. Popov} [in: Affine algebraic geometry: The Russell Festschrift. Outgrow of an international conference, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. June 1--5, 2009, held in honour of Professor Peter Russell on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS). 289--311 (2011; Zbl 1242.14044)] defined the notion of a group being {\em Jordan}, and in these terms Ghys' initial question is whether the group of homeomorphisms of \(X\) is Jordan. Note that \(\mathrm{Diff} (T^2 \times S^2)\) is not Jordan. Many other facets of Ghys' question are explored in the survey.\N\NThe history of Ghys' question is rich with contribuition by a large number of researchers. The article has an extensive bibliography.