Strong property (T), weak amenability and \(\ell^p\)-cohomology in \(\tilde{A}_2\)-buildings (Q7012465)

The authors establish that undistorted lattices in locally finite \(\tilde{A}_{2}\)-buildings satisfy Lafforgue's strong property (T), as defined in [\textit{V. Lafforgue}, Duke Math. J. 143, No. 3, 559-602 (2008; Zbl 1158.46049)], with respect to all admissible Banach spaces. These examples lie outside the realm of algebraic groups over local fields, previously the only known sources of such lattices. The proof adapts Lafforgue's strategy to the exotic setting of \(\tilde{A}_{2}\)-buildings, developing a geometric induction and asymptotic analysis of operator norms on combinatorial structures such as Hjelmslev and biaffine planes. The construction yields a sequence of averaging operators \(A_\lambda\) converging to a projection, thereby proving strong property (T).\N\NTwo further applications are derived. First, the authors prove vanishing of the first \(\ell^p\)-cohomology for all \(1 < p < \infty\) in locally finite \(\tilde{A}_{2}\)-buildings. Second, they show that the noncommutative \(L^p\)-space associated to a \(\tilde{A}_{2}\)-lattice lacks the operator space approximation property for \(p\) outside the interval \([4/3, 4]\), implying in particular that no \(\tilde{A}_{2}\)-lattice is weakly amenable.\N\NThe article includes a detailed analysis of harmonic functions on the building and provides norm estimates for families of averaging operators. The techniques developed extend the reach of property (T)-methods to non-algebraic settings and raise several conjectures about the structure of Banach spaces and cohomology in relation to building geometry.