On isoperimetric profiles of algebras. (Q837046)

The notion of the isoperimetric profile of an algebra was introduced by \textit{M.~Gromov} [Groups Geom. Dyn. 2, No. 4, 499-593 (2008; Zbl 1280.20043)]. Let \(K\) be a field of characteristic zero, let \(A\) be an associative \(K\)-algebra with unit element 1, and let \(V\) be a subframe of \(A\), that is, a finite dimensional subspace containing 1. The isoperimetric profile of \(A\) with respect to \(V\) is defined to be the function \(I_*(n,A,V)=\inf(\dim_K(VW/W))\), where the infimum is taken over all subspaces \(W\) of \(A\) of dimension \(n\). An algebra \(A\) is said to have an isoperimetric profile if there exists a subframe \(V\) of \(A\) such that the function \(I_*(n,A,V)\) is asymptotically faster than \(I_*(n,A,W)\) for any other subframe \(W\) of \(A\) (a function \(f_1\colon\mathbb{R}_+\to\mathbb{R}_+\) is asymptotically faster than \(f_2\), denoted by \(f_1\succeq f_2\), if there exist positive constants \(C_1,C_2\) such that \(f_1(C_1x)\geq C_2f_2(x)\) for all \(x\in\mathbb{R}_+\)). In this case, the function \(I_*(n,A,V)\) is called the isoperimetric profile of \(A\) and simply denoted \(I_*(A)\). In a certain sense, the isoperimetric profile measures the degree of amenability of an algebra \(A\), since it turns out that \(A\) is amenable if and only if \(I_*(n,A,V)\precneqq n\). Following the definition of the isoperimetric profile and a presentation of its basic properties, the author studies the behaviour of this invariant under various ring-theoretic constructions, such as localizations, Ore extensions, tensor products, associated graded algebras, etc. In Section 3, it is shown that the isoperimetric profile of a large class of algebras with Gelfand-Kirillov dimension \(d\) is of the form \(n^{d-1\over d}\). This class includes finitely generated algebras of GK-dimension 1, finitely generated commutative domains, finitely generated PI algebras, enveloping algebras of finite dimensional Lie algebras, Weyl algebras, quantum skew polynomial algebras, quantum matrix algebras, and many more. The last section of the paper explores the relationship of the isoperimetric profile with some other invariants of an algebra \(A\), such as its Følner function (in case \(A\) is amenable) and its lower transcendence degree.