Uniform non-amenability, cost, and the first \(\ell^2\)-Betti number (Q955219)

Summary: It is shown that \(2\beta_1(\Gamma)\leq h(\Gamma)\) for any countable group \(\Gamma\), where \(\beta_1(\Gamma)\) is the first \(\ell^2\)-Betti number and \(h(\Gamma)\) the uniform isoperimetric constant. In particular, a countable group with non-vanishing first \(\ell^2\)-Betti number is uniformly non-amenable. We then define isoperimetric constants in the framework of measured equivalence relations. For an ergodic measured equivalence relation \(R\) of type II\(_1\), the uniform isoperimetric constant \(h(R)\) of \(R\) is invariant under orbit equivalence and satisfies \[ 2\beta_1(R)\leq 2\text{C}(R)-2\leq h(R), \] where \(\beta_1(R)\) is the first \(\ell^2\)-Betti number and C\((R)\) the cost of \(R\) in the sense of Levitt (in particular \(h(R)\) is a non-trivial invariant). In contrast with the group case, uniformly non-amenable measured equivalence relations of type II\(_1\) always contain non-amenable subtreeings. An ergodic version \(h_e(\Gamma)\) of the uniform isoperimetric constant \(h(\Gamma)\) is defined as the infimum over all essentially free ergodic and measure preserving actions \(\alpha\) of \(\Gamma\) of the uniform isoperimetric constant \(h(R_\alpha)\) of the equivalence relation \(R_\alpha\) associated to \(\alpha\). By establishing a connection with the cost of measure-preserving equivalence relations, we prove that \(h_e(\Gamma) = 0\) for any lattice \(\Gamma\) in a semi-simple Lie group of real rank at least 2 (while \(h_e(\Gamma)\) does not vanish in general).