Inverse theorems for sets and measures of polynomial growth

DOI10.1093/QMATH/HAV033zbMATH Open1400.11133arXiv1507.01276OpenAlexW2962817743MaRDI QIDQ2987012FDOQ2987012

Authors: Terence Tao 

Publication date: 17 May 2017

Published in: The Quarterly Journal of Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We give a structural description of the finite subsets $A$ of an arbitrary group $G$ which obey the polynomial growth condition $|A^n|leq{n}^d|A|$ for some bounded $d$ and sufficiently large $n$, showing that such sets are controlled by (a bounded number of translates of) a coset nilprogression in a certain precise sense. This description recovers some previous results of Breuillard-Green-Tao and Breuillard-Tointon concerning sets of polynomial growth; we are also able to describe the subsequent growth of $|A^m|$ fairly explicitly for $mgeqn$, at least when $A$ is a symmetric neighbourhood of the identity. We also obtain an analogous description of symmetric probability measures $mu$ whose $n$-fold convolutions $m{u}^{\ast n}$ obey the condition $|m{u}^{\ast n}{|}_{el{l}^2}^{-2}leq{n}^d|mu{|}_{el{l}^2}^{-2}$. In the abelian case, this description recovers the inverse Littlewood-Offord theorem of Nguyen-Vu, and gives a variant of a recent nonabelian inverse Littlewood-Offord theorem of Tiep-Vu. Our main tool to establish these results is the inverse theorem of Breuillard, Green, and the author that describes the structure of approximate groups.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1507.01276

Recommendations

• Approximate groups and doubling metrics
• Properness of nilprogressions and the persistence of polynomial growth of given degree
• Freiman's theorem for solvable groups
• Stable group theory and approximate subgroups
• A new proof of Gromov’s theorem on groups of polynomial growth

zbMATH Keywords

polynomial growth conditionFreiman's theoremsymmetric probability measuresLittlewood-Offord-Erdős theorem

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Generators, relations, and presentations of groups (20F05) Nilpotent and solvable Lie groups (22E25) Probability measures on groups or semigroups, Fourier transforms, factorization (60B15) Arithmetic combinatorics; higher degree uniformity (11B30) Finite nilpotent groups, (p)-groups (20D15) Inverse problems of additive number theory, including sumsets (11P70)

Cited In (7)

• On semilinear sets and asymptotic approximate groups
• Non-abelian Littlewood-Offord inequalities
• Polylogarithmic bounds in the nilpotent Freiman theorem
• The Bateman-Horn conjecture: heuristic, history, and applications
• Explicit universal minimal constants for polynomial growth of groups
• A finitary structure theorem for vertex-transitive graphs of polynomial growth
• Properness of nilprogressions and the persistence of polynomial growth of given degree

This page was built for publication: Inverse theorems for sets and measures of polynomial growth

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2987012)