One some planar Baumslag-Solitar actions

Abstract: Let

B S (1, n) = l a n g l e a, b : a b a^{- 1} = b^{n} a n g l e

be the solvable Baumslag-Solitar group for

n g e q 2

. We study representations of

B S (1, n)

on the plane by orientation preserving homeomorphisms, assuming that

a

acts as a linear map and

b

as a map with bounded displacement. We find that the possibilities for a faithful action depend greatly on the Jordan canonical form of the map

h

defined by the action of

a

. In case

h

is diagonalizable over

m a t h b b R

, we shall give examples or prove rigidity theorems depending on the eigenvalues. We also show some rigidity in the cases where

h

is elliptic or parabolic. Then we give applications to the actions of

B S (1, n)

by homeomorphisms of the torus.

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