Bounded generation and lattices that cannot act on the line

DOI10.4310/PAMQ.2008.V4.N1.A4MaRDI QIDQ930805zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors L. Lifschitz, David Witte Morris

Publication date 1 July 2008

Published in Pure and Applied Mathematics Quarterly (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0604612

zbMATH Keywords

irreducible latticeLie groupunipotents

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Discrete subgroups of Lie groups (22E40) Semisimple Lie groups and their representations (22E46)

Abstract: Let D be an irreducible lattice in a connected, semisimple Lie group G with finite center. Assume that the real rank of G is at least two, that G/D is not compact, and that G has more than one noncompact simple factor. We show that D has no orientation-preserving actions on the real line. (In algebraic terms, this means that D is not right orderable.) Under the additional assumption that no simple factor of G is isogenous to SL(2,R), applying a theorem of E.Ghys yields the conclusion that any orientation-preserving action of D on the circle must factor through a finite, abelian quotient of D. The proof relies on the fact, proved by D.Carter, G.Keller, and E.Paige, that SL(2,A) is boundedly generated by unipotents whenever A is a ring of integers with infinitely many units. The assumption that G has more than one noncompact simple factor can be eliminated if all noncocompact lattices in SL(3,R) and SL(3,C) are virtually boundedly generated by unipotents.

Review text

Let \(G\) be a connected, semi-simple Lie group with finite center and \(\Gamma\) be an irreducible lattice in \(G\). Assume that the \(\mathbb{R}\)-rank \(G\geq 2\), \(G/\Gamma\) is not compact, and that \(G\) has more than one non-compact simple factor. It is conjectured that \(\Gamma\) has no nontrivial, orientation-preserving action on \(\mathbb{R}\). In this paper, the conjecture is proved in the special case where \(G\) is a direct product of copies of \(\text{SL}(2,\mathbb{R})\) and/or \(\text{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})\). Under the additional assumption that no simple factor of \(G\) is isogenous to \(\text{SL}(2,\mathbb{R})\), applying a theorem of E. Ghys yields the conclusion that any orientation-preserving action of \(\Gamma\) on the circle must factor through a finite, Abelian quotient of \(\Gamma\). The proof is based on the fact proved by D. Carter, G. Keller and E. Paige, that \(\text{SL}(2, {\mathcal O})\) is boundedly generated by unipotents whenever \({\mathcal O}\) is a ring of integers with finitely many units. The assumption that \(G\) has more than one noncompact simple factor can be eliminated if all noncompact lattices in \(\text{SL}(3,\mathbb{R})\) and \(\text{SL}(3, \mathbb{C})\) are virtually boundedly generated by unipotents.

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Cited in

(11)

• Lattice actions on the circle
• Noncoherence of arithmetic hyperbolic lattices
• Minimal anisotropic groups of higher real rank
• Almost-minimal nonuniform lattices of higher rank
• Can lattices in \(\mathrm{SL}(n,\mathbb R)\) act on the circle?
• Arithmetic Groups of Higher ℚ-Rank Cannot Act on 1-Manifolds
• Bounded generation does not imply finite presentation
• \(C^1\) actions on manifolds by lattices in Lie groups
• Some arithmetic groups that do not act on the circle
• Uniformly perfect finitely generated simple left orderable groups
• On the dynamics of (left) orderable groups.

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