We show that for acylindrically hyperbolic groups $Gamma$ (with no nontrivial finite normal subgroups) and arbitrary unitary representation $rho$ of $Gamma$ in a (nonzero) uniformly convex Banach space the vector space $H^2_b(Gamma;rho)$ is infinite dimensional. The result was known for the regular representations on $ell^p(Gamma)$ with $1<p<infty$ by a different argument. But our result is new even for a non-abelian free group in this great generality for representations, and also the case for acylindrically hyperbolic groups follows as an application.
This paper is devoted to the computation of the space $H_b^2(Gamma,H;mathbb{R})$, where $Gamma$ is a free group of finite rank $ngeq 2$ and $H$ is a subgroup of finite rank. More precisely we prove that $H$ has infinite index in $Gamma$ if and only if $H_b^2(Gamma,H;mathbb{R})$ is not trivial, and furthermore, if and only if there is an isometric embedding $oplus_infty^nmathcal{D}(mathbb{Z})hookrightarrow H_b^2(Gamma,H;mathbb{R})$, where $mathcal{D}(mathbb{Z})$ is the space of bounded alternating functions on $mathbb{Z}$ equipped with the defect norm.
Using a probabilistic argument we show that the second bounded cohomology of an acylindrically hyperbolic group $G$ (e.g., a non-elementary hyperbolic or relatively hyperbolic group, non-exceptional mapping class group, ${rm Out}(F_n)$, dots) embeds via the natural restriction maps into the inverse limit of the second bounded cohomologies of its virtually free subgroups, and in fact even into the inverse limit of the second bounded cohomologies of its hyperbolically embedded virtually free subgroups. This result is new and non-trivial even in the case where $G$ is a (non-free) hyperbolic group. The corresponding statement fails in general for the third bounded cohomology, even for surface groups.
It is proved that the continuous bounded cohomology of SL_2(k) vanishes in all positive degrees whenever k is a non-Archimedean local field. This holds more generally for boundary-transitive groups of tree automorphisms and implies low degree vanishing for SL_2 over S-integers.
Let $X$ be an infinite dimensional uniformly smooth Banach space. We prove that $X$ contains an infinite equilateral set. That is, there exists a constant $lambda>0$ and an infinite sequence $(x_i)_{i=1}^inftysubset X$ such that $|x_i-x_j|=lambda$ for all $i eq j$.
In this paper we prove some properties of the nonabelian cohomology $H^1(A,G)$ of a group $A$ with coefficients in a connected Lie group $G$. When $A$ is finite, we show that for every $A$-submodule $K$ of $G$ which is a maximal compact subgroup of $G$, the canonical map $H^1(A,K)to H^1(A,G)$ is bijective. In this case we also show that $H^1(A,G)$ is always finite. When $A=ZZ$ and $G$ is compact, we show that for every maximal torus $T$ of the identity component $G_0^ZZ$ of the group of invariants $G^ZZ$, $H^1(ZZ,T)to H^1(ZZ,G)$ is surjective if and only if the $ZZ$-action on $G$ is 1-semisimple, which is also equivalent to that all fibers of $H^1(ZZ,T)to H^1(ZZ,G)$ are finite. When $A=Zn$, we show that $H^1(Zn,T)to H^1(Zn,G)$ is always surjective, where $T$ is a maximal compact torus of the identity component $G_0^{Zn}$ of $G^{Zn}$. When $A$ is cyclic, we also interpret some properties of $H^1(A,G)$ in terms of twisted conjugate actions of $G$.