In this paper we introduce the concept of weighted deficiency for abstract and pro-$p$ groups and study groups of positive weighted deficiency which generalize Golod-Shafarevich groups. In order to study weighted deficiency we introduce weight
As a consequence of the classification of finite simple groups, the classification of permutation groups of prime degree is complete, apart from the question of when the natural degree $(q^n-1)/(q-1)$ of ${rm PSL}_n(q)$ is prime. We present heuristic
arguments and computational evidence based on the Bateman-Horn Conjecture to support a conjecture that for each prime $nge 3$ there are infinitely many primes of this form, even if one restricts to prime values of $q$. Similar arguments and results apply to the parameters of the simple groups ${rm PSL}_n(q)$, ${rm PSU}_n(q)$ and ${rm PSp}_{2n}(q)$ which arise in the work of Dixon and Zalesskii on linear groups of prime degree.
Let $K$ be an algebraic function field with constant field ${mathbb F}_q$. Fix a place $infty$ of $K$ of degree $delta$ and let $A$ be the ring of elements of $K$ that are integral outside $infty$. We give an explicit description of the elliptic poin
ts for the action of the Drinfeld modular group $G=GL_2(A)$ on the Drinfelds upper half-plane $Omega$ and on the Drinfeld modular curve $G!setminus!Omega$. It is known that under the {it building map} elliptic points are mapped onto vertices of the {it Bruhat-Tits tree} of $G$. We show how such vertices can be determined by a simple condition on their stabilizers. Finally for the special case $delta=1$ we obtain from this a surprising free product decomposition for $PGL_2(A)$.
Let $A$ be the ring of elements in an algebraic function field $K$ over a finite field $F_q$ which are integral outside a fixed place $infty$. In an earlier paper we have shown that the Drinfeld modular group $G=GL_2(A)$ has automorphisms which map c
ongruence subgroups to non-congruence subgroups. Here we prove the existence of (uncountably many) normal genuine non-congruence subgroups, defined to be those which remain non-congruence under the action of every automorphism of $G$. In addition, for all but finitely many cases we evaluate $ngncs(G)$, the smallest index of a normal genuine non-congruence subgroup of $G$, and compare it to the minimal index of an arbitrary normal non-congruence subgroup.
We prove that the outer automorphism group $Out(G)$ is residually finite when the group $G$ is virtually compact special (in the sense of Haglund and Wise) or when $G$ is isomorphic to the fundamental group of some compact $3$-manifold. To prove th
ese results we characterize commensurating endomorphisms of acylindrically hyperbolic groups. An endomorphism $phi$ of a group $G$ is said to be commensurating, if for every $g in G$ some non-zero power of $phi(g)$ is conjugate to a non-zero power of $g$. Given an acylindrically hyperbolic group $G$, we show that any commensurating endomorphism of $G$ is inner modulo a small perturbation. This generalizes a theorem of Minasyan and Osin, which provided a similar statement in the case when $G$ is relatively hyperbolic. We then use this result to study pointwise inner and normal endomorphisms of acylindrically hyperbolic groups.
We prove that the rank gradient vanishes for mapping class groups of genus bigger than 1, $Aut(F_n)$, for all $n$, $Out(F_n)$ for $n geq 3$, and any Artin group whose underlying graph is connected. These groups have fixed price 1. We compute the rank
gradient and verify that it is equal to the first $L^2$-Betti number for some classes of Coxeter groups.