We study fixed point properties of the automorphism group of the universal Coxeter group Aut$(W_n)$. In particular, we prove that whenever Aut$(W_n)$ acts by isometries on complete $d$-dimensional CAT$(0)$ space with $d<lfloorfrac{n}{2}rfloor$, then
it must fix a point. We also prove that Aut$(W_n)$ does not have Kazhdans property (T). Further, strong restrictions are obtained on homomorphisms of Aut$(W_n)$ to groups that do not contain a copy of Sym(n).
We prove that the automorphism group of the braid group on four strands acts faithfully and geometrically on a CAT(0) 2-complex. This implies that the automorphism group of the free group of rank two acts faithfully and geometrically on a CAT(0) 2-co
mplex, in contrast to the situation for rank three and above.
We propose an extension of the BMS group, which we refer to as Weyl BMS or BMSW for short, that includes, besides super-translations, local Weyl rescalings and arbitrary diffeomorphisms of the 2d sphere metric. After generalizing the Barnich-Troessae
rt bracket, we show that the Noether charges of the BMSW group provide a centerless representation of the BMSW Lie algebra at every cross section of null infinity. This result is tantamount to proving that the flux-balance laws for the Noether charges imply the validity of the asymptotic Einsteins equations at null infinity. The extension requires a holographic renormalization procedure, which we construct without any dependence on background fields. The renormalized phase space of null infinity reveals new pairs of conjugate variables. Finally, we show that BMSW group elements label the gravitational vacua.
For any odd prime $p$, we prove that the induced homomorphism from the mod $p$ cohomology of the classifying space of a compact simply-connected simple connected Lie group to the Weyl group invariants of the mod $p$ cohomology of the classifying spac
e of its maximal torus is an epimorphism except for the case $p=3$, $G=E_8$.