Expanders, rank and graphs of groups

Let G be a finitely presented group, and let {G_i} be a collection of finite index normal subgroups that is closed under intersections. Then, we prove that at least one of the following must hold: 1. G_i is an amalgamated free product or HNN extension, for infinitely many i; 2. the Cayley graphs of G/G_i (with respect to a fixed finite set of generators for G) form an expanding family; 3. inf_i (d(G_i)-1)/[G:G_i] = 0, where d(G_i) is the rank of G_i. The proof involves an analysis of the geometry and topology of finite Cayley graphs. Several applications of this result are given.Comment: 13 pages; to appear in Israel J. Mat

Expanders and right-angled Artin groups

The purpose of this article is to give a characterization of families of expander graphs via right-angled Artin groups. We prove that a sequence of simplicial graphs $\{\Gamma_i\}_{i\in\mathbb{N}}$ forms a family of expander graphs if and only if a certain natural mini-max invariant arising from the cup product in the cohomology rings of the groups $\{A(\Gamma_i)\}_{i\in\mathbb{N}}$ agrees with the Cheeger constant of the sequence of graphs, thus allowing us to characterize expander graphs via cohomology. This result is proved in the more general framework of \emph{vector space expanders}, a novel structure consisting of sequences of vector spaces equipped with vector-space-valued bilinear pairings which satisfy a certain mini-max condition. These objects can be considered to be analogues of expander graphs in the realm of linear algebra, with a dictionary being given by the cup product in cohomology, and in this context represent a different approach to expanders that those developed by Lubotzky-Zelmanov and Bourgain-Yehudayoff.Comment: 21 pages. Accepted version. To appear in J. Topol. Ana

Suzuki groups as expanders

We show that pairs of generators for the family Sz(q) of Suzuki groups may be selected so that the corresponding Cayley graphs are expanders. By combining this with several deep works of Kassabov, Lubotzky and Nikolov, this establishes that the family of all non-abelian finite simple groups can be made into expanders in a uniform fashion.Comment: 17 page

Trivalent expanders and hyperbolic surfaces

We introduce a family of trivalent expanders which tessellate compact hyperbolic surfaces with large isometry groups. We compare this family with Platonic graphs and modifications of them and prove topological and spectral properties of these families