Convex cocompactness and stability in mapping class groups

We introduce a strong notion of quasiconvexity in finitely generated groups, which we call stability. Stability agrees with quasiconvexity in hyperbolic groups and is preserved under quasi-isometry for finitely generated groups. We show that the stable subgroups of mapping class groups are precisely the convex cocompact subgroups. This generalizes a well-known result of Behrstock and is related to questions asked by Farb-Mosher and Farb.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur

The augmented marking complex of a surface

We build an augmentation of the Masur-Minsky marking complex by Groves-Manning combinatorial horoballs to obtain a graph we call the augmented marking complex, $\mathcal{AM}(S)$. Adapting work of Masur-Minsky, we prove that $\mathcal{AM}(S)$ is quasiisometric to Teichm\"uller space with the Teichm\"uller metric. A similar construction was independently discovered by Eskin-Masur-Rafi. We also completely integrate the Masur-Minsky hierarchy machinery to $\mathcal{AM}(S)$ to build flexible families of uniform quasigeodesics in Teichm\"uller space. As an application, we give a new proof of Rafi's distance formula for the Teichm\"uller metric.Comment: 30 pages; significantly rewritten to strengthen main construction

Anabelian Intersection Theory I: The Conjecture of Bogomolov-Pop and Applications

We finish the proof of the conjecture of F. Bogomolov and F. Pop: Let $F_{1}$ and $F_{2}$ be fields finitely-generated and of transcendence degree $\geq 2$ over $k_{1}$ and $k_{2}$, respectively, where $k_{1}$ is either $\bar{\mathbb{Q}}$ or $\bar{\mathbb{F}}_{p}$, and $k_{2}$ is algebraically closed. We denote by $G_{F_1}$ and $G_{F_2}$ their respective absolute Galois groups. Then the canonical map \varphi_{F_{1}, F_{2}}: \Isom^i(F_1, F_2)\rightarrow \Isom^{\Out}_{\cont}(G_{F_2}, G_{F_1}) from the isomorphisms, up to Frobenius twists, of the inseparable closures of $F_1$ and $F_2$ to continuous outer isomorphisms of their Galois groups is a bijection. Thus, function fields of varieties of dimension $\geq 2$ over algebraic closures of prime fields are anabelian. We apply this to give a necessary and sufficient condition for an element of the Grothendieck-Teichm\"uller group to be an element of the absolute Galois group of $\bar{\mathbb{Q}}$.Comment: 30 pages, comments welcome

The extended hypergeometric class of L\'evy processes

With a view to computing fluctuation identities related to stable processes, we review and extend the class of hypergeometric L\'evy processes explored in Kuznetsov and Pardo (arXiv:1012.0817). We give the Wiener-Hopf factorisation of a process in the extended class, and characterise its exponential functional. Finally, we give three concrete examples arising from transformations of stable processes.Comment: 22 page

Source-Channel Secrecy with Causal Disclosure

Imperfect secrecy in communication systems is investigated. Instead of using equivocation as a measure of secrecy, the distortion that an eavesdropper incurs in producing an estimate of the source sequence is examined. The communication system consists of a source and a broadcast (wiretap) channel, and lossless reproduction of the source sequence at the legitimate receiver is required. A key aspect of this model is that the eavesdropper's actions are allowed to depend on the past behavior of the system. Achievability results are obtained by studying the performance of source and channel coding operations separately, and then linking them together digitally. Although the problem addressed here has been solved when the secrecy resource is shared secret key, it is found that substituting secret key for a wiretap channel brings new insights and challenges: the notion of weak secrecy provides just as much distortion at the eavesdropper as strong secrecy, and revealing public messages freely is detrimental.Comment: Allerton 2012, 6 pages. Updated version includes acknowledgement