Eisenstein series and automorphic representations

We provide an introduction to the theory of Eisenstein series and automorphic forms on real simple Lie groups G, emphasising the role of representation theory. It is useful to take a slightly wider view and define all objects over the (rational) adeles A, thereby also paving the way for connections to number theory, representation theory and the Langlands program. Most of the results we present are already scattered throughout the mathematics literature but our exposition collects them together and is driven by examples. Many interesting aspects of these functions are hidden in their Fourier coefficients with respect to unipotent subgroups and a large part of our focus is to explain and derive general theorems on these Fourier expansions. Specifically, we give complete proofs of the Langlands constant term formula for Eisenstein series on adelic groups G(A) as well as the Casselman--Shalika formula for the p-adic spherical Whittaker function associated to unramified automorphic representations of G(Q_p). In addition, we explain how the classical theory of Hecke operators fits into the modern theory of automorphic representations of adelic groups, thereby providing a connection with some key elements in the Langlands program, such as the Langlands dual group LG and automorphic L-functions. Somewhat surprisingly, all these results have natural interpretations as encoding physical effects in string theory. We therefore also introduce some basic concepts of string theory, aimed toward mathematicians, emphasising the role of automorphic forms. In particular, we provide a detailed treatment of supersymmetry constraints on string amplitudes which enforce differential equations of the same type that are satisfied by automorphic forms. Our treatise concludes with a detailed list of interesting open questions and pointers to additional topics which go beyond the scope of this book.Comment: 326 pages. Detailed and example-driven exposition of the subject with highlighted applications to string theory. v2: 375 pages. Substantially extended and small correction

Large subgroups of simple groups

Let $G$ be a finite group. A proper subgroup $H$ of $G$ is said to be large if the order of $H$ satisfies the bound $|H|^3 \ge |G|$. In this note we determine all the large maximal subgroups of finite simple groups, and we establish an analogous result for simple algebraic groups (in this context, largeness is defined in terms of dimension). An application to triple factorisations of simple groups (both finite and algebraic) is discussed.Comment: 37 page

Lie algebras and 3-transpositions

We describe a construction of an algebra over the field of order 2 starting from a conjugacy class of 3-transpositions in a group. In particular, we determine which simple Lie algebras arise by this construction. Among other things, this construction yields a natural embedding of the sporadic simple group \Fi{22} in the group $^2E_6(2)$.Comment: 23 page