Finiteness Properties of Chevalley Groups over the Laurent Polynomial Ring over a Finite Field

We show that if G is a Chevalley group of rank n and F_q[t,t^{-1}] is the ring of Laurent polynomials over a finite field, then G(F_q[t,t^{-1}]) is of type F_{2n-1}. This bound is optimal because it is known -- and we show again -- that the group is not of type F_{2n}.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figure

Brown's criterion in Bredon homology

We translate Brown's criterion for homological finiteness properties to the setting of Bredon homology.Comment: 10 page

Quasi-isometric diversity of marked groups

We use basic tools of descriptive set theory to prove that a closed set $\mathcal S$ of marked groups has $2^{\aleph_0}$ quasi-isometry classes provided every non-empty open subset of $\mathcal S$ contains at least two non-quasi-isometric groups. It follows that every perfect set of marked groups having a dense subset of finitely presented groups contains $2^{\aleph_0}$ quasi-isometry classes. These results account for most known constructions of continuous families of non-quasi-isometric finitely generated groups. They can also be used to prove the existence of $2^{\aleph_0}$ quasi-isometry classes of finitely generated groups having interesting algebraic, geometric, or model-theoretic properties.Comment: Minor corrections. To appear in the Journal of Topolog

Simple groups separated by finiteness properties

We show that for every positive integer $n$ there exists a simple group that is of type $\mathrm{F}_{n-1}$ but not of type $\mathrm{F}_n$. For $n\ge 3$ these groups are the first known examples of this kind. They also provide infinitely many quasi-isometry classes of finitely presented simple groups. The only previously known infinite family of such classes, due to Caprace--R\'emy, consists of non-affine Kac--Moody groups over finite fields. Our examples arise from R\"over--Nekrashevych groups, and contain free abelian groups of infinite rank.Comment: 25 pages. v2: incorporated comments v3: final version, to appear, Invent. Mat

The Brin-Thompson groups sV are of type F_\infty

We prove that the Brin-Thompson groups sV, also called higher dimensional Thompson's groups, are of type F_\infty for all natural numbers s. This result was previously shown for s up to 3, by considering the action of sV on a naturally associated space. Our key step is to retract this space to a subspace sX which is easier to analyze.Comment: Final version, in Pacific J. Math., 10 pages, 4 figure