The Schur multiplier of finite symplectic groups

We show that the Schur multiplier of $Sp(2g,\mathbb Z/D\mathbb Z)$ is $\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z$, when $D$ is divisible by 4.Comment: Bull. Soc. Math. France, to appea

Hochster duality in derived categories and point-free reconstruction of schemes

For a commutative ring $R$, we exploit localization techniques and point-free topology to give an explicit realization of both the Zariski frame of $R$ (the frame of radical ideals in $R$) and its Hochster dual frame, as lattices in the poset of localizing subcategories of the unbounded derived category $D(R)$. This yields new conceptual proofs of the classical theorems of Hopkins-Neeman and Thomason. Next we revisit and simplify Balmer's theory of spectra and supports for tensor triangulated categories from the viewpoint of frames and Hochster duality. Finally we exploit our results to show how a coherent scheme $(X,\mathcal{O}_X)$ can be reconstructed from the tensor triangulated structure of its derived category of perfect complexes.Comment: v5:Minoir typos corrected the proof of tensor nilpotence is made totally point-free and self-contained; some simplifications and expository improvements; section on preliminaries shortened; 50pp. To appear in Trans. AM

Homology fibrations and "group-completion" revisited

We give a proof of the Jardine-Tillmann generalized group completion theorem. It is much in the spirit of the original homology fibration approach by McDuff and Segal, but follows a modern treatment of homotopy colimits, using as little simplicial technology as possible. We compare simplicial and topological definitions of homology fibrations.Comment: 13 page

Some remarks on the Maslov index

It is a classical fact that Wall's index of three Lagrangians in a symplectic space over a field $k$ defines a $2$-cocycle $\mu_W$ on the associated symplectic group with values into the Witt group of $k$. Moreover, module the square of the fundamental ideal this is a trivial $2$-cocycle. In this work we revisit this fact from the viewpoint of the theory of Sturm sequences and Sylvester matrices developed by J.~Barge and J.~Lannes in their book ``Suites de Sturm, indice de Maslov et p\'eriodicit\'e de Bott. (French) [Sturm sequences, Maslov index and Bott periodicity]'' Progress in Mathematics, 267. This allows us in particular to give an explicit formula for the coboundary associated to the mod $I^2$ reduction of the cocycle $\mu_W$ which is valid on any field of characteristic different from $2$Comment: 19 page

Finite quotients of symplectic groups vs mapping class groups

We give alternative computations of the Schur multiplier of $Sp(2g,\mathbb Z/D\mathbb Z)$, when $D$ is divisible by 4 and $g\geq 4$: using K-theory arguments based on the work of Barge and Lannes and a second one based on the Weil representations of symplectic groups arising in abelian Chern-Simons theory. We can also retrieve this way Deligne's non-residual finiteness of the universal central extension $\widetilde{Sp(2g,\mathbb Z)}$. We prove then that the image of the second homology into finite quotients of symplectic groups over a Dedekind domain of arithmetic type are torsion groups of uniformly bounded size. In contrast, quantum representations produce for every prime $p$, finite quotients of the mapping class group of genus $g\geq 3$ whose second homology image has $p$-torsion. We further derive that all central extensions of the mapping class group are residually finite and deduce that mapping class groups have Serre's property $A_2$ for trivial modules, contrary to symplectic groups. Eventually we compute the module of coinvariants $H_2(\mathfrak{sp}_{2g}(2))_{Sp(2g,\mathbb Z/2^k\mathbb Z)}=\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z$.Comment: 40p., 3 figures, former arxiv:1103.1855 is now split into two separate papers, the actual arxiv:1103.1855 and the present on

Short incompressible graphs and 22-free groups

Consider a finite connected $2$-complex $X$ endowed with a piecewise Riemannian metric and whose fundamental group is freely indecomposable, of rank at least $3$, and in which every $2$-generated subgroup is free. In this paper we show that we can always find a connected graph $\Gamma\subset X$ such that $\pi_1 \Gamma\simeq {\mathbb F}_2 \hookrightarrow\pi_1 X$ (in short, a $2$-incompressible graph) whose length satisfies the following curvature-free inequality: $\ell(\Gamma)\leq 4\sqrt{2\text{Area}(X)}$. This generalizes a previous inequality proved by Gromov for closed Riemannian surfaces with negative Euler characteristic. As a consequence we obtain that the volume entropy of such $2$-complexes with unit area is always bounded away from zero.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure