The Polish topology of the isometry group of the infinite dimensional hyperbolic space

We consider the isometry group of the infinite dimensional separable hyperbolic space with its Polish topology. This topology is given by the pointwise convergence. For non-locally compact Polish groups, some striking phenomena like automatic continuity or extreme amenability may happen. Our leading idea is to compare this topological group with usual Lie groups on one side and with non-Archimedean infinite dimensional groups like $\mathcal{S}_\infty$, the group of all permutations of a countable set on the other side. Our main results are Automatic continuity (any homomorphism to a separable group is continuous), minimality of the Polish topology, identification of its universal Furstenberg boundary as the closed unit ball of a separable Hilbert space with its weak topology, identification of its universal minimal flow as the completion of some suspension of the action of the additive group of the reals on its universal minimal flow. All along the text, we lead a parallel study with the sibling group of isometries of a separable Hilbert space.Comment: After a first version of this paper, Todor Tsankov asked if the topology is minimal. A positive answer has been added to this second versio

Topological properties of Wazewski dendrite groups

Homeomorphism groups of generalized Wa\.zewski dendrites act on the infinite countable set of branch points of the dendrite and thus have a nice Polish topology. In this paper, we study them in the light of this Polish topology. The group of the universal Wa\.zewski dendrite $D_\infty$ is more characteristic than the others because it is the unique one with a dense conjugacy class. For this group $G_\infty$, we show some of its topological properties like existence of a comeager conjugacy class, the Steinhaus property, automatic continuity and the small index subgroup property. Moreover, we identify the universal minimal flow of $G_\infty$. This allows us to prove that point-stabilizers in $G_\infty$ are amenable and to describe the universal Furstenberg boundary of $G_\infty$.Comment: Slight modifications about the expositio

Superrigidity In Infinite Dimension And Finite Rank Via Harmonic Maps

We prove geometric superrigidity for actions of cocompact lattices in semisimple Lie groups of higher rank on infinite dimensional Riemannian manifolds of nonpositive curvature and finite telescopic dimension

Amenable Invariant Random Subgroups

We show that an amenable Invariant Random Subgroup of a locally compact second countable group lives in the amenable radical. This answers a question raised in the introduction of the paper "Kesten's Theorem for Invariant Random Subgroup" by Abert, Glasner and Virag. We also consider, in the opposite direction, property (T), and prove a similar statement for this property. The Appendix by Phillip Wesolek proves that the set of amenable subgroups is a Borel subset in the Chabauty topology.Comment: We added an Appendix by Phillip Wesole

Almost algebraic actions of algebraic groups and applications to algebraic representations

Let G be an algebraic group over a complete separable valued field k. We discuss the dynamics of the G-action on spaces of probability measures on algebraic G-varieties. We show that the stabilizers of measures are almost algebraic and the orbits are separated by open invariant sets. We discuss various applications, including existence results for algebraic representations of amenable ergodic actions. The latter provides an essential technical step in the recent generalization of Margulis-Zimmer super-rigidity phenomenon due to Bader and Furman.Comment: Correction of a small mistake in Proposition 5.

A group with Property (T) acting on the circle

We exhibit a topological group $G$ with property (T) acting non-elementarily and continuously on the circle. This group is an uncountable totally disconnected closed subgroup of $\operatorname{Homeo}^+(\mathbf{S}^1)$. It has a large unitary dual since it separates points. It comes from homeomorphisms of dendrites and a kaleidoscopic construction. Alternatively, it can be seen as the group of elements preserving some specific geodesic lamination of the hyperbolic disk. We also prove that this action is unique up to conjugation and that it can't be smoothened in any way. Finally, we determine the universal minimal flow of the group $G$

Infinite dimensional Riemannian symmetric spaces with fixed-sign curvature operator

We associate to any Riemannian symmetric space (of finite or infinite dimension) a L$^*$-algebra, under the assumption that the curvature operator has a fixed sign. L$^*$-algebras are Lie algebras with a pleasant Hilbert space structure. The L$^*$-algebra that we construct is a complete local isomorphism invariant and allows us to classify Riemannian symmetric spaces with fixed-sign curvature operator. The case of nonpositive curvature is emphasized.Comment: A para\^itre aux annales de l'institut Fourie