We study the behavior of the co-spectral radius of a subgroup H of a discrete group $\Gamma $ under taking intersections. Our main result is that the co-spectral radius of an invariant random subgroup does not drop upon intersecting with a deterministic co-amenable subgroup. As an application, we find that the intersection of independent co-amenable invariant random subgroups is co-amenable.

Let $m\leqslant n\in \mathbb {N}$, and $G\leqslant \operatorname {Sym}(m)$ and $H\leqslant \operatorname {Sym}(n)$. In this article, we find conditions enabling embeddings between the symmetric R. Thompson groups ${V_m(G)}$ and ${V_n(H)}$. When $n\equiv 1 \mod (m-1)$, and under some other technical conditions, we find an embedding of ${V_n(H)}$ into ${V_m(G)}$ via topological conjugation. With the same modular condition, we also generalize a purely algebraic construction of Birget from 2019 to find a group $H\leqslant \operatorname {Sym}(n)$ and an embedding of ${V_m(G)}$ into ${V_n(H)}$.

Let $a_1$ , $a_2$ , and $a_3$ be distinct reduced residues modulo q satisfying the congruences $a_1^2 \equiv a_2^2 \equiv a_3^2 \ (\mathrm{mod}\ q)$ . We conditionally derive an asymptotic formula, with an error term that has a power savings in q, for the logarithmic density of the set of real numbers x for which $\pi (x;q,a_1)> \pi (x;q,a_2) > \pi (x;q,a_3)$ . The relationship among the $a_i$ allows us to normalize the error terms for the $\pi (x;q,a_i)$ in an atypical way that creates mutual independence among their distributions, and also allows for a proof technique that uses only elementary tools from probability.

In their book Subgroup Growth, Lubotzky and Segal asked: What are the possible types of subgroup growth of the pro-$p$ group? In this paper, we construct certain extensions of the Grigorchuk group and the Gupta–Sidki groups, which have all possible types of subgroup growth between $n^{(\log n)^{2}}$ and $e^{n}$. Thus, we give an almost complete answer to Lubotzky and Segal’s question. In addition, we show that a class of pro-$p$ branch groups, including the Grigorchuk group and the Gupta–Sidki groups, all have subgroup growth type $n^{\log n}$.

In 1945–1946, C. L. Siegel proved that an $n$-dimensional lattice $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6EC}$ of determinant $\text{det}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6EC})$ has at most $m^{n^{2}}$ different sublattices of determinant $m\cdot \text{det}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D6EC})$. In 1997, the exact number of the different sublattices of index $m$ was determined by Baake. We present a systematic treatment for counting the sublattices and derive a formula for the number of the sublattice classes under unimodular equivalence.

We prove that every finitely-generated right-angled Artin group embeds into some Brin–Thompson group nV. It follows that any virtually special group can be embedded into some nV, a class that includes surface groups, all finitely-generated Coxeter groups, and many one-ended hyperbolic groups.

We calculate the centralizers of elements, finite subgroups and virtually cyclic subgroups of Houghton’s group Hn. We discuss various Bredon (co)homological finiteness conditions satisfied by Hn including the Bredon (co)homological dimension and FPn conditions, which are analogues of the ordinary cohomological dimension and FPn conditions, respectively.

For a group H and a subset X of H, we let HX denote the set {hxh−1 | h ∈ H, x ∈ X}, and when X is a free-generating set of H, we say that the set HX is a Whitehead subset of H. For a group F and an element r of F, we say that r is Cohen–Lyndon aspherical in F if F{r} is a Whitehead subset of the subgroup of F that is generated by F{r}. In 1963, Cohen and Lyndon (D. E. Cohen and R. C. Lyndon, Free bases for normal subgroups of free groups, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 108 (1963), 526–537) independently showed that in each free group each non-trivial element is Cohen–Lyndon aspherical. Their proof used the celebrated induction method devised by Magnus in 1930 to study one-relator groups. In 1987, Edjvet and Howie (M. Edjvet and J. Howie, A Cohen–Lyndon theorem for free products of locally indicable groups, J. Pure Appl. Algebra45 (1987), 41–44) showed that if A and B are locally indicable groups, then each cyclically reduced element of A*B that does not lie in A ∪ B is Cohen–Lyndon aspherical in A*B. Their proof used the original Cohen–Lyndon theorem. Using Bass–Serre theory, the original Cohen–Lyndon theorem and the Edjvet–Howie theorem, one can deduce the local-indicability Cohen–Lyndon theorem: if F is a locally indicable group and T is an F-tree with trivial edge stabilisers, then each element of F that fixes no vertex of T is Cohen–Lyndon aspherical in F. Conversely, by Bass–Serre theory, the original Cohen–Lyndon theorem and the Edjvet–Howie theorem are immediate consequences of the local-indicability Cohen–Lyndon theorem. In this paper we give a detailed review of a Bass–Serre theoretical form of Howie induction and arrange the arguments of Edjvet and Howie into a Howie-inductive proof of the local-indicability Cohen–Lyndon theorem that uses neither Magnus induction nor the original Cohen–Lyndon theorem. We conclude with a review of some standard applications of Cohen–Lyndon asphericity.

A conjecture of Gromov states that a one-ended word-hyperbolic group must contain a subgroup that is isomorphic to the fundamental group of a closed hyperbolic surface. Recent papers by Gordon and Wilton and by Kim and Wilton give sufficient conditions for hyperbolic surface groups to be embedded in a hyperbolic Baumslag double G. Using Nielsen cancellation methods based on techniques from previous work by the second author, we prove that a hyperbolic orientable surface group of genus 2 is embedded in a hyperbolic Baumslag double if and only if the amalgamated word W is a commutator: that is, W = [U, V] for some elements U, V ∈ F. Furthermore, a hyperbolic Baumslag double G contains a non-orientable surface group of genus 4 if and only if W = X2Y2 for some X, Y ∈ F. G can contain no non-orientable surface group of smaller genus.

For a group G and a real number x≥1 we let sG(x) denote the number of indices ≤x of subgroups of G. We call the function sG the subgroup density of G, and initiate a study of its asymptotics and its relation to the algebraic structure of G. We also count indices ≤x of maximal subgroups of G, and relate it to symmetric and alternating quotients of G.

In this paper we compute the subgroup zeta functions of nilpotent groups of the form \[G_n := \langle x_1,\dots,x_{n},y_1,\dots,y_{n-1}|\;[x_i,x_n]=y_i,\;1\leq i \leq n-1\], all other [,] trivial 〉 and deduce local functional equations.

To a finitely generated profinite group $G$, a formal Dirichlet series $P_G(s)\,{=}\,\sum_{n}{a_n}/{n^s}$ is associated, where $a_n \,{=}\,\sum_{|G:H|=n} \mu_G(H)$. It is proved that $G$ is prosoluble if and only if the sequence $\{a_n\}_{n \in \mathbb N}$ is multiplicative, that is, $a_{rs}\,{=}\,a_ra_s$ for any pair of coprime positive integers $r$ and $s$. This extends the analogous result on the probabilistic zeta function of finite groups.

In this article the following are proved: 1. Let $G$ be an infinite $p$-group of cardinality either ${\bf {\mathbb N}_{0}}$ or greater than $2^{\bf {\mathbb N}_{0}}$. If $G$ is center-by-finite and non-$\skew5\check{C}$ernikov, then it is non-co-Hopfian; that is, $G$ is isomorphic to a proper subgroup of itself. 2. Let $G$ be a nilpotent $p$-group of class $2$ with $G/G'$ a non-$\skew5\check{C}$ernikov group of cardinality ${\bf {\mathbb N}_{0}}$ or greater than $2^{{\bf {\mathbb N}_{0}}}$. If $G'$ is of order $p$, then $G$ is non-co-Hopfian.

It is shown that a Carter subgroup of a non-soluble unitary group can only be the normalizer of a Sylow 2-subgroup. This result, combined with previous results, implies that no finite simple group can be a minimal counterexample to the conjugacy conjecture of Carter subgroups in a finite group.The third author was partially supported by the University of Padova, the RFBR, grants 02-01-00495 and 02-01-06226, Ministry of Education RF, E00-1.0-77, ‘Universities of Russia’ UR.04.01.031.

We show that if A is a torsion-free word hyperbolic group which belongs to class (Q), that is all finitely generated subgroups of A are quasiconvex in A, then any maximal cyclic subgroup U of A is a Burns subgroup of A. This, in particular, implies that if B is a Howson group (that is the intersection of any two finitely generated subgroups is finitely generated) then A *UB, ⧼A, t | Ut = V⧽ are also Howson groups. Finitely generated free groups, fundamental groups of closed hyperbolic surfaces and some interesting 3-manifold groups are known to belong to class (Q) and our theorem applies to them. We also describe a large class of word hyperbolic groups which are not Howson.

The first result gives a (modest) improvement of the best general bound known to date for the rank of the intersection U ∩ V of two finite-rank subgroups of a free group F in terms of the ranks of U and V. In the second result it is deduced from that bound that if A is a finite-rank subgroup of F and B < F is non-cyclic, then the index of A ∩ B in B, if finite, is less than 2(rank(A) - 1), whence in particular if rank (A) = 2, then B ≤ A. (This strengthens a lemma of Gersten.) Finally a short proof is given of Stallings' result that if U, V (as above) are such that U ∩ V has finite index in both U and V, then it has finite index in their join 〈U, V〉.