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Gromov's Theorem On Groups Of Polynomial Growth




Groups of ''polynomial'' growth, as those groups which have Nilpotent
subgroups of finite Index .

The Growth Rate of a group is a Well-defined notion from Asymptotic Analysis . To say that a finitely generated group has polynomial growth means the number of elements of Length (relative to a symmetric generating set) at most ''n'' is bounded above by a Polynomial function ''p''(''n''). The ''order of growth'' is then the Degree of the polynomial function ''p''.

A ''nilpotent'' group ''G'' is a group with a Lower Central Series terminating in the identity subgroup.

Gromov's theorem states that a finitely generated group has polynomial growth if and only if it has a nilpotent subgroup that is of finite index.

There is a vast literature on growth rates, leading up to Gromov's theorem. An earlier result of Joseph A. Wolf showed that if ''G'' is a finitely generated
nilpotent group, then the group has polynomial growth. Hyman Bass computed the exact order of polynomial growth. Let ''G'' be a finitely generated nilpotent group with lower central series
: G = G_1 \supseteq G_2 \supseteq \ldots
In particular, the quotient group ''Gk/Gk+1'' is a finitely generated abelian group.

Bass's theorem states that the order of polynomial growth of ''G'' is

: d(G) = \sum_{k \geq 1} k \ \operatorname{rank}(G_k/G_{k+1})

where:
rank


In particular, Gromov's and Bass's theorems imply that the order of polynomial growth of a finitely generated group is always either an integer or infinity (excluding for example, fractional powers).

In order to prove this theorem Gromov introduced a convergence for metric spaces. This convergence, now called the Gromov-Hausdorff Convergence , is currently widely used in geometry.


REFERENCES


  • H. Bass, The degree of polynomial growth of finitely generated nilpotent groups, ''Proceedings London Mathematical Society'', vol 25(3), 1972

  • M. Gromov, Groups of Polynomial growth and Expanding Maps, ''Publications mathematiques I.H.É.S.'', 53, 1981

  • J. A. Wolf, Growth of finitely generated solvable groups and curvature of Riemannian manifolds, ''Journal of Differential Geometry'', vol 2, 1968