A Hurwitz group is any non-trivial finite group that can be (2,3,7)-generated; that is, generated by elements $x$ and $y$ satisfying the relations $x^2 = y^3 = (xy)^7 = 1$ . In this short paper a complete answer is given to a 1965 question by John Leech, showing that the centre of a Hurwitz group can be any given finite abelian group. The proof is based on a recent theorem of Lucchini, Tamburini and Wilson, which states that the special linear group ${\rm SL}_n(q)$ is a Hurwitz group for every integer $n \geqslant 287$ and every prime-power $q$ .

In this note it is shown that for $k$ a field, and for the four-dimensional algebra $\Lambda=k\langle x,y\rangle /\langle x^2,y^2,xy+qyx\rangle$ when $q^n\neq 1,0$ for all $n$, there exist a two-dimensional module $M$ and a family of two-dimensional modules $M_i$, $i=1,2,\ldots$, such that $\dim_k\Ext^i_\Lambda(M,M_j)=1$ for $i$ equal to 0, $j$ and $j+1$, and $\dim_k\Ext^i_\Lambda(M,M_j)=0$ otherwise. This is probably the most straightforward example giving a negative answer to a question raised by Maurice Auslander.

We prove that a large and natural class of subhomogeneous C*-algebras with one-dimensional spectrum have the fragility property, that is, every morphism out of such a C*-algebra and into a C*-algebra of real rank zero can be approximated by a morphism with finite-dimensional range, provided that a K-theoretical obstruction vanishes.

A result is proved which implies the following conjecture of Osgood and Yang from 1976: if $f$ and $g$ are non-constant entire functions, such that $ T(r, f) = O(T(r, g))$ as $ r \to \infty $ and such that $g(z) \in {\mathbb Z}$ implies that $f(z) \in {\mathbb Z}$, then there exists a polynomial $G$ with coefficients in ${\mathbb Q}$, such that $G({\mathbb Z}) \subseteq {\mathbb Z}$ and $f = G \circ g$.

Throughout this paper, all 3-manifolds are closed and orientable. Our aim is to give some new examples of 3-manifolds which are virtual bundles, that is, have finite sheeted covers which are surface bundles over the circle. Thurston has raised the question as to whether all irreducible atoroidal 3-manifolds might have this property. The geometrisation conjecture would imply that all such 3-manifolds have hyperbolic metrics, and the virtual bundle question is then equivalent to showing the existence of geometrically infinite incompressible surfaces (compare [14]).

Not much progress has been made on this problem. Recently, Reid [9] has given an explicit example using an arithmetic hyperbolic 3-manifold, and Cooper, Long and Reid [3] have given methods of constructing immersed incompressible surface in surfaces bundles over the circle, which are sometimes geometrically infinite. In [10], examples are given of horizontal immersed incompressible surfaces in graph manifolds which do not lift to embeddings in any finite sheeted covering spaces. Similar examples are given in toroidal manifolds with cubings of non-positive curvatures in [9]. So the assumption that the manifold has the atoroidal property is essential in Thurston's question. Our aim is to give several simple constructions of large classes of examples using different polyhedral metrics of non-positive curvature on 3-manifolds (compare [2]).

We follow closely the construction of Thurston (compare [13]), where he observes that the right-angled regular hyperbolic dodecahedron can be viewed as a cube with arcs drawn on each face through midpoints of a pair of opposite sides so that no two such arcs share a common vertex. Then the foliation of the cube by planes orthogonal to a diagonal gives an induced foliation of any 3-manifold arising from a torsion-free finite index subgroup of the symmetry group of the tessellation of hyperbolic 3-space by the right-angled dodecahedron. Clearly, any leaf of this foliation is then an immersed geometrically infinite surface. One explicit example is then the 4-fold cyclic branched cover of the Borromean rings, since the Borromean rings has a flat 2-fold branched cover which is obtained by gluing two cubes together. This example is formed by a subgroup of index 4 in the above symmetry group.

Our examples come directly from this observation of Thurston, using different ways of dividing a 3-manifold into simple polyhedra so that there is an overall metric of non-positive curvature. We use some well-known tessellations of Euclidean 3-dimensional space, described in Coxeter [4], by truncated octahedra and tetrahedra, plus flying saucers (compare [2]), as well as the easy case of cubes.

In the final section we show that our classes of cubed examples and flying saucers admit geometric decompositions in the sense of Thurston, since they are virtual bundles. We would like to thank the referee for a number of helpful comments which improved the exposition.

Let $X$ be the Shimura curve corresponding to the quaternion algebra over $\Q$ ramified only at 3 and 13. B. Jordan showed that $X_{\Q(\sqrt{-13})}$ is a counterexample to the Hasse principle. Using an equation of $X$ found by A. Kurihara, it is shown here, by elementary means, that $X$ has no $\Q(\sqrt{-13})$-rational divisor classes of odd degree. A corollary of this is the fact that this counterexample is explained by the Manin obstruction.

Let X be a smooth complex projective curve of genus g [ges ] 1. If g [ges ] 2, then assume further that X is either bielliptic or with general moduli. Fix integers r, s, a, b with r > 1, s > 1 and as [les ] br. Here we prove the existence of an exact sequence

formula here

of semistable vector bundles on X with rk(H) = r, rk(Q) = s, deg(H) = a and deg(Q) = b.

A surprising relationship is established in this paper, between the behaviour modulo a prime $p$ of the number $s_n({\cal G})$ of index $n$ subgroups in a group ${\cal G}$ , and that of the corresponding subgroup numbers for a normal subgroup in ${\cal G}$ with cyclic quotient of $p$ –power order. The proof relies, among other things, on a twisted version due to Philip Hall of Frobenius' theorem concerning the equation $x^m=1$ in finite groups. One of the applications of this result, presented here, concerns the explicit determination modulo $p$ of $s_n({\cal G})$ in the case when ${\cal G}$ is the fundamental group of a tree of groups all of whose vertex groups are cyclic of $p$ –power order. Furthermore, a criterion is established (by a different technique) for the function $S_n({\cal G})$ to be periodic modulo $p$ .

By a Kleinian group we mean a discrete subgroup of PSL(2, [Copf ]). We prove that abelian subgroups of finitely generated Kleinian groups are separable. In other words, if M=ℍ3/Γ is a hyperbolic 3-orbifold, with Γ finitely generated, then abelian subgroups of Γ are separable in Γ.

The Borcherds isomorphism is proved to be Hecke equivariant if one considers multiplicative Hecke operators acting on the integral weight meromorphic modular forms. This answers a part of a question of Borcherds (see ‘Automorphic forms on ${\rm O}_{s+2,2}(R)$ and infinite products’, Invent. Math. 120 (1995) 161–213, 17.10), using his suggestion to define the multiplicative Hecke operators.

We prove that Yuzvinskii's entropy addition formula cannot be extended for the action of certain finitely generated nonamenable groups.

The problem of classifying finitely generated groups up to virtual isomorphism is strictly harder than that of classifying them up to isomorphism, in the sense that there is a Borel reduction from the isomorphism problem to the virtual isomorphism problem, but not vice versa.Research partially supported by NSF Grants.

Let $V$ be a commutative valuation domain of arbitrary Krull-dimension, with quotient field $F$, let $K$ be a finite Galois extension of $F$ with group $G$, and let $S$ be the integral closure of $V$ in $K$. Suppose that one has a 2-cocycle on $G$ that takes values in the group of units of $S$. Then one can form the crossed product of $G$ over $S$, $S\ast G$, which is a $V$-order in the central simple $F$-algebra $K\ast G$. If $S\ast G$ is assumed to be a Dubrovin valuation ring of $K\ast G$, then the main result of this paper is that, given a suitable definition of tameness for central simple algebras, $K\ast G$ is tamely ramified and defectless over $F$ if and only if $K$ is tamely ramified and defectless over $F$. The residue structure of $S\ast G$ is also considered in the paper, as well as its behaviour upon passage to Henselization.

Let $G$ be a finitely generated, discrete group of polynomial growth. This paper provides a proof of the boundedness in $L_p(G)$, $1<p<\infty$, of some higher-order Riesz transform operators associated with a probability density on $G$.

Let X be a space that has the homotopy type of a finite simply connected CW complex. We denote by [Escr ](X) the group of homotopy classes of self-homotopy equivalences of X. This group has been extensively studied (see [1] for a survey). In this paper we consider the subgroup [Escr ]n#(X) consisting of homotopy classes of self-homotopy equivalences of X that induce the identity on the homotopy groups πi(X) for i[les ]n, and the subgroup [Escr ]#(X) consisting of homotopy classes of self-homotopy equivalences of X that induce the identity on all the homotopy groups. Our first result is as follows.

Let f[ratio ]C→Ĉ be a function which is either transcendental meromorphic or rational with degree at least 2. We discuss the uniform perfectness of the attracting or parabolic cycle of stable domains of f(z), and include a proof that the Julia set of a meromorphic function of finite type is uniformly perfect.

We prove for a wide class of structures that if [Fscr ] is a family of substructures which are pairwise uniformly commensurable, then there is a commensurable substructure invariant under automorphisms stabilizing [Fscr ] setwise.

Let G be a finite simple group. A conjecture of J. D. Dixon, which is now a theorem (see [2, 5, 9]), states that the probability that two randomly chosen elements x, y of G generate G tends to 1 as [mid ]G[mid ]→∞. Geoff Robinson asked whether the conclusion still holds if we require further that x, y are conjugate in G. In this note we study the probability Pc(G) that 〈x, xy〉=G, where x, y∈G are chosen at random (with uniform distribution on G×G). We shall show that Pc(G)→1 as [mid ]G[mid ]→∞ if G is an alternating group, or a projective special linear group, or a classical group of bounded dimension. In fact, some (but not all) of the exceptional groups of Lie type will also be dealt with.

Let $X$ and $Y$ be affine nonsingular real algebraic varieties. A general problem in real algebraic geometry is to try to decide when a continuous map $f : X \rightarrow Y$ can be approximated by regular maps in the space of ${\cal C}_0$ mappings from $X$ to $Y$ , equipped with the ${\cal C}_0$ topology. This paper solves this problem when $X$ is the connected component containing the origin of the real part of a complex Abelian variety and $Y$ is the standard 2-dimensional sphere.

Let (G, X) be a locally compact transformation group in which G acts freely on X. We show that the associated transformation-group C*-algebra C0(X) [rtimes ] G is a Fell algebra if and only if X is a Cartan G-space.