All Questions
Tagged with pr.probability gr.group-theory
102 questions
67
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Why can't a nonabelian group be 75% abelian?
This question asks for intuition, not a proof.
An earlier question,
Measures of non-abelian-ness
was thoroughly answered by Arturo Magidin.
A paper by Gustafson1
proves that, for a nonabelian group,
...
- 151k
42
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Measures of non-abelian-ness
Let $G$ be a finite non-abelian group of $n$ elements.
I would like a measure that intuitively captures the
extent to which $G$ is non-commutative.
One easy measure is a count of the non-commutative ...
- 151k
41
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What is the probability two random maps on n symbols commute?
It is well known that two randomly chosen permutations of $n$ symbols commute with probability $p_n/n!$ where $p_n$ is the number of partitions of $n$. This is a special case of the fact that in a ...
- 38.6k
32
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Do invariant measures maximize the integral?
Update: The negative answer to the following question has been provided by Matthew Daws, who won, but also rejected, the bounty of 100 euro that I set over the question.
Let $\mathcal M(\mathbb Z)$ ...
- 6,034
28
votes
2
answers
771
views
Probability of generation of ${\mathbb Z}^2$
What is the probability that three pairs $(a,b) $ , $(c,d) $ and $(e,f) $ of integers generate $\mathbb Z^2$? As usual the probability is the limit as $n\to \infty$ of the same probability for the $n\...
user6976
23
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What is a Gaussian measure?
Let $X$ be a topological affine space. A Gaussian measure on $X$ is characterized by the property that its finite-dimensional projections are multivariate Gaussian distributions.
Is there a direct ...
- 8,512
23
votes
3
answers
1k
views
In an inductive family of groups, does the probability that a particular word is satisfied converge?
We have some group word $w$ in $k$ letters. We say a $k$-tuple of group elements $\vec{g} = (g_1, g_2, \ldots , g_k) \in G^k$ satisfies the word $w$ if $w$ gives the identity at $\vec{g}$. More ...
- 5,898
21
votes
6
answers
3k
views
"The" random tree
One time I heard a talk about "the" random tree. This tree has one vertex for each natural number, and the edges are constructed probabilistically. Connect vertex $2$ to vertex $1$. Connect vertex $3$ ...
- 68.9k
21
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Generating random finite groups
I would like a method to efficiently generate a random finite group of a given order $n$.
If there are $g(n)$ non-isomorphic groups of order $n$,
ideally each group would occur with probability $1/g(n)...
- 151k
21
votes
0
answers
578
views
Density of first-order definable sets in a directed union of finite groups
This is a generalization of the following question by John Wiltshire-Gordon.
Consider an inductive family of finite groups:
$$
G_0 \hookrightarrow G_1 \hookrightarrow \ldots \hookrightarrow G_i \...
- 2,200
18
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Markov chain on groups
Let $G$ be a permutation group on the finite set $\Omega$. Consider the Markov chain where you start with an element $\alpha \in \Omega$ chosen from some arbitrary starting probability distribution. ...
- 85.6k
18
votes
1
answer
996
views
Existance of certain almost invariant functions related to amenability and piece-wise transformations
We would like very much to know the answer to the following question:
Let $\|\cdot\|$ be any norm on $\mathbb{Z}^d$ and let $W(\mathbb{Z}^d)$ be the group of all bijections of $\mathbb{Z}^d$ such ...
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can this probability be obtained by a combinatorial/symmetry argument?
Suppose that $a_1,\dots,a_n,b_1,\dots,b_n$ are iid random variables each with a symmetric non-atomic distribution.
Let $p$ denote the probability that there is some real $t$ such that $t a_i \ge b_i$ ...
- 128k
17
votes
3
answers
736
views
Probability that a word in the free group becomes (much) shorter?
Let $w$ be a word of length $2\ell$ chosen at random on the alphabet $\{x_1,x_1^{-1},x_2,x_2^{-1},\dotsc,x_k,x_k^{-1}\}$. By the reduction $\rho(w)$ I mean what you obtain by deleting substrings of ...
- 20.2k
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
In how many steps a random walk visits all the elements of a finite group, with a probability 1/2?
This question is a variation of the return to the origin problem.
Let $G$ be the finite group $\mathbb{Z}/n \times \mathbb{Z}/n$ and let the random transformation $T: G \to G$ such that $T(a,b) = (...
15
votes
4
answers
1k
views
The critical value of percolation on Cayley graphs.
Let $\Gamma$ be a discrete group with a generating set $S$. Let $p_c(\Gamma,S)$ be the critical probability for percolation of the Cayley graph of $\Gamma$. Is it known that if $\Gamma$ is non-...
- 4,705
15
votes
1
answer
687
views
Probability that a random element of a group is trivial
Let $G$ be an infinite group with a finite generating set $S$. For $n \geq 1$, let $p_n$ be the probability that a random word in $S \cup S^{-1}$ of length at most $n$ represents the identity. Is it ...
- 153
15
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Entropy of a measure
Let $\mu$ be a probability measure on a set of $n$ elements and let $p_i$ be the measure of the $i$-th element. Its Shannon entropy is defined by
$$
E(\mu)=-\sum_{i=1}^np_i\log(p_i)
$$
with the ...
- 6,034
13
votes
3
answers
933
views
Probability of commutation in a compact group
It is well known that if $G$ is a finite group, then the probability that two elements commutte is either $1$ (if $G$ is abelian) or less than or equal to $\frac58$.
If instead $K$ is a compact group,...
- 52.3k
13
votes
1
answer
791
views
How nearly abelian are nilpotent groups?
It is not uncommon to read that "nilpotent groups are 'close to abelian'."1,2
Can this sentiment be made precise
in the sense of the
Turán and Erdős definition of "the probability that two elements of ...
- 151k
13
votes
1
answer
736
views
Idempotent measures on the free binary system?
Let $(S,*)$ be the free (non associative) binary system on one generator (so $S$ is just the set of terms in $*$ and $1$). There is an extension of $*$ to the space $P(S)$ of finitely additive ...
- 3,547
12
votes
2
answers
406
views
Does asymmetric fraction of finite groups tend to $0$?
Let’s define asymmetric fraction of a finite group $G$ as the number $$\mathrm{af}(G) = \frac{|\{(g, a) \in G \times \mathrm{Aut}(G)\mid a(g) = g\}|}{|G|\cdot|\mathrm{Aut}(G)|}.$$ Equivalently it can ...
- 2,618
12
votes
3
answers
891
views
Looking for at least one beautiful and not too technical result in asymptotic group theory
We have a student seminar devoted to the problems of asymptotic group theory with some connections to ergodic theory and measure theory in general. Each talk concerns one of the problems of this ...
12
votes
3
answers
552
views
Estimate on currents in Cayley graphs
Take a Cayley graph $\Gamma$ (thought of as an electrical network with all edges having equal resistance) and break one edge $e$ and put a battery there. (Assume the graph has only one end* so that ...
- 4,432
11
votes
0
answers
263
views
Which results in probabilistic group theory generalize from finite groups to compact Hausdorff groups (and which don't)?
Let $G$ be a finite group. It has been shown that:
If the probability that two randomly selected elements of $G$ generate an abelian group is greater than $5/8$, $G$ is abelian.
If the probability ...
- 495
10
votes
5
answers
2k
views
fixed points of permutation groups
As is well-known (see, for example, a nice exposition by our own Qiaochu: https://qchu.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/fixed-points-of-random-permutations/) that the distribution of the number of fixed ...
- 96.4k
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Random walks and Lyapunov exponents
Given a sequence $Y_1, Y_2, \dots$ of i.i.d. matrices in $\mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb R)$, there is a theorem of Furstenberg and Kesten which says that if $\mathbb E(\log\|Y_1\|)$ is finite, there exists a ...
- 315
10
votes
0
answers
3k
views
Group Theory, Game Theory, a bit of Philosophy and a post in Tao's blog
I've decided to write this post after reading the incredibly beautiful and highly recomended post by Terence Tao http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2007/06/25/ultrafilters-nonstandard-analysis-and-epsilon-...
- 6,034
10
votes
0
answers
809
views
Where can I find analogues of combinatorial central limit theorems for other groups
The statement of Hoeffding's combinatorial central limit theorem is as follows: given for each $n$, an $n \times n$ matrix $A = (a_{ij})$, one can consider the random diagonal sum:
$$\displaystyle f(\...
- 4,466
9
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Symmetries of probability distributions
When talking about a single random variable, knowing only its distribution, the construction of a probability space is quite easy. Namely, let $(X,\mathscr A)$ be a measurable space and let $\mathsf Q$...
- 1,655
9
votes
2
answers
726
views
Return probabilities for random walks on infinite Schreier graphs
Question: Is there a sequence $(\delta_n)_n$ of real numbers with $\delta_n \to 0$ as $n \to \infty$, such that the following holds:
Let $F$ be a free group on two generators, let $F \curvearrowright ...
- 25.5k
9
votes
1
answer
735
views
Where has this structure been observed?
$\newcommand{\M}{\mathcal{M}}$Let $M$ be a monoid. Consider the following structure:
$R_X,R_Y:\mathbb{Z}^2 \to M$ satisfying the following "compatiblity-relation":
$$R_X (x, y) \cdot R_Y (x +...
- 6,741
9
votes
2
answers
659
views
Symmetric groups and Poisson processes
Consider the number of fixed points in a permutation chosen uniformly at random from the symmetric group on $n$ elements - this gives a probability distribution. For $k < n$, the $k$-th moments of ...
- 354
9
votes
1
answer
526
views
Random Walks in $Z^2$/$Z^2$-intrinsic characterization of Euclidean distance
Problem: Consider a random walk on the lattice $\mathbb{Z}^2$ where on each iteration a particle either stays at its current location or moves to a neighboring vertex with probability 1/5. We start ...
9
votes
3
answers
654
views
measure with given push-forwards
Let $X,Y$ be locally compact spaces (in my specific case, they are locally compact groups). Suppose that we are given a measure $\mu$ on $X$ and a finite number of quotient maps $p_1,\ldots,p_n:Y\...
8
votes
2
answers
343
views
Cubic almost-vertex-transitive graphs with given spanning tree
Consider the infinite 3-regular tree. Pick a vertex $C$, the "center".
For any integer $L\ge 1$ consider the closed ball, in the graph distance, of radius $L$ around $C$. Let $T_L$ be the induced ...
8
votes
2
answers
755
views
The Odds 3 (or More) Group Elements Commute
Some time ago I asked about the odds 2 group elements commute. I wonder about the odds that 3 group elements commute. Is there a "closed" formula for the sum
$$ \frac{1}{|G|^3} \sum_{g,h,k} \delta([...
- 22.8k
8
votes
2
answers
442
views
Constant Martin kernel and amenability
Consider a finitely supported random walk on a discrete group G such that the support generates $G$ as a semigroup. The Martin kernels are then non-negative functions on the product $G \times M$ where ...
8
votes
1
answer
452
views
What is the probability that a random subset of a finite group is generic?
Definition 1: Given a group $G$, a subset $X \subseteq G$, and a natural number $k$,
we say that $X$ is (left) $k$-generic in $G$ if there are $k$ many left translates of $X$ that cover $G$.
That is, ...
- 83
8
votes
3
answers
606
views
Many Brownian motions moving together
Let $ (B^i),\:{{i=1,\ldots,n}}$ be a set of independent Brownian motions. By $(X^i)$ we denote $(B^i)$ conditioned on the event
$|B^i_t-B_t^{i+1}|\leq 1,\quad \forall_{1\leq i\leq n-1}, \forall_{t\...
- 1,491
8
votes
0
answers
211
views
Superharmonic functions and amenability
Let $G$ be a group generated by a finite set $S$. Let $P$ be a Markov operator defined by the uniform measure on $S$. A function is superharmonic if $Pf\leq f$.
Assume that there is a set of non-...
- 4,705
7
votes
3
answers
801
views
Random Walks in $Z^2$/$Z^2$-intrinsic characterization of Euclidean distance Part II
For some context see Random Walks in $Z^2$/$Z^2$-intrinsic characterization of Euclidean distance
As per Noah's answer and JBL's comment this was false as stated. However, I think the following ...
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
An Expectation of Cohen-Lenstra Measure
The Cohen-Lenstra measure on the set of abelian p-groups assigns $\mathbb{P}(G) = \prod_{i \geq 1} \left( 1 - \frac{1}{p^i}\right) \cdot |\mathrm{Aut}(G)|^{-1} $. Apparently, this is equivalent to ...
- 22.8k
7
votes
1
answer
548
views
The probability that two elements of a finite nonabelian simple group commute
It is mentioned in here (last paragraph of the first page) that Dixon proved the following result: the probability that two elements of a finite nonabelian simple group commute is at most $\frac{1}{12}...
- 71
7
votes
2
answers
639
views
Is there an algebraically normal function from $\mathbb{Z}^{n}$ to $\{ 0 , 1\}$?
Definition: Let $h$ be a polynomial in $n$ variables, then :
$\gamma(h,r,R):=\{ v \in \mathbb{Z}^{n} : \vert h(v) \vert \leq r, \Vert v \Vert < R \}$
Let $\omega : \mathbb{Z}^{n} \to \{ 0 , 1\}$...
7
votes
1
answer
166
views
Random pro-p groups via iterated uniformly random central extensions
Inspired by this question on math.se, I want to understand the following construction of a random pro-$p$ group:
We want to construct an inverse system
$$\cdots \xrightarrow{\alpha_i} G_i \...
- 401
7
votes
0
answers
233
views
Growth of spheres in FINITE nilpotent groups - Gaussian approximation (central limit theorem)?
Standard setup. Consider a group and choose generators. Word-metric (or in the other words - distance on the Cayley graph of the group+generators) - converts a group into a metric space, which is ...
- 24.9k
7
votes
0
answers
743
views
Distribution of the sizes of conjugacy classes in the symmetric group.
This recent question makes me wonder: is there some known limit theorem for the distribution of the sizes of conjugacy classes in the symmetric group $S_n?$ A quick search seems to reveal nothing ...
- 96.4k
6
votes
2
answers
461
views
Intrinsically measurable subsets of amenable semigroups.
This question is related to the one in https://mathoverflow.net/questions/65322/the-structure-of-certain-maximal-sets-of-means-into-amenable-semigroups. I open a different topic because they can be ...
- 6,034
6
votes
1
answer
291
views
Comparing $X+Y$ and $X-Y$ for independent random variables with values in an abelian locally compact group
Let $G$ be an abelian locally (separable?) compact group with Haar measure $\mu$. Inspired by the interesting proof of A sum of two binomial random variables :
Let $X$ and $Y$ be $G$-valued ...
- 2,101