This volume contains a collection of papers on the subject of the classification of finite simple groups.

This book provides a detailed exposition of a wide range of topics in geometric group theory, inspired by Gromov’s pivotal work in the 1980s. It includes classical theorems on nilpotent groups and solvable groups, a fundamental study of the growth of groups, a detailed look at asymptotic cones, and a discussion of related subjects including filters and ultrafilters, dimension theory, hyperbolic geometry, amenability, the Burnside problem, and random walks on groups. The results are unified under the common theme of Gromov’s theorem, namely that finitely generated groups of polynomial growth are virtually nilpotent. This beautiful result gave birth to a fascinating new area of research which is still active today. The purpose of the book is to collect these naturally related results together in one place, most of which are scattered throughout the literature, some of them appearing here in book form for the first time. In this way, the connections between these topics are revealed, providing a pleasant introduction to geometric group theory based on ideas surrounding Gromov's theorem. The book will be of interest to mature undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics who are familiar with basic group theory and topology, and who wish to learn more about geometric, analytic, and probabilistic aspects of infinite groups.

Geometric combinatorics describes a wide area of mathematics that is primarily the study of geometric objects and their combinatorial structure. This text is a compilation of expository articles at the interface between combinatorics and geometry.

Over the past 20 years, the theory of groups — in particular simple groups, finite and algebraic — has influenced a number of diverse areas of mathematics. Such areas include topics where groups have been traditionally applied, such as algebraic combinatorics, finite geometries, Galois theory and permutation groups, as well as several more recent developments. Among the latter are probabilistic and computational group theory, the theory of algebraic groups over number fields, and model theory, in each of which there has been a major recent impetus provided by simple group theory. In addition, there is still great interest in local analysis in finite groups, with substantial new input from methods of geometry and amalgams, and particular emphasis on the revision project for the classification of finite simple groups.This important book contains 20 survey articles covering many of the above developments. It should prove invaluable for those working in the theory of groups and its applications.

This volume assembles several research papers in all areas of geometric and combinatorial group theory originated in the recent conferences in Dortmund and Ottawa in 2007. It contains high quality refereed articles developing new aspects of these modern and active fields in mathematics. It is also appropriate to advanced students interested in recent results at a research level.

Includes a rich variety of exercises to accompany the exposition of Coxeter groups Coxeter groups have already been exposited from algebraic and geometric perspectives, but this book will be presenting the combinatorial aspects of Coxeter groups

Geometric group theory is the study of the interplay between groups and the spaces they act on, and has its roots in the works of Henri Poincaré, Felix Klein, J.H.C. Whitehead, and Max Dehn. Office Hours with a Geometric Group Theorist brings together leading experts who provide one-on-one instruction on key topics in this exciting and relatively new field of mathematics. It's like having office hours with your most trusted math professors. An essential primer for undergraduates making the leap to graduate work, the book begins with free groups—actions of free groups on trees, algorithmic questions about free groups, the ping-pong lemma, and automorphisms of free groups. It goes on to cover several large-scale geometric invariants of groups, including quasi-isometry groups, Dehn functions, Gromov hyperbolicity, and asymptotic dimension. It also delves into important examples of groups, such as Coxeter groups, Thompson's groups, right-angled Artin groups, lamplighter groups, mapping class groups, and braid groups. The tone is conversational throughout, and the instruction is driven by examples. Accessible to students who have taken a first course in abstract algebra, Office Hours with a Geometric Group Theorist also features numerous exercises and in-depth projects designed to engage readers and provide jumping-off points for research projects.