Homology of SL2 over function fields I: Parabolic subcomplexes

The present paper studies the group homology of the groups {\operatorname{SL}_{2}(k[C])} and {\operatorname{PGL}_{2}(k[C])} , where {C=\overline{C}\setminus\{P_{1},\dots,P_{s}\}} is a smooth affine curve over an algebraically closed field k. It is well known that these groups act on a product of trees and the quotients can be described in terms of certain equivalence classes of rank two vector bundles on the curve {\overline{C}} . There is a natural subcomplex consisting of cells with suitably non-trivial isotropy group. The paper provides explicit formulas for the equivariant homology of this “parabolic subcomplex”. These formulas also describe group homology of {\operatorname{SL}_{2}(k[C])} above degree s, generalizing a result of Suslin in the case {s=1} .

-invisibility and a class of local similarity groups

In this note we show that the members of a certain class of local similarity groups are ${l}^{2}$-invisible, i.e. the (non-reduced) group homology of the regular unitary representation vanishes in all degrees. This class contains groups of type ${F}_{\infty }$, e.g. Thompson’s group $V$ and Nekrashevych–Röver groups. They yield counterexamples to a generalized zero-in-the-spectrum conjecture for groups of type ${F}_{\infty }$.