The congruence subgroup problem

Let $G$ be a finite group, $\Z G$ the integral group ring of $G$ and $\U(\Z G)$ the group of units of $\Z G$. The Congruence Subgroup Problem for $\U(\Z G)$ is the problem of deciding if every subgroup of finite index of $\U(\Z G)$ contains a congruence subgroup, i.e. the kernel of the natural homomorphism $\U(\Z G) \rightarrow \U(\Z G/m\Z G)$ for some positive integer $m$. The congruence kernel of $\U(\Z G)$ is the kernel of the natural map from the completion of $\U(\Z G)$ ...

In this paper, we study the combinatorics of congruence subgroups of the modular group by generalizing results obtained in the non-modular case. For this, we define a notion of irreducible solutions from which we can build all the solutions. In particular, we give a particular solution, irreducible for any $N$, and the list of irreducible solutions for $N \leq 6$.

This contains Part I of the book: Congruence lattices of finite lattices, which covers about 80 years of research and more than 250 papers.

This is a sequel to arXiv:1308.3604. We study applications to limit multiplicity generalizing the results of arXiv:1208.2257.

This paper is a follow-up to our joint paper with I. Agol, P. Storm and K. Whyte "Finiteness of arithmetic hyperbolic reflection groups". The main purpose is to investigate the effective side of the method developed there and its possible application to the problem of classification of arithmetic hyperbolic reflection groups.

In this survey article we give an overview of the developments on the congruence subgroup and the metaplectic problems after the work of Bass, Milnor and Serre.

We develop practical techniques to compute with arithmetic groups $H\leq \mathrm{SL}(n,\mathbb{Q})$ for $n>2$. Our approach relies on constructing a principal congruence subgroup in $H$. Problems solved include testing membership in $H$, analyzing the subnormal structure of $H$, and the orbit-stabilizer problem for $H$. Effective computation with subgroups of $\mathrm{GL}(n,\mathbb{Z}_m)$ is vital to this work. All algorithms have been implemented in GAP.

Classically, congruence subgroups of the modular group, which can be described by congruence relations, play important roles in group theory and modular forms. In reality, the majority of finite index subgroups of the modular group are noncongruence. These groups as well as their modular forms are central players of this survey article. Differences between congruence and noncongruence subgroups and modular forms will be discussed. We will mainly focus on three interesting asp...

We give a computationally effective criterion for determining whether a finite-index subgroup of SL(2, Z) is a congruence subgroup, extending earlier work of Hsu for subgroups of PSL(2, Z).

We continue and complete our previous paper `Lifts of projective congruence groups' [2] concerning the question of whether there exist noncongruence subgroups of $\SL_2(\Z)$ that are projectively equivalent to one of the groups $\Gamma_0(N)$ or $\Gamma_1(N)$. A complete answer to this question is obtained: In case of $\Gamma_0(N)$ such noncongruence subgroups exist precisely if $N\not\in {3,4,8}$ and we additionally have either that $4\mid N$ or that $N$ is divisible by an od...