Speaker: Dr. Matthew Wiersma, University of Winnipeg

Title: Entropies and Poisson boundaries of random walks on groups with rapid decay

Abstract: Let $G$ be a countable group and $\mu$ a probability measure on $G$. The Avez entropy of $\mu$ provides a way of quantifying the randomness of the random walk on $G$ associated with $\mu$. We build a new framework to compute asymptotic quantities associated with the $\mu$-random walk on $G$, using constructions that arise from harmonic analysis on groups. We introduce the notion of \emph{convolution entropy} and show that, under mild assumptions on $\mu$, it coincides with the Avez entropy of $\mu$ when $G$ has the rapid decay property. Subsequently, we apply our results to stationary dynamical systems consisting of an action of a group with the rapid decay property on a probability space, and give several characterizations for when the Avez entropy coincides with the Furstenberg entropy of the stationary space. This leads to a characterization of Zimmer amenability for stationary dynamical systems whenever the acting group has the property of rapid decay.

This talk is based on joint work with B. Anderson-Sackaney, T. de Laat and E. Samei.