Random Lie bracket on $\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbf{F}_p)$

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Jezernik, Urban, Miščič, Matevž
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Jezernik, Urban
Miščič, Matevž
author_facet Jezernik, Urban
Miščič, Matevž
contents We study a random walk on the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbf{F}_p)$ where new elements are produced by randomly applying adjoint operators of two generators. Focusing on the generic case where the generators are selected at random, we analyze the limiting distribution of the random walk and the speed at which it converges to this distribution. These questions reduce to the study of a random walk on a cyclic group. We show that, with high probability, the walk exhibits a pre-cutoff phenomenon after roughly $p$ steps. Notably, the limiting distribution need not be uniform and it depends on the prime divisors of $p-1$. Furthermore, we prove that by incorporating a simple random twist into the walk, we can embed a well-known affine random walk on $\mathbf{F}_p$ into the modified random Lie bracket, allowing us to show that the entire Lie algebra is covered in roughly $\log p$ steps in the generic case.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_16175
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Random Lie bracket on $\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbf{F}_p)$
Jezernik, Urban
Miščič, Matevž
Rings and Algebras
Group Theory
Probability
17B50, 20P05, 60J15, 60B15
We study a random walk on the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbf{F}_p)$ where new elements are produced by randomly applying adjoint operators of two generators. Focusing on the generic case where the generators are selected at random, we analyze the limiting distribution of the random walk and the speed at which it converges to this distribution. These questions reduce to the study of a random walk on a cyclic group. We show that, with high probability, the walk exhibits a pre-cutoff phenomenon after roughly $p$ steps. Notably, the limiting distribution need not be uniform and it depends on the prime divisors of $p-1$. Furthermore, we prove that by incorporating a simple random twist into the walk, we can embed a well-known affine random walk on $\mathbf{F}_p$ into the modified random Lie bracket, allowing us to show that the entire Lie algebra is covered in roughly $\log p$ steps in the generic case.
title Random Lie bracket on $\mathfrak{sl}_2(\mathbf{F}_p)$
topic Rings and Algebras
Group Theory
Probability
17B50, 20P05, 60J15, 60B15
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16175