The congruence subgroup problem

Abstract

Colloquium talk in IISc on October 28, 2005

This article is an exposition on the ‘congruence subgroup problem’. This subject is at a common ground shared by group theory and number theory. It deals with certain groups defined arithmetically and their subgroup structure. This is a relatively modern subject having taken off in the mid 1960’s after Klein’s early investigations on the modular group. Apart from interest in its own right, the subject gains importance also because of connections with the theory of automorphic forms which is central to number theory. This exposition is meant to introduce the subject to professional mathematicians working in other areas. At the end, some recent work by the author is mentioned.