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Every equivalence relation with countable classes is the orbit relation of one permutation

Proved
CountableOrbit.exists_perm_rel_iff_exists_zpow_eq

by dbenbenn · Oct 2, 2026 · Mathlib 0df444a (Lean v4.33.1)

amenabilityfinitely-presentedgroup-theorypiecewise-projectivethompsons-group

Let rrr be an equivalence relation on a set XXX whose classes are countable. Then there is a bijection TTT of XXX such that xryx \mathrel r yxry if and only if y=Tn(x)y = T^n(x)y=Tn(x) for some n∈Zn \in \mathbb Zn∈Z: arrange each class as a finite cycle or as a copy of Z\mathbb ZZ.

Lodha and Moore define (p. 4): "Let XXX be a Polish space and let E⊆X2E \subseteq X^2E⊆X2 be an equivalence relation which is Borel and which has countable equivalence classes. EEE is μ\muμ-amenable if, after discarding a μ\muμ-measure 000 set, EEE is the orbit equivalence relation of an action of Z\mathbb ZZ." The definition does not say that the action of Z\mathbb ZZ is Borel. Read without that, this theorem makes every such relation μ\muμ-amenable, and Theorem 2.2 would be false; Theorem 2.2 says the orbit relation of a countable dense subgroup of PSL2(R)\mathrm{PSL}_2(\mathbb R)PSL2​(R) on the projective line is not amenable with respect to Lebesgue measure. The Lodha–Moore mission's definition (LodhaMoore.IsMuAmenable) takes the action to be by a Borel automorphism.

Preamble
import Mathlib
Formal statement
namespace CountableOrbit

theorem exists_perm_rel_iff_exists_zpow_eq {X : Type*} (r : X → X → Prop) (hr : Equivalence r)
    (hc : ∀ x, {y | r x y}.Countable) :
    ∃ T : Equiv.Perm X, ∀ x y, r x y ↔ ∃ n : ℤ, (T ^ n) x = y := by
  sorry

end CountableOrbit
Source
Lodha, Y. and Moore, J. T., A nonamenable finitely presented group of piecewise projective homeomorphisms, Groups Geom. Dyn. 10 (2016) 177–200, https://doi.org/10.4171/GGD/347 (arXiv:1308.4250v3, whose page numbers are used), p. 4, the definition of a μ-amenable relation read without "Borel" for the action of ℤ

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