Banach space actions and $L^2$-spectral gap

Abstract: .{Z}uk proved that if a finitely generated group admits a Cayley graph such that the Laplacian on the links of this Cayley graph has a spectral gap $> \frac{1}{2}$, then the group has property (T), or equivalently, every affine isometric action of the group on a Hilbert space has a fixed point. We prove that the same holds for affine isometric actions of the group on a uniformly curved Banach space (for example an $L^p$-space with $1 < p < \infty$ or an interpolation space between a Hilbert space and an arbitrary Banach space) as soon as the Laplacian on the links has a two-sided spectral gap $>1-\varepsilon$. This criterion applies to random groups in the triangular density model for densities $> \frac{1}{3}$. In this way, we are able to generalize recent results of Dru\c{t}u and Mackay to affine isometric actions of random groups on uniformly curved Banach spaces. Also, in the setting of actions on $L^p$-spaces, our results are quantitatively stronger, even in the case $p=2$. This naturally leads to new estimates on the conformal dimension of the boundary of random groups in the triangular model. Additionally, we obtain results on the eigenvalues of the $p$-Laplacian on graphs, and on the spectrum and degree distribution of Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi graphs.