Similar point configurations via group actions

Abstract: We prove that for $d\ge 2,\, k\ge 2$, if the Hausdorff dimension of a compact set $E\subset \mathbb{R}^d$ is greater than $\frac{d^2}{2d-1}$, then, for any given $r > 0$, there exist $(x^1, \dots, x^{k+1})\in E^{k+1}$, $(y^1, \dots, y^{k+1})\in E^{k+1}$, a rotation $\theta \in \mathrm{O}_d(\mathbb{R})$, and a vector $a \in \mathbb{R}^d$ such that $rx^j = \theta y^j - a$ for $1 \leq j \leq k+1$. Such a result on existence of similar $k$-simplices in thin sets had previously been established under a more stringent dimensional threshold in Greenleaf, Iosevich and Mkrtchyan \cite{GIM21}. The argument we are use to prove the main result here was previously employed in Bhowmik and Rakhmonov \cite{BR23} to establish a finite field version. We also show the existence of multi-similarities of arbitrary multiplicity in $\R^d$, show how to extend these results from similarities to arbitrary proper continuous maps, as well as explore a general group-theoretic formulation of this problem in vector spaces over finite fields.