Classification of non-free p.m.p. boolean actions of ergodic full groups and applications

Abstract

We extend Dye's reconstruction theorem, which classifies isomorphisms between full groups, to a classification of homomorphisms between full groups. For full groups of ergodic p.m.p. equivalence relations, our result roughly says that such homomorphisms come only from actions of the equivalence relation, or of one of its symmetric powers. This has several rigidity consequences for homomorphisms between full groups. Our main application is a characterization of property (T) for ergodic p.m.p. equivalence relations purely in full group terms, without using their topology: an ergodic p.m.p. equivalence relation has (T) iff all non-free ergodic boolean actions of its full group are strongly ergodic.