A note on automorphisms of the affine Cremona group

Abstract

Let $\mathcal{G}$ be an ind-group and let $\mathcal{U} \subseteq \mathcal{G}$ be a unipotent ind-subgroup. We prove that an abstract group automorphism $\theta \colon \mathcal{G} \to \mathcal{G}$ maps $\mathcal{U}$ isomorphically onto a unipotent ind-subgroup of $\mathcal{G}$, provided that $\theta$ fixes a closed torus $T \subseteq \mathcal{G}$, which normalizes $\mathcal{U}$ and the action of $T$ on $\mathcal{U}$ by conjugation fixes only the neutral element. As an application we generalize a result by Hanspeter Kraft and the author as follows: If an abstract group automorphism of the affine Cremona group $\mathcal{G}_3$ in dimension 3 fixes the subgroup of tame automorphisms $T{\mathcal G}_3$, then it also fixes a whole family of non-tame automorphisms (including the Nagata automorphism).