We construct pairs of residually finite groups with isomorphic profinite completions such that one has non-vanishing and the other has vanishing real second bounded cohomology. The examples are lattices in different higher-rank simple Lie groups. Using Galois cohomology, we actually show that $\operatorname {SO}^0(n,2)$ for $n \ge 6$ and the exceptional groups $E_{6(-14)}$ and $E_{7(-25)}$ constitute the complete list of higher-rank Lie groups admitting such examples.

We study the limiting behavior of the discrete spectra associated to the principal congruence subgroups of a reductive group over a number field. While this problem is well understood in the cocompact case (i.e., when the group is anisotropic modulo the center), we treat groups of unbounded rank. For the groups $\text{GL}(n)$ and $\text{SL}(n)$ we show that the suitably normalized spectra converge to the Plancherel measure (the limit multiplicity property). For general reductive groups we obtain a substantial reduction of the problem. Our main tool is the recent refinement of the spectral side of Arthur’s trace formula obtained in [Finis, Lapid, and Müller, Ann. of Math. (2) 174(1) (2011), 173–195; Finis and Lapid, Ann. of Math. (2) 174(1) (2011), 197–223], which allows us to show that for $\text{GL}(n)$ and $\text{SL}(n)$ the contribution of the continuous spectrum is negligible in the limit.

Given a group automorphism $\phi :\,\Gamma \,\to \,\Gamma $, one has an action of $\Gamma $ on itself by $\phi $-twisted conjugacy, namely, $g.x\,=\,gx\phi ({{g}^{-1}})$. The orbits of this action are called $\phi $-twisted conjugacy classes. One says that $\Gamma $ has the ${{R}_{\infty }}$-property if there are infinitely many $\phi $-twisted conjugacy classes for every automorphism $\phi $ of $\Gamma $. In this paper we show that $\text{SL(}n\text{,}\mathbb{Z}\text{)}$ and its congruence subgroups have the ${{R}_{\infty }}$-property. Further we show that any (countable) abelian extension of $\Gamma $ has the ${{R}_{\infty }}$-property where $\Gamma $ is a torsion free non-elementary hyperbolic group, or $\text{SL(}n\text{,}\mathbb{Z}\text{)},\text{Sp(2}n\text{,}\mathbb{Z}\text{)}$ or a principal congruence subgroup of $\text{SL(}n\text{,}\mathbb{Z}\text{)}$ or the fundamental group of a complete Riemannian manifold of constant negative curvature.