Combinatorial Group Theory
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18.703 Modern Algebra, Presentations and Groups of Small
12. Presentations and Groups of small order Definition-Lemma 12.1. Let A be a set. A word in A is a string of 0 elements of A and their inverses. We say that the word w is obtained 0 from w by a reduction, if we can get from w to w by repeatedly applying the following rule, −1 −1 • replace aa (or a a) by the empty string. 0 Given any word w, the reduced word w associated to w is any 0 word obtained from w by reduction, such that w cannot be reduced any further. Given two words w1 and w2 of A, the concatenation of w1 and w2 is the word w = w1w2. The empty word is denoted e. The set of all reduced words is denoted FA. With product defined as the reduced concatenation, this set becomes a group, called the free group with generators A. It is interesting to look at examples. Suppose that A contains one element a. An element of FA = Fa is a reduced word, using only a and a−1 . The word w = aaaa−1 a−1 aaa is a string using a and a−1. Given any such word, we pass to the reduction w0 of w. This means cancelling as much as we can, and replacing strings of a’s by the corresponding power. Thus w = aaa −1 aaa = aaaa = a 4 = w0 ; where equality means up to reduction. Thus the free group on one generator is isomorphic to Z. The free group on two generators is much more complicated and it is not abelian. -
The Subgroups of a Free Product of Two Groups with an Amalgamated Subgroup!1)
transactions of the american mathematical society Volume 150, July, 1970 THE SUBGROUPS OF A FREE PRODUCT OF TWO GROUPS WITH AN AMALGAMATED SUBGROUP!1) BY A. KARRASS AND D. SOLITAR Abstract. We prove that all subgroups H of a free product G of two groups A, B with an amalgamated subgroup V are obtained by two constructions from the inter- section of H and certain conjugates of A, B, and U. The constructions are those of a tree product, a special kind of generalized free product, and of a Higman-Neumann- Neumann group. The particular conjugates of A, B, and U involved are given by double coset representatives in a compatible regular extended Schreier system for G modulo H. The structure of subgroups indecomposable with respect to amalgamated product, and of subgroups satisfying a nontrivial law is specified. Let A and B have the property P and U have the property Q. Then it is proved that G has the property P in the following cases: P means every f.g. (finitely generated) subgroup is finitely presented, and Q means every subgroup is f.g.; P means the intersection of two f.g. subgroups is f.g., and Q means finite; P means locally indicable, and Q means cyclic. It is also proved that if A' is a f.g. normal subgroup of G not contained in U, then NU has finite index in G. 1. Introduction. In the case of a free product G = A * B, the structure of a subgroup H may be described as follows (see [9, 4.3]): there exist double coset representative systems {Da}, {De} for G mod (H, A) and G mod (H, B) respectively, and there exists a set of elements t\, t2,.. -
Some Remarks on Semigroup Presentations
SOME REMARKS ON SEMIGROUP PRESENTATIONS B. H. NEUMANN Dedicated to H. S. M. Coxeter 1. Let a semigroup A be given by generators ai, a2, . , ad and defining relations U\ — V\yu2 = v2, ... , ue = ve between these generators, the uu vt being words in the generators. We then have a presentation of A, and write A = sgp(ai, . , ad, «i = vu . , ue = ve). The same generators with the same relations can also be interpreted as the presentation of a group, for which we write A* = gpOi, . , ad\ «i = vu . , ue = ve). There is a unique homomorphism <£: A—* A* which maps each generator at G A on the same generator at G 4*. This is a monomorphism if, and only if, A is embeddable in a group; and, equally obviously, it is an epimorphism if, and only if, the image A<j> in A* is a group. This is the case in particular if A<j> is finite, as a finite subsemigroup of a group is itself a group. Thus we see that A(j> and A* are both finite (in which case they coincide) or both infinite (in which case they may or may not coincide). If A*, and thus also Acfr, is finite, A may be finite or infinite; but if A*, and thus also A<p, is infinite, then A must be infinite too. It follows in particular that A is infinite if e, the number of defining relations, is strictly less than d, the number of generators. 2. We now assume that d is chosen minimal, so that A cannot be generated by fewer than d elements. -
An Ascending Hnn Extension
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY Volume 134, Number 11, November 2006, Pages 3131–3136 S 0002-9939(06)08398-5 Article electronically published on May 18, 2006 AN ASCENDING HNN EXTENSION OF A FREE GROUP INSIDE SL2 C DANNY CALEGARI AND NATHAN M. DUNFIELD (Communicated by Ronald A. Fintushel) Abstract. We give an example of a subgroup of SL2 C which is a strictly ascending HNN extension of a non-abelian finitely generated free group F .In particular, we exhibit a free group F in SL2 C of rank 6 which is conjugate to a proper subgroup of itself. This answers positively a question of Drutu and Sapir (2005). The main ingredient in our construction is a specific finite volume (non-compact) hyperbolic 3-manifold M which is a surface bundle over the circle. In particular, most of F comes from the fundamental group of a surface fiber. A key feature of M is that there is an element of π1(M)inSL2 C with an eigenvalue which is the square root of a rational integer. We also use the Bass-Serre tree of a field with a discrete valuation to show that the group F we construct is actually free. 1. Introduction Suppose φ: F → F is an injective homomorphism from a group F to itself. The associated HNN extension H = G, t tgt−1 = φ(g)forg ∈ G is said to be ascending; this extension is called strictly ascending if φ is not onto. In [DS], Drutu and Sapir give examples of residually finite 1-relator groups which are not linear; that is, they do not embed in GLnK for any field K and dimension n. -
Knapsack Problems in Groups
MATHEMATICS OF COMPUTATION Volume 84, Number 292, March 2015, Pages 987–1016 S 0025-5718(2014)02880-9 Article electronically published on July 30, 2014 KNAPSACK PROBLEMS IN GROUPS ALEXEI MYASNIKOV, ANDREY NIKOLAEV, AND ALEXANDER USHAKOV Abstract. We generalize the classical knapsack and subset sum problems to arbitrary groups and study the computational complexity of these new problems. We show that these problems, as well as the bounded submonoid membership problem, are P-time decidable in hyperbolic groups and give var- ious examples of finitely presented groups where the subset sum problem is NP-complete. 1. Introduction 1.1. Motivation. This is the first in a series of papers on non-commutative discrete (combinatorial) optimization. In this series we propose to study complexity of the classical discrete optimization (DO) problems in their most general form — in non- commutative groups. For example, DO problems concerning integers (subset sum, knapsack problem, etc.) make perfect sense when the group of additive integers is replaced by an arbitrary (non-commutative) group G. The classical lattice problems are about subgroups (integer lattices) of the additive groups Zn or Qn, their non- commutative versions deal with arbitrary finitely generated subgroups of a group G. The travelling salesman problem or the Steiner tree problem make sense for arbitrary finite subsets of vertices in a given Cayley graph of a non-commutative infinite group (with the natural graph metric). The Post correspondence problem carries over in a straightforward fashion from a free monoid to an arbitrary group. This list of examples can be easily extended, but the point here is that many classical DO problems have natural and interesting non-commutative versions. -
The Free Product of Groups with Amalgamated Subgroup Malnorrnal in a Single Factor
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector JOURNAL OF PURE AND APPLIED ALGEBRA Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra 127 (1998) 119-136 The free product of groups with amalgamated subgroup malnorrnal in a single factor Steven A. Bleiler*, Amelia C. Jones Portland State University, Portland, OR 97207, USA University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA Communicated by C.A. Weibel; received 10 May 1994; received in revised form 22 August 1995 Abstract We discuss groups that are free products with amalgamation where the amalgamating subgroup is of rank at least two and malnormal in at least one of the factor groups. In 1971, Karrass and Solitar showed that when the amalgamating subgroup is malnormal in both factors, the global group cannot be two-generator. When the amalgamating subgroup is malnormal in a single factor, the global group may indeed be two-generator. If so, we show that either the non-malnormal factor contains a torsion element or, if not, then there is a generating pair of one of four specific types. For each type, we establish a set of relations which must hold in the factor B and give restrictions on the rank and generators of each factor. @ 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. 0. Introduction Baumslag introduced the term malnormal in [l] to describe a subgroup that intersects each of its conjugates trivially. Here we discuss groups that are free products with amalgamation where the amalgamating subgroup is of rank at least two and malnormal in at least one of the factor groups. -
Bounded Depth Ascending HNN Extensions and Π1-Semistability at ∞ Arxiv:1709.09140V1
Bounded Depth Ascending HNN Extensions and π1-Semistability at 1 Michael Mihalik June 29, 2021 Abstract A 1-ended finitely presented group has semistable fundamental group at 1 if it acts geometrically on some (equivalently any) simply connected and locally finite complex X with the property that any two proper rays in X are properly homotopic. If G has semistable fun- damental group at 1 then one can unambiguously define the funda- mental group at 1 for G. The problem, asking if all finitely presented groups have semistable fundamental group at 1 has been studied for over 40 years. If G is an ascending HNN extension of a finitely pre- sented group then indeed, G has semistable fundamental group at 1, but since the early 1980's it has been suggested that the finitely pre- sented groups that are ascending HNN extensions of finitely generated groups may include a group with non-semistable fundamental group at 1. Ascending HNN extensions naturally break into two classes, those with bounded depth and those with unbounded depth. Our main theorem shows that bounded depth finitely presented ascending HNN extensions of finitely generated groups have semistable fundamental group at 1. Semistability is equivalent to two weaker asymptotic con- arXiv:1709.09140v1 [math.GR] 26 Sep 2017 ditions on the group holding simultaneously. We show one of these conditions holds for all ascending HNN extensions, regardless of depth. We give a technique for constructing ascending HNN extensions with unbounded depth. This work focuses attention on a class of groups that may contain a group with non-semistable fundamental group at 1. -
Arxiv:Hep-Th/9404101V3 21 Nov 1995
hep-th/9404101 April 1994 Chern-Simons Gauge Theory on Orbifolds: Open Strings from Three Dimensions ⋆ Petr Horavaˇ ∗ Enrico Fermi Institute University of Chicago 5640 South Ellis Avenue Chicago IL 60637, USA ABSTRACT Chern-Simons gauge theory is formulated on three dimensional Z2 orbifolds. The locus of singular points on a given orbifold is equivalent to a link of Wilson lines. This allows one to reduce any correlation function on orbifolds to a sum of more complicated correlation functions in the simpler theory on manifolds. Chern-Simons theory on manifolds is known arXiv:hep-th/9404101v3 21 Nov 1995 to be related to 2D CFT on closed string surfaces; here I show that the theory on orbifolds is related to 2D CFT of unoriented closed and open string models, i.e. to worldsheet orb- ifold models. In particular, the boundary components of the worldsheet correspond to the components of the singular locus in the 3D orbifold. This correspondence leads to a simple identification of the open string spectra, including their Chan-Paton degeneration, in terms of fusing Wilson lines in the corresponding Chern-Simons theory. The correspondence is studied in detail, and some exactly solvable examples are presented. Some of these examples indicate that it is natural to think of the orbifold group Z2 as a part of the gauge group of the Chern-Simons theory, thus generalizing the standard definition of gauge theories. E-mail address: [email protected] ⋆∗ Address after September 1, 1994: Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544. 1. Introduction Since the first appearance of the notion of “orbifolds” in Thurston’s 1977 lectures on three dimensional topology [1], orbifolds have become very appealing objects for physicists. -
An Introduction to Orbifolds
An introduction to orbifolds Joan Porti UAB Subdivide and Tile: Triangulating spaces for understanding the world Lorentz Center November 2009 An introduction to orbifolds – p.1/20 Motivation • Γ < Isom(Rn) or Hn discrete and acts properly discontinuously (e.g. a group of symmetries of a tessellation). • If Γ has no fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is a manifold. • If Γ has fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is an orbifold. An introduction to orbifolds – p.2/20 Motivation • Γ < Isom(Rn) or Hn discrete and acts properly discontinuously (e.g. a group of symmetries of a tessellation). • If Γ has no fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is a manifold. • If Γ has fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is an orbifold. ··· (there are other notions of orbifold in algebraic geometry, string theory or using grupoids) An introduction to orbifolds – p.2/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Γ= h(x, y) → (x + 1, y), (x, y) → (x, y + 1)i =∼ Z2 Γ\R2 =∼ T 2 = S1 × S1 An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Rotations of angle π around red points (order 2) An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Rotations of angle π around red points (order 2) 2 2 An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Rotations of angle π around red points (order 2) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Example: tessellations of hyperbolic plane Rotations of angle π, π/2 and π/3 around vertices (order 2, 4, and 6) An introduction to orbifolds – p.4/20 Example: tessellations of hyperbolic plane Rotations of angle π, π/2 and π/3 around vertices (order 2, 4, and 6) 2 4 2 6 An introduction to orbifolds – p.4/20 Definition Informal Definition • An orbifold O is a metrizable topological space equipped with an atlas modelled on Rn/Γ, Γ < O(n) finite, with some compatibility condition. -
23. Mon, Mar. 10 the Free Product Has a Universal Property, Which Should Remind You of the Property of the Disjoint Union of Spaces X Y
23. Mon, Mar. 10 The free product has a universal property, which should remind you of the property of the disjoint union of spaces X Y . First, for any groups H and K, there are inclusion homomorphisms H H K and K Hq K. ! ⇤ ! ⇤ Proposition 23.1. Suppose that G is any group with homomorphisms ' : H G and H ! 'K : K G. Then there is a (unique) homomorphism Φ:H K G which restricts to the given! homomorphisms from H and K. ⇤ ! Our result from last time can be restated as follows: Proposition 23.2. Suppose that X = U V , where U and V are path-connected open subsets and both contain the basepoint x .IfU V is[ also path-connected, then the natural homomorphism 0 \ Φ:⇡ (U) ⇡ (V ) ⇡ (X) 1 ⇤ 1 ! 1 is surjective. Now that we have a surjective homomorphism to ⇡1(X), the next step is to understand the kernel N. Indeed, then the First Isomorphism Theorem will tell us that ⇡1(X) ⇠= ⇡1(U) ⇡1(V )/N . Here is one way to produce an element of the kernel. Consider a loop ↵ in U V . We can⇤ then consider \ its image ↵U ⇡1(U) and ↵V ⇡1(V ). Certainly these map to the same element of ⇡1(X), so 1 2 2 ↵U ↵V− is in the kernel. Proposition 23.3. With the same assumptions as above, the kernel K of ⇡1(U) ⇡1(V ) ⇡1(X) 1 ⇤ ! is the normal subgroup N generated by elements of the form ↵U ↵V− . 1 Recall that the normal subgroup generated by the elements ↵U ↵V− can be characterized either 1 as (1) the intersection of all normal subgroups containing the ↵U ↵V− or (2) the subgroup generated 1 1 by all conjugates g↵U ↵V− g− . -
Beyond Serre's" Trees" in Two Directions: $\Lambda $--Trees And
Beyond Serre’s “Trees” in two directions: Λ–trees and products of trees Olga Kharlampovich,∗ Alina Vdovina† October 31, 2017 Abstract Serre [125] laid down the fundamentals of the theory of groups acting on simplicial trees. In particular, Bass-Serre theory makes it possible to extract information about the structure of a group from its action on a simplicial tree. Serre’s original motivation was to understand the structure of certain algebraic groups whose Bruhat–Tits buildings are trees. In this survey we will discuss the following generalizations of ideas from [125]: the theory of isometric group actions on Λ-trees and the theory of lattices in the product of trees where we describe in more detail results on arithmetic groups acting on a product of trees. 1 Introduction Serre [125] laid down the fundamentals of the theory of groups acting on sim- plicial trees. The book [125] consists of two parts. The first part describes the basics of what is now called Bass-Serre theory. This theory makes it possi- ble to extract information about the structure of a group from its action on a simplicial tree. Serre’s original motivation was to understand the structure of certain algebraic groups whose Bruhat–Tits buildings are trees. These groups are considered in the second part of the book. Bass-Serre theory states that a group acting on a tree can be decomposed arXiv:1710.10306v1 [math.GR] 27 Oct 2017 (splits) as a free product with amalgamation or an HNN extension. Such a group can be represented as a fundamental group of a graph of groups. -
Torsion, Torsion Length and Finitely Presented Groups 11
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo TORSION, TORSION LENGTH AND FINITELY PRESENTED GROUPS MAURICE CHIODO AND RISHI VYAS Abstract. We show that a construction by Aanderaa and Cohen used in their proof of the Higman Embedding Theorem preserves torsion length. We give a new construction showing that every finitely presented group is the quotient of some C′(1~6) finitely presented group by the subgroup generated by its torsion elements. We use these results to show there is a finitely presented group with infinite torsion length which is C′(1~6), and thus word-hyperbolic and virtually torsion-free. 1. Introduction It is well known that the set of torsion elements in a group G, Tor G , is not necessarily a subgroup. One can, of course, consider the subgroup Tor1 G generated by the set of torsion elements in G: this subgroup is always normal( ) in G. ( ) The subgroup Tor1 G has been studied in the literature, with a particular focus on its structure in the context of 1-relator groups. For example, suppose G is presented by a 1-relator( ) presentation P with cyclically reduced relator Rk where R is not a proper power, and let r denote the image of R in G. Karrass, Magnus, and Solitar proved ([17, Theorem 3]) that r has order k and that every torsion element in G is a conjugate of some power of r; a more general statement can be found in [22, Theorem 6]. As immediate corollaries, we see that Tor1 G is precisely the normal closure of r, and that G Tor1 G is torsion-free.