Let G be the automorphism group of a regular right-angled building X. The "standard uniform lattice" Γ_0 in G is a canonical graph product of finite groups, which acts discretely on X with quotient a chamber. We prove that the commensurator of Γ_0 is dense in G. This result was also obtained by Haglund. For our proof, we develop carefully a technique of "unfoldings" of complexes of groups. We use unfoldings to construct a sequence of uniform lattices Γ_n in G, each commensurable to Γ_0, and then apply the theory of group actions on complexes of groups to the sequence Γ_n. As further applications of unfoldings, we determine exactly when the group G is nondiscrete, and we prove that G acts strongly transitively on X.
We prove that, aside from the obvious exceptions, the mapping class group of a compact orientable surface is not abstractly commensurable with any right-angled Artin group. Our argument applies to various subgroups of the mapping class group---the subgroups generated by powers of Dehn twists and the terms of the Johnson filtration---and additionally to the outer automorphism group of a free group and to certain linear groups.
We show that the Aut-invariant word norm on right angled Artin and right angled Coxeter groups is unbounded (except in few special cases). To prove unboundedness we exhibit certain characteristic subgroups. This allows us to find unbounded quasimorphisms which are Lipschitz with respect to the Aut-invariant word norm.
We compute the BNS-invariant for the pure symmetric automorphism groups of right-angled Artin groups. We use this calculation to show that the pure symmetric automorphism group of a right-angled Artin group is itself not a right-angled Artin group provided that its defining graph contains a separating intersection of links.
It is an open question whether right-angled Coxeter groups have unique group-equivariant visual boundaries. Croke and Kleiner present a right-angled Artin group with more than one visual boundary. In this paper we present a right-angled Coxeter group with non-unique equivariant visual boundary. The main theorem is that if right-angled Coxeter groups act geometrically on a Croke-Kleiner spaces, then the local angles in those spaces all have to be right angles. We present a specific right-angled Coxeter group with non-unique equivariant visual boundary. However, we conjecture that the right an- …
We establish quasi-isometric rigidity for a class of right-angled Coxeter groups. Let $Γ_1,Γ_2$ be joins of finite generalized thick $m$-gons with $m\geq 3$. We show that the corresponding right-angled Coxeter groups are quasi-isometric if and only if $Γ_1,Γ_2$ are isomorphic. We also give a construction of commensurable right-angled Coxeter groups.
We prove that every subnormal subgroup of p-power index in a right-angled Artin group is conjugacy p-separable. As an application, we prove that every right-angled Artin group is conjugacy separable in the class of torsion-free nilpotent groups. As another application, we prove that the outer automorphism group of a right-angled Artin group is virtually residually p-finite. We also prove that the Torelli group of a right-angled group is residually torsion-free nilpotent, hence residually p-finite and bi-orderable.
In this article, we study the manifold structure and the relatively hyperbolic structure of right-angled Coxeter groups with planar nerves. We then apply our results to the quasi-isometry problem for this class of right-angled Coxeter groups.
We study the algebraic structure of the automorphism group of a general right-angled Artin group. We show that this group is virtually torsion-free and has finite virtual cohomological dimension. This generalizes results proved by the authors and John Crisp (arXiv:math/0610980) for two-dimensional right-angled Artin groups.
We show that right-angled Coxeter groups are relatively hyperbolic in the sense defined by Farb, relative to a natural collection of rank-2 parabolic subgroups.
We show that for each positive integer $k$ there exist right-angled Artin groups containing free-by-cyclic subgroups whose monodromy automorphisms grow as $n^k$. As a consequence we produce examples of right-angled Artin groups containing finitely presented subgroups whose Dehn functions grow as $n^{k+2}$.
In this note, we use some combinatorial modulus on the boundary of a right-angled hyperbolic building to control its conformal dimension. The lower bound obtained is optimal in the case of Fuchsian buildings.
A universal group is a subgroup of the group of type preserving automorphisms of a right-angled building and hence associated to this building. A question is then if this universal group can act chamber-transitively and with compact open stabilisers on a different right-angled building of the same type. We answer this question and define two universal groups associated to different right-angled buildings which are isomorphic as topological groups.
We place conditions on the presentation graph of a right-angled Artin group that guarantee the standard CAT(0) cube complex on which the group acts geometrically has non-path-connected boundary.
We show that a right-angled Artin group, defined by a graph $Γ$ that has at least three vertices, does not split over an infinite cyclic subgroup if and only if $Γ$ is biconnected. Further, we compute JSJ--decompositions of 1--ended right-angled Artin groups over infinite cyclic subgroups.
In this article, we prove that embeddings of right-angled Artin group $A_1$ on the complement of a linear forest into another right-angled Artin group $A_2$ can be reduced to full embeddings of the defining graph of $A_1$ into the extension graph of the defining graph of $A_2$.
We show that if a right-angled Artin group $A(Γ)$ has a non-trivial, minimal action on a tree $T$ which is not a line, then $Γ$ contains a separating subgraph $Λ$ such that $A(Λ)$ stabilizes an edge in $T$.
In this paper, we construct embeddings of right-angled Artin groups into higher dimensional Thompson groups. In particular, we embed every right-angled Artin groups into n-dimensional Thompson group, where n is the number of complementary edges in the defining graph.
Morgan and Culler proved that a minimal action of a free group on a tree is determined by its translation length function. We prove an analogue of this theorem for 2-dimensional right-angled Artin groups acting on CAT(0) rectangle complexes.
We show that any split extension of a right-angled Coxeter group $W_Γ$ by a generating automorphism of finite order acts faithfully and geometrically on a $\mathrm{CAT}(0)$ metric space.
We introduce the notion of city products of right-angled buildings that produces a new right-angled building out of smaller ones. More precisely, if $M$ is a right-angled Coxeter diagram of rank $n$ and $Δ_1,\dots,Δ_n$ are right-angled buildings, then we construct a new right-angled building $Δ:= \mathrm{cityproduct}_M(Δ_1,\dots,Δ_n)$. We can recover the buildings $Δ_1,\dots,Δ_n$ as residues of $Δ$, but we can also construct a skeletal building of type $M$ from $Δ$ that captures the large-scale geometry of $Δ$. We then proceed to study universal groups for city products of right-angled buildin…
We prove by explicit construction that graph braid groups and most surface groups can be embedded in a natural way in right-angled Artin groups, and we point out some consequences of these embedding results. We also show that every right-angled Artin group can be embedded in a pure surface braid group. On the other hand, by generalising to right-angled Artin groups a result of Lyndon for free groups, we show that the Euler characteristic -1 surface group (given by the relation x^2y^2=z^2) never embeds in a right-angled Artin group.
We introduce a homology theory for subspace arrangements, and use it to extract a new system of numerical invariants from the Bieri-Neumann-Strebel invariant of a group. We use these to characterize when the set of basis conjugating outer automorphisms (a.k.a. the pure symmetric outer automorphism group) of a right-angled Artin group is itself a right-angled Artin group.
Let G be a right-angled Artin group. We use geometric methods to compute a presentation of the subgroup H of Aut(G) consisting of the automorphisms that send each generator to a conjugate of itself. This generalizes a result of McCool on basis-conjugating automorphisms of free groups.
We define an operation on finite graphs, called co-contraction. By showing that co-contraction of a graph induces an injective map between right-angled Artin groups, we exhibit a family of graphs, without any induced cycle of length at least 5, such that the right-angled Artin groups on those graphs contain hyperbolic surface groups. This gives the negative answer to a question raised by Gordon, Long and Reid.
We show that certain right-angled Coxeter groups have finite index subgroups that quotient to $\mathbb Z$ with finitely generated kernels. The proof uses Bestvina-Brady Morse theory facilitated by combinatorial arguments. We describe a variety of examples where the plan succeeds or fails. Among the successful examples are the right-angled reflection groups in $\mathbb H^4$ with fundamental domain the $120$-cell or the $24$-cell.
This is a survey of some aspects of the large-scale geometry of right-angled Coxeter groups. The emphasis is on recent results on their negative curvature properties, boundaries, and their quasi-isometry and commensurability classification.
The present article continues the study of median groups initiated in [6, 9, 10]. Some classes of median groups are introduced and investigated with a stress upon the class of the so called A-groups which contains as remarkable subclasses the lattice ordered groups and the right-angled Artin groups. Some general results concerning A-groups are applied to a systematic study of the arboreal structure of right-angled Artin groups. Structure theorems for foldings, directions, quasidirections and centralizers are proved.
If $(W,S)$ is a right-angled Coxeter system and $W$ has no $\mathbb Z^3$ subgroups, then it is shown that the absence of an elementary separation property in the presentation diagram for $(W,S)$ implies all CAT(0) spaces acted on geometrically by $W$ have locally connected CAT(0) boundary. It was previously known that if the presentation diagram of a general right-angled Coxeter system satisfied the separation property then all CAT(0) spaces acted on geometrically by $W$ have non-locally connected boundary. In particular, this gives a complete classification of the right-angled Coxeter groups …
We prove that every finitely-generated right-angled Artin group can be embedded into some Brin-Thompson group $nV$. It follows that many other groups can be embedded into some $nV$ (e.g., any finite extension of any of Haglund and Wise's special groups), and that various decision problems involving subgroups of $nV$ are unsolvable.
In this paper, we prove that all finitely generated malnormal subgroups of one-ended right-angled Coxeter groups are strongly quasiconvex and they are in particular quasiconvex when the ambient groups are hyperbolic. The key idea is to prove all infinite proper malnormal subgroups of one-ended right-angled Coxeter groups are join-free and then prove the strong quasiconvexity and the virtual freeness of these subgroups. We also study the subgroup divergence of join-free subgroups in right-angled Coxeter groups and compare them with the analogous subgroups in right-angled Artin groups. We charac…
Let Γbe a non-cocompact lattice on a locally finite regular right-angled building X. We prove that if Γhas a strict fundamental domain then Γis not finitely generated. We use the separation properties of subcomplexes of X called tree-walls.
For any right-angled Artin group, we show that its outer automorphism group contains either a finite-index nilpotent subgroup or a nonabelian free subgroup. This is a weak Tits alternative theorem. We find a criterion on the defining graph that determines which case holds. We also consider some examples of solvable subgroups, including one that is not virtually nilpotent and is embedded in a non-obvious way.
Let $Γ$ be a simplicial, finite, connected graph such that $Γ$ does not decompose as a nontrivial join. We prove that two notions of strong quasiconvexity and stability are equivalent in the right-angled Artin group $A_Γ$ (except for the case of finite index subgroups). We also characterize non-trivial strongly quasiconvex subgroups of infinite index in $A_Γ$ (i.e. non-trivial stable subgroups in $A_Γ$) by quadratic lower relative divergence. These results strengthen the work of Koberda-Mangahas-Taylor on characterizing purely loxodromic subgroups of right-angled Artin groups.
Given a group $G$ and an automorphism $φ$ of $G$, two elements $x, y \in G$ are said to be $φ$-conjugate if $x = g y φ(g)^{-1}$ for some $g \in G$. The number of equivalence classes is the Reidemeister number $R(φ)$ of $φ$, and if $R(φ) = \infty$ for all automorphisms of $G$, then $G$ is said to have the $R_\infty$-property. A finite simple graph $Γ$ gives rise to the right-angled Artin group $A_Γ$, which has as generators the vertices of $Γ$ and as relations $vw = wv$ if and only if $v$ and $w$ are joined by an edge in $Γ$. We conjecture that all non-abelian right-angled Artin groups have the…
In 2000, M. Burger and S. Mozes introduced universal groups acting on trees with a prescribed local action. We generalize this concept to groups acting on right-angled buildings. When the right-angled building is thick and irreducible of rank at least 2 and each of the local permutation groups is transitive and generated by its point stabilizers, we show that the corresponding universal group is a simple group. When the building is locally finite, these universal groups are compactly generated totally disconnected locally compact groups, and we describe the structure of the maximal compact ope…
In this paper we study the classification of right-angled Artin groups up to commensurability. We characterise the commensurability classes of RAAGs defined by trees of diameter 4. In particular, we prove a conjecture of Behrstock and Neumann that there are infinitely many commensurability classes. Hence, we give first examples of RAAGs that are quasi-isometric but not commensurable.
We give a description of Duchamp and Krob's extension of Magnus' approach to the lower central series of the free group to right-angled Artin groups. We also describe how Lalonde's extension of Lyndon words to the partially-commutative settings gives a simple algorithm to find a basis for consecutive quotients of the lower central series of a RAAG.
We generalize the peak-reduction algorithm (Whitehead's theorem) for free groups to a theorem about a general right-angled Artin group A_Gamma. As an application, we find a finite presentation for the automorphism group Aut A_Gamma that generalizes McCool's presentation for the automorphism group of a finite rank free group. We also give consider a stronger generalization of peak-reduction, giving a counterexample and proving a special case.
We show that non-abelian two-generator subgroups of right-angled Artin groups are quasi-isometrically embedded free groups. This provides an alternate proof of a theorem of A. Baudisch: that all two-generator subgroups are free or free abelian. Additionally, it shows that they are quasi-isometrically embedded. Our theorem also gives a method for detecting groups that are not isomorphic to a subgroup of any RAAG. We present some counterexamples in subgroups with more than two generators.
We prove that finite index subgroups of right angled Artin groups are conjugacy separable. We then apply this result to establish various properties of other classes of groups. In particular, we show that any word hyperbolic Coxeter group contains a conjugacy separable subgroup of finite index and has a residually finite outer automorphism group. Another consequence of the main result is that Bestvina-Brady groups are conjugacy separable and have solvable conjugacy problem.
Let X be a right-angled building. We show that the lattices in Aut(X) share many properties with tree lattices. For example, we characterise the set of covolumes of uniform and of nonuniform lattices in Aut(X), and show that the group Aut(X) admits an infinite ascending tower of uniform and of nonuniform lattices. These results are proved by constructing a functor from graphs of groups to complexes of groups.
Let F be a finite field. We prove that the cohomology algebra with coefficients in F of a right-angled Artin group is a strongly Koszul algebra for every finite graph $Γ$. Moreover, the same algebra is a universally Koszul algebra if, and only if, the graph $Γ$ associated to the right-angled Artin group has the diagonal property. From this we obtain several new examples of pro-p groups, for a prime number p, whose continuous cochain cohomology algebra with coefficients in the field of p elements is strongly and universally (or strongly and non-universally) Koszul. This provides new support to …
We show that the group of type-preserving automorphisms of any irreducible semi-regular thick right-angled building is abstractly simple. When the building is locally finite, this gives a large family of compactly generated (abstractly) simple locally compact groups. Specializing to appropriate cases, we obtain examples of such simple groups that are locally indecomposable, but have locally normal subgroups decomposing non-trivially as direct products.
We compute the $p$-central and exponent-$p$ series of all right angled Artin groups, and compute the dimensions of their subquotients. We also describe their associated Lie algebras, and relate them to the cohomology ring of the group as well as to a partially commuting polynomial ring and power series ring. We finally show how the growth series of these various objects are related to each other.
We show that every right-angled Artin group AG defined by a graph G of finite chromatic number is poly-free with poly-free length bounded between the clique number and the chromatic number of G. Further, a characterization of all right-angled Artin groups of poly-free length 2 is given, namely the group AG has poly-free length 2 if and only if there exists an independent set of vertices D in G such that every cycle in G meets D at least twice. Finally, it is shown that AG is a semidirect product of 2 free groups of finite rank if and only if G is a finite tree or a finite complete bipartite gr…
