Let $T$ be an $\mathbb{R}$-tree, equipped with a very small action of the rank $n$ free group $F_n$, and let $H \leq F_n$ be finitely generated. We consider the case where the action $F_n \curvearrowright T$ is indecomposable--this is a strong mixing property introduced by Guirardel. In this case, we show that the action of $H$ on its minimal invarinat subtree $T_H$ has dense orbits if and only if $H$ is finite index in $F_n$. There is an interesting application to dual algebraic laminations; we show that for $T$ free and indecomposable and for $H \leq F_n$ finitely generated, $H$ carries a leaf of the dual lamination of $T$ if and only if $H$ is finite index in $F_n$. This generalizes a result of Bestvina-Feighn-Handel regarding stable trees of fully irreducible automorphisms.
We prove that a "random" free group outer automorphism is an ageometric fully irreducible outer automorphism whose ideal Whitehead graph is a union of triangles. In particular, we show that its attracting (and repelling) tree is a nongeometric $\mathbb R$-tree all of whose branch points are trivalent
We prove that for the harmonic measure associated to a random walk on Out$(F_r)$ satisfying some mild conditions, a typical tree in the boundary of Outer space is trivalent and nongeometric. This answers a question of M. Bestvina.
We define a new compactification of outer space $CV_N$ (the \emph{Pacman compactification}) which is an absolute retract, for which the boundary is a $Z$-set. The classical compactification $\overline{CV_N}$ made of very small $F_N$-actions on $\mathbb{R}$-trees, however, fails to be locally $4$-connected as soon as $N\ge 4$. The Pacman compactification is a blow-up of $\overline{CV_N}$, obtained by assigning an orientation to every arc with nontrivial stabilizer in the trees.
Let $G$ be a countable group that splits as a free product of groups of the form $G=G_1\ast\dots\ast G_k\ast F_N$, where $F_N$ is a finitely generated free group. We identify the closure of the outer space $P\mathcal{O}(G,\{G_1,\dots,G_k\})$ for the axes topology with the space of projective minimal, \emph{very small} $(G,\{G_1,\dots,G_k\})$-trees, i.e. trees whose arc stabilizers are either trivial, or cyclic, closed under taking roots, and not conjugate into any of the $G_i$'s, and whose tripod stabilizers are trivial. Its topological dimension is equal to $3N+2k-4$, and the boundary has dim…
Let $ϕ$ be an atoroidal outer automorphism of the free group $F_n$. We study the Gromov boundary of the hyperbolic group $G_ϕ = F_n \rtimes_ϕ \mathbb{Z}$. We explicitly describe a family of embeddings of the complete bipartite graph $K_{3,3}$ into $\partial G_ϕ$. To do so, we define the directional Whitehead graph and prove that an indecomposable $F_n$-tree is Levitt type if and only if one of its directional Whitehead graphs contains more than one edge. As an application, we obtain a direct proof of Kapovich-Kleiner's theorem that $\partial G_ϕ$ is homeomorphic to the Menger curve if the auto…
Let $k$ be a field and let $Λ$ be an indecomposable finite dimensional $k$-algebra such that there is a stable equivalence of Morita type between $Λ$ and a self-injective split basic Nakayama algebra over $k$. We show that every indecomposable finitely generated $Λ$-module $V$ has a universal deformation ring $R(Λ,V)$ and we describe $R(Λ,V)$ explicitly as a quotient ring of a power series ring over $k$ in finitely many variables. This result applies in particular to Brauer tree algebras, and hence to $p$-modular blocks of finite groups with cyclic defect groups.
This work is the first step towards a description of the Gromov boundary of the free factor graph of a free product, with applications to subgroup classification for outer automorphisms. We extend the theory of algebraic laminations dual to trees, as developed by Coulbois, Hilion, Lustig and Reynolds, to the context of free products; this also gives us an opportunity to give a unified account of this theory. We first show that any $\mathbb{R}$-tree with dense orbits in the boundary of the corresponding outer space can be reconstructed as a quotient of the boundary of the group by its dual lami…
We develop the theory of a metric completion of an asymmetric metric space. We characterize the points on the boundary of Outer Space that are in the metric completion of Outer Space with the Lipschitz metric. We prove that the simplicial completion, the subset of the completion consisting of simplicial tree actions, is homeomorphic to the free splitting complex. We use this to give a new proof of a theorem by Francaviglia and Martino that the isometry group of Outer Space is homeomorphic to $\text{Out}(F_n)$ for $n \geq 3$ and equal to $\text{PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$ for $n=2$.
