(1) New Theorem 1.1 generalizes earlier main theorems.(2) New version incorporates content of arXiv:2007.11440 (3) Latest version has small corrections. To appear in J. Eur. Math. Soc
We show that for Chevalley groups G(R) of rank at least 2 over a ring R the root subgroups are essentially (nearly always) the double centralizers of corresponding root elements. In very many cases this implies that R and G(R) are bi-interpretable, yielding a new approach to bi-interpretability for algebraic groups over a wide range of rings and fields. For such groups it then follows that the group G(R) is finitely axiomatizable in the appropriate class of groups provided R is finitely axiomatizable in the corresponding class of rings.
Finitely generated (non-abelian) free metabelian pro-p groups, and wreath products of f.g. free abelian pro-p groups, are all finitely axiomatizable in the class of all profinite groups.
A group is $\textit{finitely axiomatizable}$ (FA) in a class $\mathcal{C}$ if it can be determined up to isomorphism within $\mathcal{C}$ by a sentence in the first-order language of group theory. We show that profinite groups of various kinds are FA in the class of profinite groups. Reasons why certain groups cannot be FA are also discussed.
A soluble pro-p group of finite rank is finitely axiomatizable in the class of all profinite groups if and only if for each open subgroup H, the image of Z(H) in the abelianization of H is finite, subject to some suitable hypothesis of finite presentability.
We describe a set of defining relations for automorphism groups of finitely generated free algebras of Nielsen-Schreier varieties. In particular, this gives a representation of the automorphism groups of free Lie algebras by generators and defining relations.
For all sufficiently large odd integers $n$, the following version of Higman's embedding theorem is proved in the variety ${\cal B}_n$ of all groups satisfying the identity $x^n=1$. A finitely generated group $G$ from ${\cal B}_n$ has a presentation $G=\langle A\mid R\rangle$ with a finite set of generators $A$ and a recursively enumerable set $R$ of defining relations if and only if it is a subgroup of a group $H$ finitely presented in the variety ${\cal B}_n$. It follows that there is a 'universal' $2$-generated finitely presented in ${\cal B}_n$ group containing isomorphic copies of all fin…
We define and study the class of positively finitely related (PFR) profinite groups. Positive finite relatedness is a probabilistic property of profinite groups which provides a first step to defining higher finiteness properties of profinite groups which generalize the positively finitely generated groups introduced by Avinoam Mann. We prove many asymptotic characterisations of PFR groups, for instance we show the following: a finitely presented profinite group is PFR if and only if it has at most exponential representation growth, uniformly over finite fields (in other words: the completed g…
We show that there is no algorithm deciding whether the maximal residually free quotient of a given finitely presented group is finitely presentable or not. Given a finitely generated subgroup G of a finite product of limit groups, we discuss the possibility of finding an explicit set of defining equations (i.e. of expressing G as the maximal residually free quotient of an explicit finitely presented group).
We use a constructive method to obtain all but finitely many p-local representation zeta functions of a family Mn of finitely generated nilpotent groups with maximal nilpotency class. For representation dimensions coprime to all primes p < n, we construct all irreducible representations of Mn by defining a standard form for the matrices of these representations and, after taking into account twisting and isomorphism, count these twist isoclasses to obtain our p-local zeta functions.
For an arbitrary countable group G = <A|R> given by its generators A and defining relations R we discuss a specific method for embedding of G into a certain 2-generator group T. Our embedding explicitly lists the images of generators from A in the group T, and from the relations R it explicitly deduces defining relations for T inheriting certain special features from R. The obtained method can be used in constructions of explicit embeddings of recursive groups into finitely presented groups.
In 2003 Bieri and Geoghegan generalized the Bieri-Neuman-Strebel invariant $Σ^1$ by defining $Σ^1(ρ)$, $ρ$ an isometric action by a finitely generated group $G$ on a proper CAT(0) space $M$. In this paper, we show how the natural and well-known connection between Bass-Serre theory and covering space theory provides a framework for the calculation of $Σ^1(ρ)$ when $ρ$ is a cocompact action by $G = B \rtimes A$, $A$ a finitely generated group, on a locally finite Bass-Serre tree $T$ for $A$. This framework leads to a theorem providing conditions for including an endpoint in, or excluding an endp…
Suppose that G is a finitely generated group and W is the formal language of words defining the identity in G. We prove that if G is a nilpotent group, the fundamental group of a finite volume hyperbolic three-manifold, or a right-angled Artin group whose graph lies in a certain infinite class, then W is not a multiple context free language.
We study density of parabolic elements in a finitely generated relatively hyperbolic group $G$ with respect to a word metric. We prove this density to be zero (apart from degenerate cases) and the limit defining the density to converge exponentially fast; this has recently been proven independently by W. Yang. As a corollary, we obtain the analogous result for the set of commuting pairs of elements in $G^2$, showing that the degree of commutativity of $G$ is equal to zero.
Let $VB_n$, resp. $WB_n$ denote the virtual, resp. welded, braid group on $n$ strands. We study their commutator subgroups $VB_n' = [VB_n, VB_n]$ and, $WB_n' = [WB_n, WB_n]$ respectively. We obtain a set of generators and defining relations for these commutator subgroups. In particular, we prove that $VB_n'$ is finitely generated if and only if $n \geq 4$, and $WB_n'$ is finitely generated for $n \geq 3$. Also we prove that $VB_3'/VB_3'' =\mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus\mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}^{\infty}$, $VB_4' / VB_4'' = \mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}_3 \oplus \mathbb{Z}_3$, $WB…
We study the automorphism groups of free-by-cyclic groups and show these are finitely generated in the following cases: (i) when defining automorphism has linear growth and (ii) when the rank of the underlying free group has rank at most 3. The techniques we use are actions on trees, including the trees of cylinders due to Guirardel and Levitt, the relative hyperbolicity of free-by-cyclic groups (due to Gautero and Lustig, Ghosh, and Dahmani and Li) and the filtration of the automorphisms of a group preserving a tree, following Bass and Jiang, and Levitt. Our general strategy is to produce an …
The main theme of this paper is higher virtual algebraic fibering properties of right-angled Coxeter groups (RACGs), with a special focus on those whose defining flag complex is a finite building. We prove for particular classes of finite buildings that their random induced subcomplexes have a number of strong properties, most prominently that they are highly connected. From this we are able to deduce that the commutator subgroup of a RACG, with defining flag complex a finite building of a certain type, admits an epimorphism to $\mathbb{Z}$ whose kernel has strong topological finiteness proper…
For a finitely presented group, the word problem asks for an algorithm which declares whether or not words on the generators represent the identity. The Dehn function is a complexity measure of a direct attack on the word problem by applying the defining relations. Dison & Riley showed that a "hydra phenomenon" gives rise to novel groups with extremely fast growing (Ackermannian) Dehn functions. Here we show that nevertheless, there are efficient (polynomial time) solutions to the word problems of these groups. Our main innovation is a means of computing efficiently with enormous integers whic…
We use the interplay between combinatorial and coarse geometric versions of negative curvature to investigate the geometry of infinitely presented graphical $Gr'(1/6)$ small cancellation groups. In particular, we characterize their 'contracting geodesics', which should be thought of as the geodesics that behave hyperbolically. We show that every degree of contraction can be achieved by a geodesic in a finitely generated group. We construct the first example of a finitely generated group $G$ containing an element $g$ that is strongly contracting with respect to one finite generating set of $G$ …
