For a finitely generated group $G$ and collection of subgroups $\mathcal{P}$ we prove that the relative Dehn function of a pair $(G,\mathcal{P})$ is invariant under quasi-isometry of pairs. Along the way we show quasi-isometries of pairs preserve almost malnormality of the collection and fineness of the associated coned off Cayley graphs. We also prove that for a cocompact simply connected combinatorial $G$-$2$-complex $X$ with finite edge stabilisers, the combinatorial Dehn function is well-defined if and only if the $1$-skeleton of $X$ is fine.
We also show that if $H$ is a hyperbolically embedded subgroup of a finitely presented group $G$, then the relative Dehn function of the pair $(G, H)$ is well-defined. In the appendix, it is shown that show that the Baumslag-Solitar group $\mathrm{BS}(k,l)$ has a well-defined Dehn function with respect to the cyclic subgroup generated by the stable letter if and only if neither $k$ divides $l$ nor $l$ divides $k$.
We prove that commensurizers of two-ended subgroups with at least three coends in one-ended, finitely presented groups are invariant under quasi-isometries. We discuss a variety of applications of this result.
We say that a group has property $R_{\infty}$ if any group automorphism has an infinite number of twisted conjugacy classes. Fel'shtyn and Goncalves prove that the solvable Baumslag-Solitar groups BS(1,m) have property $R_{\infty}$. We define a solvable generalization $Γ(S)$ of these groups which we show to have property $R_{\infty}$. We then show that property $R_{\infty}$ is geometric for these groups, that is, any group quasi-isometric to $Γ(S)$ has property $R_{\infty}$ as well.
We compare several topologies on the Morse boundary $\partial_M Y$ of a $\mathrm{CAT(0)}$ cube complex $Y$. In particular, we show that the two topologies introduced by Cashen and Mackay are not equal in general and provide a new description of one of them in the language of cube complexes. As a corollary, we obtain a new approach to tackle the question whether the visual topology induces a quasi-isometry-invariant topology on the Morse boundary. This leads to an obstruction to quasi-isometry-invariance in terms of the behaviour of geodesics under quasi-isometries.
We show that if $G$ is a group of type $FP_{n+1}^{\mathbb{Z}_2}$ that is coarsely separated into three essential, coarse disjoint, coarse complementary components by a coarse $PD_n^{\mathbb{Z}_2}$ space $W,$ then $W$ is at finite Hausdorff distance from a subgroup $H$ of $G$; moreover, $G$ splits over a subgroup commensurable to a subgroup of $H$. We use this to deduce that splittings of the form $G=A*_HB$, where $G$ is of type $FP_{n+1}^{\mathbb{Z}_2}$ and $H$ is a coarse $PD_n^{\mathbb{Z}_2}$ group such that both $|\mathrm{Comm}_A(H): H|$ and $|\mathrm{Comm}_B(H): H|$ are greater than two, a…
Intrinsic tame filling functions are quasi-isometry invariants that are refinements of the intrinsic diameter function of a group. The main purpose of this paper is to show that every finite presentation of a group has an intrinsic tame filling function that is equivalent to its intrinsic diameter function. We also introduce some alternative filling functions--based on concepts similar to those used to define intrinsic tame filling functions--that are potential proper refinements of the intrinsic diameter function.
In this paper it is proved that relative hyperbolicity is an invariant of quasi-isometry. As a byproduct of the arguments, simplified definitions of relative hyperbolicity are obtained. In particular we obtain a new definition very similar to the one of hyperbolicity, relying on the existence for every quasi-geodesic triangle of a central left coset of peripheral subgroup.
A new pair of asymptotic invariants for finitely presented groups, called intrinsic and extrinsic tame filling functions, are introduced. These filling functions are quasi-isometry invariants that strengthen the notions of intrinsic and extrinsic diameter functions for finitely presented groups. We show that the existence of a (finite-valued) tame filling function implies that the group is tame combable. Bounds on both intrinsic and extrinsic tame filling functions are discussed for stackable groups, including groups with a finite complete rewriting system, Thompson's group F, and almost conve…
Building upon work of Y. Shalom we give a homological-algebra flavored definition of an induction map in group homology associated to a topological coupling. As an application we obtain estimates of the (co)homological dimension of groups G and H, where G embeds uniformly into H and the (co)homological dimension of G is finite. Another consequence of our results is that the Hirsch ranks of quasi-isometric solvable groups coincide. Further, it is shown that the real cohomology rings of quasi-isometric nilpotent groups are isomorphic as graded rings. On the analytic side, we apply the induction …
We demonstrate the quasi-isometry invariance of two important geometric structures for relatively hyperbolic groups: the coned space and the cusped space. As applications, we produce a JSJ-decomposition for relatively hyperbolic groups which is invariant under quasi-isometries and outer automorphisms, as well as a related splitting of the quasi-isometry groups of relatively hyperbolic groups.
We build a bridge between geometric group theory and topological dynamical systems by establishing a dictionary between coarse equivalence and continuous orbit equivalence. As an application, we give conceptual explanations for previous results of Shalom and Sauer on coarse invariance of homological and cohomological dimensions and Shalom's property $H_{FD}$. As another application, we show that group homology and cohomology in a class of coefficients, including all induced and co-induced modules, are coarse invariants. We deduce that being of type $FP_n$ (over arbitrary rings) is a coarse inv…
We introduce a combinatorial property for finitely generated groups called stackable that implies the existence of an inductive procedure for constructing van Kampen diagrams with respect to a canonical finite presentation. We also define algorithmically stackable groups, for which this procedure is an effective algorithm. This property gives a common model for algorithms arising from both rewriting systems and almost convexity for groups. We also introduce a new pair of asymptotic invariants that are filling inequalities refining the notions of intrinsic and extrinsic diameter inequalities fo…
We construct "pushing maps" on the cube complexes that model right-angled Artin groups (RAAGs) in order to study filling problems in certain subsets of these cube complexes. We use radial pushing to obtain upper bounds on higher divergence functions, finding that the k-dimensional divergence of a RAAG is bounded by r^{2k+2}. These divergence functions, previously defined for Hadamard manifolds to measure isoperimetric properties "at infinity," are defined here as a family of quasi-isometry invariants of groups; thus, these results give new information about the QI classification of RAAGs. By p…
We prove that if a right-angled Artin group $A_Γ$ is abstractly commensurable to a group splitting non-trivially as an amalgam or HNN-extension over $\mathbb{Z}^n$, then $A_Γ$ must itself split non-trivially over $\mathbb{Z}^k$ for some $k\le n$. Consequently, if two right-angled Artin groups $A_Γ$ and $A_Δ$ are commensurable and $Γ$ has no separating $k$-cliques for any $k\le n$ then neither does $Δ$, so "smallest size of separating clique" is a commensurability invariant. We also discuss some implications for issues of quasi-isometry. Using similar methods we also prove that for $n\ge 4$ the…
We describe the structure of quasiflats in two-dimensio\-nal Artin groups. We rely on the notion of metric systolicity developed in our previous work. Using this weak form of non-positive curvature and analyzing in details the combinatorics of tilings of the plane we describe precisely the building blocks for quasiflats in all two-dimensional Artin groups -- atomic sectors. This allows us to provide useful quasi-isometry invariants for such groups -- completions of atomic sectors, stable lines, and the intersection pattern of certain abelian subgroups. These are described combinatorially, in t…
We prove foundational results for homological Dehn functions of groups of type $FP_2$ such as superadditivity and the invariance under quasi-isometry. We then study the homological Dehn functions of Leary's groups $G_L(S)$ providing methods to obtain uncountably many groups with a given homological Dehn function. This allows us to show that there exist groups of type $FP_2$ with quartic homological Dehn function and unsolvable word problem.
Given a space $Y$ in $X$, a cycle in $Y$ may be filled with a chain in two ways: either by restricting the chain to $Y$ or by allowing it to be anywhere in $X$. When the pair $(G,H)$ acts on $(X, Y)$, we define the $k$-volume distortion function of $H$ in $G$ to measure the large-scale difference between the volumes of such fillings. We show that these functions are quasi-isometry invariants, and thus independent of the choice of spaces, and provide several bounds in terms of other group properties, such as Dehn functions. We also compute the volume distortion in a number of examples, includin…
Let $X=S\times E \times B$ be the metric product of a symmetric space $S$ of noncompact type, a Euclidean space $E$ and a product $B$ of Euclidean buildings. Let $Γ$ be a discrete group acting isometrically and cocompactly on $X$. We determine a family of quasi-isometry invariants for such $Γ$, namely the $k$-dimensional Dehn functions, which measure the difficulty to fill $k$-spheres by $(k+1)$-balls (for $1\leq k\leq \dim\ X-1$). Since the group $Γ$ is quasi-isometric to the associated CAT(0) space $X$, assertions about Dehn functions for $Γ$ are equivalent tothe corresponding results on fil…
The Dehn function measures the area of minimal discs that fill closed curves in a space; it is an important invariant in analysis, geometry, and geometric group theory. There are several equivalent ways to define the Dehn function, varying according to the type of disc used. In this paper, we introduce a new definition of the Dehn function and use it to prove several theorems. First, we generalize the quasi-isometry invariance of the Dehn function to a broad class of spaces. Second, we prove Hölder extension properties for spaces with quadratic Dehn function and their asymptotic cones. Finally…
We introduce a concept of tree-graded metric space and we use it to show quasi-isometry invariance of certain classes of relatively hyperbolic groups, to obtain a characterization of relatively hyperbolic groups in terms of their asymptotic cones, to find geometric properties of Cayley graphs of relatively hyperbolic groups, and to construct the first example of finitely generated group with a continuum of non-$π_1$-equivalent asymptotic cones. Note that by a result of Kramer, Shelah, Tent and Thomas, continuum is the maximal possible number of different asymptotic cones of a finitely generate…
