We give a condition sufficient to ensure that an amalgam of groups is generalized torsion-free. As applications, we construct a closed 3-manifold whose fundamental group is generalized torsion-free and non bi-orderable; a one-relator group which is generalized torsion-free and non bi-orderable; and a group which is generalized torsion-free and non left-orderable.
We give explicit necessary and sufficient conditions for the abstract commensurability of certain families of 1-ended, hyperbolic groups, namely right-angled Coxeter groups defined by generalized theta-graphs and cycles of generalized theta-graphs, and geometric amalgams of free groups whose JSJ graphs are trees of diameter at most 4. We also show that if a geometric amalgam of free groups has JSJ graph a tree, then it is commensurable to a right-angled Coxeter group, and give an example of a geometric amalgam of free groups which is not quasi-isometric (hence not commensurable) to any group w…
Geometric methods proposed by Stallings for treating finitely generated subgroups of free groups were successfully used to solve a wide collection of decision problems for free groups and their subgroups. It turns out that Stallings' methods can be effectively generalized for the class of amalgams of finite groups. In the present paper we employ subgroup graphs constructed by the generalized Stallings' folding algorithm to solve various algorithmic problems in amalgams of finite groups.
We construct a generalized version for the free product of unital C*-algebras over a family of unital C*-subalgebras, starting from the group-analogue. When all the subalgebras are the same, we recover the free product with amalgamation over a common subalgebra. We reduce the problem to the study of minimal amalgams. We specialize to triangles of algebras and subalgebras, study freeness in this context, and give some examples of constructions of minimal amalgams derived from triangles of operator algebras.
We investigate which free constructions (amalgamated products and HNN-extensions) over word hyperbolic groups produce groups that are again word hyperbolic. A complete answer is obtained for the case when the amalgamated subgroups are virtually cyclic. The results are applied, in particular, to show that a ${\bf Q}$-completion of a torsion-free hyperbolic group has solvable word problem and conjugacy problem.
Geometric methods proposed by Stallings for treating finitely generated subgroups of free groups were successfully used to solve a wide collection of decision problems for free groups and their subgroups. In the present paper we employ the generalized Stallings' methods, developed by the author, to solve various algorithmic problems concerning finitely generated subgroups of amalgams of finite groups.
Let $Γ$ be a one-ended, torsion-free hyperbolic group and let $G$ be a semisimple Lie group with finite center. Using the canonical JSJ splitting due to Sela, we define amalgam Anosov representations of $Γ$ into $G$ and prove that they form a domain of discontinuity for the action of $\mathrm{Out}(Γ)$. In the appendix, we prove, using projective Anosov Schottky groups, that if the restriction of the representation to every Fuchsian or rigid vertex group of the JSJ splitting of $Γ$ is Anosov, with respect to a fixed pair of opposite parabolic subgroups, then $ρ$ is amalgam Anosov.
We give an explicit construction of a maximal torsion-free finite-index subgroup of a certain type of Coxeter group. The subgroup is constructed as the fundamental group of a finite and non-positively curved polygonal complex. First we consider the special case where the universal cover of this polygonal complex is a hyperbolic building, and we construct finite-index embeddings of the fundamental group into certain cocompact lattices of the building. We show that in this special case the fundamental group is an amalgam of surface groups over free groups. We then consider the general case, and …
We exhibit the first examples of residually finite non-linear Gromov hyperbolic groups. Our examples are constructed as amalgamated products of torsion-free cocompact lattices in the rank 1 Lie group $\mathrm{Sp}(d,1)$, $d\geq 2$ along maximal cyclic subgroups.
Root-class residuality of free product of root-class residual groups is demonstrated. A sufficient condition for root-class residuality of generalized free product $G$ of groups $A$ and $B$ amalgamating subgroups $H$ and $K$ through the isomorphism $ϕ$ is derived. For the particular case when $A=B$, $H=K$ and $ϕ$ is the identity mapping, it is shown that group $G$ is root-class residual if and only if $A$ is root-class residual and subgroup $H$ of $A$ is root-class closed. These results are extended to generalized free product of infinitely many groups amalgamating a common subgroup.
Sela proved every torsion-free one-ended hyperbolic group is coHopfian. We prove that there exist torsion-free one-ended hyperbolic groups that are not commensurably coHopfian. In particular, we show that the fundamental group of every simple surface amalgam is not commensurably coHopfian.
In [BB] Benjamin Baumslag proved that being fully residually free is equivalent to being residually free and commutative transitive (CT). Gaglione and Spellman [GS] and Remeslennikov [Re] showed that this is also equivalent to being universally free, that is, having the same universal theory as the class of nonabelian free groups. This result is one of the cornerstones of the proof of the Tarksi problems. In this paper we extend the class of groups for which Benjamin Baumslag's theorem is true, that is we consider classes of groups $\X$ for which being fully residually $\X$ is equivalent to be…
It is proved that all finitely generated subgroups of generalized free product of two groups are finitely separable provided that free factors have this property and amalgamated subgroups are normal in corresponding factors and satisfy the maximum condition for subgroups.
We construct nonlinear hyperbolic groups which are large, torsion-free, one-ended, and admit a finite $K(π,1)$. Our examples are built from superrigid cocompact rank one lattices via amalgamated free products and HNN extensions.
We construct the type-preserving panel-regular lattices in buildings of type M, for M with entries two, three or infinity, which have cyclic stabilizers of spherical 2-residues. We obtain these lattices as fundamental groups of their associated quotient buildings, which are constructed by amalgamating quotients of generalized digons and triangles by actions of Singer cyclic groups. Each quotient construction has an associated gluing matrix which encodes how the quotient generalized polygons are amalgamated. We show that these gluing matrices also encode presentations of the panel-regular latti…
We define Euler characteristics on classes of residually finite and virtually torsion free groups and we show that they satisfy certain formulas in the case of amalgamated free products and HNN extensions over finite subgroups. These forumlas are obtained from a general result which applies to the rank gradient and the first $L^2$-Betti number of a finitely generated group.
We prove that every finitely generated group $G$ discriminated by a locally quasi-convex torsion-free hyperbolic group $Γ$ is effectively coherent: that is, presentations for finitely generated subgroups can be computed from the subgroup generators. We study $G$ via its embedding into an iterated centralizer extension of $Γ$, and prove that this embedding can be computed. We also give algorithms to enumerate all finitely generated groups discriminated by $Γ$ and to decide whether a given group, with decidable word problem, is discriminated by $Γ$. If $Γ$ may have torsion, we prove that groups …
A nontrivial element in a group is a generalized torsion element if some nonempty finite product of its conjugates is the identity. We prove that any generalized torsion element in a free product of torsion-free groups is conjugate to a generalized torsion element in some factor group. This implies that the fundamental group of a compact orientable $3$-manifold $M$ has a generalized torsion element if and only if the fundamental group of some prime factor of $M$ has a generalized torsion element. On the other hand, we demonstrate that there are infinitely many toroidal $3$-manifolds whose fund…
A group $G$ is said to be a {\it CSA}-group if all maximal abelian subgroups of $G$ are malnormal. The class of CSA groups is of interest because it contains torsion-free hyperbolic groups, groups acting freely on $Λ$-trees and groups with the same existential theory as free groups. CSA groups are also very closely related to the study of residually free groups and tensor completions. In this paper we investigate which free constructions (amalgamated products and HNN extensions) over CSA groups are again CSA. The results are applied, in particular, to show that a torsion-free one-relator group…
It is well known that any knot group is torsion-free, but it may admit a generalized torsion element. We show that the knot group of any negative twist knot admits a generalized torsion element. This is a generalization of the same claim for the knot $5_2$, which is the $(-2)$-twist knot, by Naylor and Rolfsen.
In a group, a non-trivial element is called a generalized torsion element if some non-empty finite product of its conjugates equals to the identity. We say that a knot has generalized torsion if its knot group admits such an element. For a (2, 2q+1)-torus knot K, we demonstrate that there are infinitely many unknots c such that p-twisting K about c yields a twist family, which consists of hyperbolic knots with generalized torsion whenever |p| > 3. This gives a new infinite class of hyperbolic knots having generalized torsion. In particular, each class contains knots with arbitrarily high genus…
A generalized torsion element is a non-trivial element such that some non-empty finite product of its conjugates is the identity. We construct a generalized torsion element of the fundamental group of a 3-manifold obtained by Dehn surgery along a knot in the 3-sphere.
A right-angled Coxeter group is a group with a given set of generators of order two, subject only to the relations that certain pairs of the generators commute. Various papers have shown how homological properties of the Coxeter group are related to homological properties of the simplicial complex whose simplices are the sets of commuting generators. Using these techniques, we construct torsion-free groups which are Poincare duality groups over some rings but not over others, and a group whose integral cohomological dimension is finite but strictly greater than its cohomological dimension over…
The celebrated Stallings' decomposition theorem states that the splitting of a finite index subgroup $H$ of a finitely generated group $G$ as an amalgamated free product or an HNN-extension over a finite group implies the same for $G$. We generalize the pro-$p$ version of it proved by Weigel and the second author to splittings over infinite pro-$p$ groups. This generalization does not have any abstract analogs. We also prove that generalized accessibility of finitely generated pro-$p$ groups is closed for commensurability.
Free products of two residually finite groups with amalgamated retracts are considered. It is proved that a cyclic subgroup of such a group is not finitely separable if, and only if, it is conjugated with a subgroup of a free factor which is not finitely separable in this factor. A similar result is obtained for the case of separability in the class of finite p-groups.
It is known that a bi-orderable group has no generalized torsion element, but the converse does not hold in general. We conjecture that the converse holds for the fundamental groups of 3-manifolds, and verify the conjecture for non-hyperbolic, geometric 3-manifolds. We also confirm the conjecture for some infinite families of closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds. In the course of the proof, we prove that each standard generator of the Fibonacci group F(2,m) (m>2) is a generalized torsion element.
Let $G$ be a group and $g$ a non-trivial element in $G$. If some non-empty finite product of conjugates of $g$ equals to the trivial element, then $g$ is called a generalized torsion element. To the best of our knowledge, we have no hyperbolic $3$--manifold groups with generalized torsion elements whose rank is explicitly known to be greater than two. The aim of this short note is to demonstrate that for a given integer $n > 1$ there are infinitely many closed hyperbolic $3$--manifolds $M_n$ which enjoy the property: (i) the Heegaard genus of $M_n$ is $n$, (ii) the rank of the fundamental grou…
We show that for many classical knots one can find generalized torsion in the fundamental group of its complement, commonly called the knot group. It follows that such a group is not bi-orderable. Examples include all torus knots, the (hyperbolic) knot $5_2$ and satellites of these knots.
We introduce structures which model quotients of buildings by type-preserving group actions. These structures, which we call W-groupoids for W a Coxeter group, generalize Bruhat decompositions, chambers systems of type M, Tits amalgams, and buildings themselves. We define the fundamental group of a W-groupoid, and characterize buildings as connected simply connected W-groupoids. We give a brief outline of covering theory of W-groupoids, which produces buildings as universal covers equipped with an action of the fundamental group. The local-to-global theorem of Tits concerning spherical 3-resid…
Let $G$ be a group. If an equation $x^n = y^n$ in $G$ implies $x = y$ for any elements $x$ and $y$, then $G$ is called an $R$--group. It is completely understood which knot groups are $R$--groups. Fay and Walls introduced $\bar{R}$--group in which the normalizer and the centralizer of an isolator of $\langle x \rangle$ coincide for any non-trivial element $x$. It is known that $\bar{R}$--groups and $R$--groups share many interesting properties and $\bar{R}$--groups are necessarily $R$--groups. However, in general, the converse does not hold. We will prove that these classes are the same for kn…
For K a local field, it is shown that SL3(K) acts on a simply connected two dimensional simplicial complex in which a single face serves as a fundamental domain. From this it follows that SL3(K) is the generalized amalgamated product of three subgroups. Specifically if K is the field of fractions of the discrete valuation ring O, then SL3(K) is the amalgamation of three subgroups isomorphic to SL3(O) along pairwise intersections. This generalizes a theorem of Ihara, which gives the structure of SL2(K) as the amalgamated product of two groups in analogous fashion.
We show that, given a finitely generated group $G$ as the coordinate group of a finite system of equations over a torsion-free hyperbolic group $Γ$, there is an algorithm which constructs a cover of a canonical solution diagram. The diagram encodes all homomorphisms from $G$ to $Γ$ as compositions of factorizations through $Γ$-NTQ groups and canonical automorphisms of the corresponding NTQ-subgroups. We also give another characterization of $Γ$-limit groups as iterated generalized doubles over $Γ$.
We construct and classify all groups, given by triangular presentations associated to the smallest thick generalized quadrangle, that act simply transitively on the vertices of hyperbolic triangular buildings of the smallest non-trivial thickness. Our classification shows 23 non-isomorphic torsion free groups (obtained in an earlier work) and 168 non-isomorphic torsion groups acting on one of two possible buildings with the smallest thick generalized quadrangle as the link of each vertex. In analogy with the Euclidean case, we find both torsion and torsion free groups acting on the same buildi…
We study the torsion free generalized crystallographic groups with the indecomposable holonomy group which is isomorphic to either a cyclic group of order ${p^s}$ or a direct product of two cyclic groups of order ${p}$.
