We introduce forest diagrams to represent elements of Thompson's group F. These diagrams relate to a certain action of F on the real line in the same way that tree diagrams relate to the standard action of F on the unit interval. Using forest diagrams, we give a conceptually simple length formula for elements of F with respect to the {x_0,x_1} generating set, and we discuss the construction of minimum-length words for positive elements. Finally, we use forest diagrams and the length formula to examine the structure of the Cayley graph of F.
A connection relating Tamari lattices on symmetric groups regarded as lattices under the weak Bruhat order to the positive monoid P of Thompson group F is presented. Tamari congruence classes correspond to classes of equivalent elements in P. The two well known normal forms in P correspond to endpoints of intervals in the weak Bruhat order that determine the Tamari classes. In the monoid P these correspond to lexicographically largest and lexicographically smallest form, while on the level of permutations they correspond to 132-avoiding and 231-avoiding permutations. Forests appear naturally i…
We introduce forest diagrams and strand diagrams for elements of Thompson's group F. A forest diagram is a pair of infinite, bounded binary forests together with an order-preserving bijection of the leaves. Using forest diagrams, we derive a simple length formula for elements of F, and we discuss applications to the geometry of the Cayley graph, including a new upper bound on the isoperimetric constant (a.k.a. Cheeger constant) of F. Strand diagrams are similar to tree diagrams, but they can be concatenated like braids. Motivated by the fact that configuration spaces are classifying spaces for…
In this paper, we continue our study of the class of diagram groups. Simply speaking, a diagram is a labelled plane graph bounded by a pair of paths (the top path and the bottom path). To multiply two diagrams, one simply identifies the top path of one diagram with the bottom path of the other diagram, and removes pairs of "reducible" cells. Each diagram group is determined by an alphabet $X$, containing all possible labels of edges, a set of relations ${\cal R}=\{u_i=v_i\mid i=1,2,... \}$, containing all possible labels of cells, and a word $w$ over $X$ -- the label of the top and bottom path…
We prove that Richard Thompson's group F is not minimally almost convex with respect to the two standard generators. This improves upon a recent result of S. Cleary and J. Taback. We make use of the forest diagrams for elements of F introduced by J. Belk and K. Brown. These diagrams seem particularly well-suited for understanding the Cayley graph for the two standard generators.
We give a unified solution to the conjugacy problem for Thompson's groups F, T, and V. The solution uses strand diagrams, which are similar in spirit to braids and generalize tree-pair diagrams for elements of Thompson's groups. Strand diagrams are closely related to piecewise-linear functions for elements of Thompson's groups, and we use this correspondence to investigate the dynamics of elements of F. Though many of the results in this paper are known, our approach is new, and it yields elegant proofs of several old results.
We reformulate the statement of the Feit-Thompson theorem in terms of diagrams in the category of finite groups, namely iterations of the Quillen lifting property with respect to particular morphisms.
Vaughan Jones discovered unexpected connections between Richard Thompson's group and subfactor theory while attempting to construct conformal field theories (in short CFT). Among other this founded Jones' technology: a powerful new method for constructing actions of fraction groups which had numerous applications in mathematical physics, operator algebras, group theory and more surprisingly in knot theory and noncommutative probability theory. We propose and outline a program in the vein of Jones' work but where the Thompson group is replaced by a family of groups that we name forest-skein gro…
In this paper we characterize the elements of PSL(2,Z), as a subgroup of Thompson group T, in the language of reduced tree pair diagrams and in terms of piecewise linear maps as well. Actually, we construct the reduced tree pair diagram for every element of PSL(2,Z) in normal form. This allows us to estimate the length of the elements of PSL(2,Z) through the number of carets of their reduced tree pair diagrams and, as a consequence, to prove that PSL(2,Z) is a non distorted subgroup of T. In particular, we find non-distorted free non abelian subgroups of T.
The main result of this article is that any braided (resp. annular, planar) diagram group $D$ splits as a short exact sequence $1 \to R \to D \to S \to 1$ where $R$ is a subgroup of some right-angled Artin group and $S$ a subgroup of Thompson's group $V$ (resp. $T$, $F$). As an application, we show that several braided diagram groups embeds into Thompson's group $V$, including Higman's groups $V_{n,r}$, groups of quasi-automorphisms $QV_{n,r,p}$, and generalised Houghton's groups $H_{n,p}$.
Jones introduced unitary representations for the Thompson groups $F$ and $T$ from a given subfactor planar algebra. Some interesting subgroups arise as the stabilizer of certain vector, in particular the Jones subgroups $\vec{F}$ and $\vec{T}$. Golan and Sapir studied $\vec{F}$ and identified it as a copy of the Thompson group $F_3$. In this paper we completely describe $\vec{T}$ and show that $\vec{T}$ coincides with its commensurator in $T$, implying that the corresponding unitary representation is irreducible. We also generalize the notion of the Stallings 2-core for diagram groups to $T$, …
Higher-dimensional Thompson's groups nV are finitely presented groups described by Brin which generalize dyadic self-maps of the unit interval to dyadic self-maps of n-dimensional unit cubes. We describe some of the metric properties of higher-dimensional Thompson's groups. We give descriptions of elements based upon tree-pair diagrams and give upper and lower bounds for word length in terms of the size of the diagrams. Though these upper and lower bounds are somewhat separated, we show that there are elements realizing the lower bounds and that the fraction of elements which are close to the …
We consider the Thompson-Stein group F(n_1,...,n_k) for integers n_1,...,n_k and k greater than 1. We highlight several differences between the cases k=1$ and k>1, including the fact that minimal tree-pair diagram representatives of elements may not be unique when k>1. We establish how to find minimal tree-pair diagram representatives of elements of F(n_1,...,n_k), and we prove several theorems describing the equivalence of trees and tree-pair diagrams. We introduce a unique normal form for elements of F(n_1,...,n_k) (with respect to the standard infinite generating set developed by Melanie St…
Braided Thompson's groups are finitely presented groups introduced by Brin and Dehornoy which contain the ordinary braid groups $B_n$, the finitary braid group $B_{\infty}$ and Thompson's group $F$ as subgroups. We describe some of the metric properties of braided Thompson's groups and give upper and lower bounds for word length in terms of the number of strands and the number of crossings in the diagrams used to represent elements.
In this paper we consider the $T$- and $V$- versions, $T_τ$ and $V_τ$ , of the irrational slope Thompson group $F_τ$ considered in [3]. We give infinite presentations for these groups and show how they can be represented by tree-pair diagrams similar to those for $T$ and $V$. We also show that $T_τ$ and $V_τ$ have index-2 normal subgroups, unlike their original Thompson counterparts $T$ and $V$. These index-2 subgroups are shown to be simple.
We study some combinatorial properties of the word metric of Thompson's group F in the standard two generator finite presentation. We explore connections between the tree pair diagram representing an element w of F, its normal form in the infinite presentation, its word length, and minimal length representatives of it. We estimate word length in terms of the number and type of carets in the tree pair diagram and show sharpness of those estimates. In addition we explore some properties of the Cayley graph of F with respect to the two generator finite presentation. Namely, we exhibit the form of…
We determine the abstract commensurator com(F) of Thompson's group F and describe it in terms of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line and in terms of tree pair diagrams. We show com (F) is not finitely generated and determine which subgroups of finite index in F are isomorphic to F. We show that the natural map from the commensurator group to the quasi-isometry group of F is injective.
We describe some of the geometric properties of the automorphism group Aut(F) of Thompson's group F. We give realizations of Aut(F) geometrically via periodic tree pair diagrams, which lead to natural presentations and give effective methods for estimating the word length of elements. We study some natural subgroups of Aut(F) and their metric properties. In particular, we show that the subgroup of inner automorphisms of F is at least quadratically distorted in Aut(F), whereas other subgroups of Aut(F) isomorphic to F are undistorted.
We discuss metric and combinatorial properties of Thompson's group T, including normal forms for elements and unique tree pair diagram representatives. We relate these properties to those of Thompson's group F when possible, and highlight combinatorial differences between the two groups. We define a set of unique normal forms for elements of T arising from minimal factorizations of elements into natural pieces. We show that the number of carets in a reduced representative of an element of T estimates the word length, and that F is undistorted in T. We describe how to recognize torsion elements…
We show that Thompson's group F does not satisfy Cannon's almost convexity condition AC(n) for any integer n in the standard finite two generator presentation. To accomplish this, we construct a family of pairs of elements at distance n from the identity and distance 2 from each other, which are not connected by a path lying inside the n-ball of length less than k for increasingly large k. Our techniques rely upon Fordham's method for calculating the length of a word in F and upon an analysis of the generators' geometric actions on the tree pair diagrams representing elements of F.
We present a generalization of the Dehornoy-Brin braided Thompson group $BV_2$ that uses recursive braids. Our new groups are denoted by $BV_{n,r}(H)$, for all $n\geq 2,r\geq 1$ and $H \leq \mathcal{B}_n$, where $\mathcal{B}_n$ is the braid group on $n$ strands. We give a new approach to deal with braided Thompson groups by using strand diagrams. We show that $BV_{n,r}(H)$ is finitely generated if $H$ is finitely generated.
We describe an explicit relationship between strand diagrams and piecewise-linear functions for elements of Thompson's group F. Using this correspondence, we investigate the dynamics of elements of F, and we show that conjugacy of one-bump functions can be described by a Mather-type invariant.
We answer the question by Matt Brin on the structure of diagram groups over semigroup presentation ${\mathcal P}=\langle a,b,c\mid a=bc,b=ca,c=ab\rangle$. In the talk on Oberwolfach workshop, Brin conjectured that the diagram group over $\mathcal P$ with base $a$ is isomorphic to the generalized Thompson's group $F_9$. We confirm this conjecture and consider some generalizations of this fact.
We show that the density of elements in Thompson's groups T and V which have north-south dynamics acting on the circle is positive with respect to a stratification in terms of size. We show that the fraction of element pairs which generate a free subgroup of rank two is positive in both groups with respect to a stratification based on diagram size, which shows that the associated subgroup spectra of $T$ and $V$ contain free groups.
We prove that seesaw words exist in Thompson's Group F(N) for N=2,3,4,... with respect to the standard finite generating set X. A seesaw word w with swing k has only geodesic representatives ending in g^k or g^{-k} (for given g\in X) and at least one geodesic representative of each type. The existence of seesaw words with arbitrarily large swing guarantees that F(N) is neither synchronously combable nor has a regular language of geodesics. Additionally, we prove that dead ends (or k--pockets) exist in F(N) with respect to X and all have depth 2. A dead end w is a word for which no geodesic pat…
To every semigroup presentation $\mathcal{P}= \langle Σ\mid \mathcal{R} \rangle$ and every baseword $w \in Σ^+$ can be associated a diagram group $D(\mathcal{P},w)$, defined as the fundamental group of the so-called Squier complex $S(\mathcal{P},w)$. Roughly speaking, $D(\mathcal{P},w)$ encodes the lack of asphericity of $\mathcal{P}$. Examples of diagram groups include Thompson's group $F$, the lamplighter group $\mathbb{Z} \wr \mathbb{Z}$, the pure planar braid groups, and various right-angled Artin groups. This survey aims at summarising what is known about the family of diagram groups.
The distance from the origin in the word metric for generalizations F(p) of Thompson's group F is quasi-isometric to the number of carets in the reduced rooted tree diagrams representing the elements of F(p). This interpretation of the metric is used to prove that every F(p) admits a quasi-isometric embedding into every F(q), and also to study the behavior of the shift maps under these embeddings.
We show a rigid connection between two classical objects: the R.Thompson group F and the Dunce hat. A diagram group of a directed 2-complex contains a copy of F if and only if the complex contains a copy of the Dunce hat.
The groups QF, QT, and QV are groups of quasi-automorphisms of the infinite binary tree. Their names indicate a similarity with Thompson's well-known groups F, T, and V. We will use the theory of diagram groups over semigroup presentations to prove that all of the above groups (and several generalizations) have type F-infinity. Our proof uses certain types of hybrid diagrams, which have properties in common with both planar diagrams and braided diagrams. The diagram groups defined by hybrid diagrams also act properly and isometrically on CAT(0) cubical complexes.
We study subgroups $H_U$ of the R. Thompson group $F$ which are stabilizers of finite sets $U$ of numbers in the interval $(0,1)$. We describe the algebraic structure of $H_U$ and prove that the stabilizer $H_U$ is finitely generated if and only if $U$ consists of rational numbers. We also show that such subgroups are isomorphic surprisingly often. In particular, we prove that if finite sets $U\subset [0,1]$ and $V\subset [0,1]$ consist of rational numbers which are not finite binary fractions, and $|U|=|V|$, then the stabilizers of $U$ and $V$ are isomorphic. In fact these subgroups are conju…
In this paper, we introduce the concept of the independence graph of a directed 2-complex. We show that the class of diagram groups is closed under graph products over independence graphs of rooted 2-trees. This allows us to show that a diagram group containing all countable diagram groups is a semi-direct product of a partially commutative group and R. Thompson's group $F$. As a result, we prove that all diagram groups are totally orderable.
Hughes has defined a class of groups, which we call FSS (finite similarity structure) groups. Each FSS group acts on a compact ultrametric space by local similarities. The best-known example is Thompson's group V. Guided by previous work on Thompson's group V, we establish a number of new results about FSS groups. Our main result is that a class of FSS groups are of type F-infinity. This generalizes work of Ken Brown from the 1980s. Next, we develop methods for distinguishing between isomorphism types of some of the Nekrashevych-Röver groups V_{d}(H), where H is a finite group, and show that a…
Hughes defined a class of groups that act as local similarities on compact ultrametric spaces. Guba and Sapir had previously defined braided diagram groups over semigroup presentations. The two classes of groups share some common characteristics: both act properly by isometries on CAT(0) cubical complexes, and certain groups in both classes have type F-infinity, for instance. Here we clarify the relationship between these families of groups: the braided diagram groups over tree-like semigroup presentations are precisely the groups that act on compact ultrametric spaces via small similarity str…
In the quest in constructing conformal field theories (CFT) Jones has discovered a beautiful and deep connection between CFT, Richard Thompson's groups and knot theory. This led to a powerful functorial framework for constructing actions of particular groups arising from categories such as Thompson's groups and braid groups. In particular, given a group and two of its endomorphisms one can construct a semidirect product where the largest Thompson's group $V$ is acting. These semidirect products have remarkable diagrammatic descriptions which were previously used to provide new examples of grou…
We consider diagram groups as defined by V. Guba and M. Sapir. A diagram group G acts on the associated cube complex K by isometries. It is known that if a cube complex L is of a finite dimension then every isometry g of L is semi-simple, i.e. its translation length is realized. It was conjectured by D. S. Farley that in the case of a diagram group G the action of G on the associated cube complex K is by semisimple isometries even when K has an infinite dimension. In this paper we give a counterexample to Farley Conjecture and we show that R. Thompson's group F, considered as a diagram group, …
The pioneering work of Jones and Kauffman unveiled a fruitful relationship between statistical mechanics and knot theory. Recently, Jones introduced two subgroups $\vec{F}$ and $\vec{T}$ of the Thompson groups $F$ and $T$, respectively, together with a procedure that associates an oriented link diagram to any element of these subgroups. Moreover, several specializations of some well-known polynomial link invariants can be seen as functions of positive type on the Thompson groups or the Jones-Thompson subgroups. One important example is provided by suitable evaluations of the Jones polynomial, …
This manuscript represents the author's PhD dissertation thesis.The first part studies decision problems in Thompson's groups F,T,V and some generalizations. The simultaneous conjugacy problem is determined to be solvable for Thompson's group F and suitable larger groups of piecewise-linear homeomorphisms of the unit interval. We determine algorithms to compute roots and centralizers in these groups and to detect periodic points and their behavior by looking at a particular diagram associated to an element. In the second part, we describe the structure of subgroups of the group of all homeomor…
We show that diagram groups can be viewed as fundamental groups of spaces of positive paths on directed 2-complexes (these spaces of paths turn out to be classifying spaces). Thus diagram groups are analogs of second homotopy groups, although diagram groups are as a rule non-Abelian. Part of the paper is a review of the previous results from this point of view. In particular, we show that the so called rigidity of the R.Thompson's group $F$ and some other groups is similar to the flat torus theorem. We find several finitely presented diagram groups (even of type F_\infty) each of which contain…
We give first examples of finitely generated groups having an intermediate, with values in (0,1), Hilbert space compression (which is a numerical parameter measuring the distortion required to embed a metric space into Hilbert space). These groups include certain diagram groups. In particular, we show that the Hilbert space compression of Richard Thompson's group $F$ is equal to 1/2, the Hilbert space compression of the restricted wreath product $Z\wr Z$ is between 1/2 and 3/4, and the Hilbert space compression of $Z\wr (Z\wr Z)$ is between 0 and 1/2. In general, we find a relationship between…
In this second article, we continue to study classes of groups constructed from a functorial method due to Vaughan Jones. A key observation of the author shows that these groups have remarkable diagrammatic properties that can be used to deduce their properties. Given any group and two of its endomorphisms, we construct a semidirect product. In our first article dedicated to this construction, we classify up to isomorphism all these semidirect products when one of the endomorphisms is trivial and described their automorphism group. In this article we focus on the case where both endomorphisms …
