We construct a finitely presented torsion-free simple group $Σ_0$, acting cocompactly on a product of two regular trees. An infinite family of such groups has been introduced by Burger-Mozes ([2,4]). We refine their methods and get $Σ_0$ as an index 4 subgroup of a group $Σ< \mathrm{Aut}(\mathcal{T}_{12}) \times \mathrm{Aut}(\mathcal{T}_{8})$ presented by 10 generators and 24 short relations. For comparison, the smallest virtually simple group of [4, Theorem 6.4] needs more than 18000 relations, and the smallest simple group constructed in [4, Section 6.5] needs even more than 360000 relations in any finite presentation.
We prove that torsion in the abelianizations of open normal subgroups in finitely presented pro-$p$ groups can grow arbitrarily fast. By way of contrast in $\mathbb Z_p$- analytic groups the torsion growth is at most polynomial.
We describe an algorithm for deciding whether or not a given finitely generated torsion-free nilpotent group is decomposable as the direct product of nontrivial subgroups.
A famous result of Hall asserts that the multiplication and exponentiation in finitely generated torsion free nilpotent groups can be described by rational polynomials. We describe an algorithm to determine such polynomials for all torsion free nilpotent groups of given Hirsch length. We apply this to determine the Hall polynomials for all such groups of Hirsch length at most 7.
In this paper we study distortion of various well-known embeddings of finitely generated torsion-free nilpotent groups $G$ into unitriangular groups $UT_n(\mathbb{Z})$. We also provide a polynomial time algorithm for finding distortion of a given subgroup of $G$
We construct the first examples of finitely presented groups with cubic Dehn function containing a finitely generated infinite torsion subgroup. Moreover, we show that any infinite free Burnside group with sufficiently large odd exponent can be embedded as a subgroup of a finitely presented group with cubic Dehn function.
We give a complete survey of a construction by Boone and Collins for embedding any finitely presented group into one with $8$ generators and $26$ relations. We show that this embedding preserves the set of orders of torsion elements, and in particular torsion-freeness. We combine this with the independent results of Belegradek and Chiodo to prove that there is an $8$-generator $26$-relator universal finitely presented torsion-free group (one into which all finitely presented torsion-free groups embed).
We study the growth of torsion in the abelianizations of finite index subgroups in finitely generated metabelian groups. This complements earlier work of Kar, Kropholler and the author which covered the finitely presented amenable groups.
We construct the first examples of finitely presented groups with quadratic Dehn function containing a finitely generated infinite torsion subgroup. These examples are "optimal" in the sense that the Dehn function of any such finitely presented group must be at least quadratic. Moreover, we show that for any $n\geq2^{48}$ such that $n$ is either odd or divisible by $2^9$, any infinite free Burnside group with exponent $n$ is a quasi-isometrically embedded subgroup of a finitely presented group with quadratic Dehn function satisfying the Congruence Extension Property.
We show that a construction by Aanderaa and Cohen used in their proof of the Higman Embedding Theorem preserves torsion length. We give a new construction showing that every finitely presented group is the quotient of some $C'(1/6)$ finitely presented group by the subgroup generated by its torsion elements. We use these results to show there is a finitely presented group with infinite torsion length which is $C'(1/6)$, and thus word-hyperbolic and virtually torsion-free.
We give a uniform construction that, on input of a recursive presentation $P$ of a group, outputs a recursive presentation of a torsion-free group, isomorphic to $P$ whenever $P$ is itself torsion-free. We use this to re-obtain a known result, the existence of a universal finitely presented torsion-free group; one into which all finitely presented torsion-free groups embed. We apply our techniques to show that recognising embeddability of finitely presented groups is $Π^{0}_{2}$-hard, $Σ^{0}_{2}$-hard, and lies in $Σ^{0}_{3}$. We also show that the sets of orders of torsion elements of finitel…
It is proved that for any prime $p$ a finitely generated nilpotent group is conjugacy separable in the class of finite $p$-groups if and only if the torsion subgroup of it is a finite $p$-group and the quotient group by the torsion subgroup is abelian.
We construct a finitely presented non-amenable group without free non-cyclic subgroups thus providing a finitely presented counterexample to von Neumann's problem. Our group is an extension of a group of finite exponent n >> 1 by a cyclic group, so it satisfies the identity [x,y]^n = 1.
We construct an uncountable sequence of groups acting uniformly properly on hyperbolic spaces. We show that only countably many of these groups can be virtually torsion-free. This gives new examples of groups acting uniformly properly on hyperbolic spaces that are not virtually torsion-free and cannot be subgroups of hyperbolic groups.
We show that finitely generated Abelian groups admit equal growth functions with respect to symmetric generating sets if and only if they have the same rank and the torsion parts have the same parity. In contrast, finitely generated Abelian groups admit equal growth functions with respect to monoid generating sets if and only if they have same rank. Moreover, we show that the size of the torsion part is in fact determined by the set of all growth functions of a finitely generated Abelian group.
We characterize which permutational wreath products W^(X)\rtimes G are finitely presented. This occurs if and only if G and W are finitely presented, G acts on X with finitely generated stabilizers, and with finitely many orbits on the cartesian square X^2. On the one hand, this extends a result of G. Baumslag about standard wreath products; on the other hand, this provides nontrivial examples of finitely presented groups. For instance, we obtain two quasi-isometric finitely presented groups, one of which is torsion-free and the other has an infinite torsion subgroup. Motivated by the characte…
It is well known that any polycyclic group, and hence any finitely generated nilpotent group, can be embedded into $GL_{n}(\mathbb{Z})$ for an appropriate $n\in \mathbb{N}$; that is, each element in the group has a unique matrix representation. An algorithm to determine this embedding was presented in Nickel. In this paper, we determine the complexity of the crux of the algorithm and the dimension of the matrices produced as well as provide a modification of the algorithm presented by Nickel.
We construct first examples of infinite finitely generated residually finite torsion groups with positive rank gradient. In particular, these groups are non-amenable. Some applications to problems about cost and $L^2$-Betti numbers are discussed.
A finitely generated virtually free pro-p group with finite centralizers of its torsion elements is the free pro-p product of finite p-groups and a free pro-p factor.
We prove that every finitely generated, virtually solvable minimax group can be expressed as a homomorphic image of a virtually torsion-free, virtually solvable minimax group. This result enables us to generalize a theorem of Ch. Pittet and L. Saloff-Coste about random walks on finitely generated, virtually solvable minimax groups. Moreover, the paper identifies properties, such as the derived length and the nilpotency class of the Fitting subgroup, that are preserved in the covering process. Finally, we determine exactly which infinitely generated, virtually solvable minimax groups also posse…
Chung and Jiang showed that, if a one ended group contains an infinite order element, then every continuous cocycle over the full shift on that group, taking values in a discrete group, must be cohomologous to a homomorphism. We show that their conclusion holds for all one ended groups, so that the hypothesis of admitting an infinite order element may be omitted.
Two groups are said to have the same nilpotent genus if they have the same nilpotent quotients. We answer four questions of Baumslag concerning nilpotent completions. (i) There exists a pair of finitely generated, residually torsion-free-nilpotent groups of the same nilpotent genus such that one is finitely presented and the other is not. (ii) There exists a pair of finitely presented, residually torsion-free-nilpotent groups of the same nilpotent genus such that one has a solvable conjugacy problem and the other does not. (iii) There exists a pair of finitely generated, residually torsion-fre…
In this note we prove the claim given in the title. A group G is noncommutatively slender if each map from the fundamental group of the Hawaiian Earring to G factors through projection to a canonical free subgroup. Graham Higman, in his seminal 1952 paper, proved that free groups are noncommutatively slender. Such groups were first defined by K. Eda. Eda has asked which finitely presented groups are noncommutatively slender. This result demonstrates that random finitely presented groups in the few- relator sense of Gromov are noncommutatively slender.
We prove that the abstract commensurator of a nonabelian free group, an infinite surface group, or more generally of a group that splits appropriately over a cyclic subgroup, is not finitely generated. This applies in particular to all torsion-free word-hyperbolic groups with infinite outer automorphism group and abelianization of rank at least 2. We also construct a finitely generated, torsion-free group which can be mapped onto Z and which has a finitely generated commensurator.
In this paper we consider the problem of classification of the nilpotent class 2 finitely generated torsion free groups up to the geometric equivalence. By a very easy technique it is proved that this problem is equivalent to the problem of classification of the complete (in the Maltsev sense) nilpotent torsion free finite rank groups up to the isomorphism. This result, allows us to once more comprehend the complication of the problem of the classification of the quasi-varieties of nilpotent class 2 groups. It is well known that the variety of a nilpotent class s (for every s) groups is Noethe…
We show, under mild hypotheses, that if each element of a finitely generated group acting on a $2$-dimensional $\mathrm{CAT}(0)$ complex has a fixed point, then there is a global fixed point. In particular all actions of finitely generated torsion groups on such complexes have global fixed points. The proofs rely on Masur's theorem on periodic trajectories in rational billiards, and Ballmann-Brin's methods for finding closed geodesics in $2$-dimensional locally $\mathrm{CAT}(0)$ complexes. As another ingredient we prove that the image of an immersed loop in a graph of girth $2π$ with length no…
We show that any one-relator group $G=F/\langle\langle w\rangle\rangle$ with torsion is coherent -- i.e., that every finitely generated subgroup of $G$ is finitely presented -- answering a 1974 question of Baumslag in this case.
For a torsion free finitely generated nilpotent group G we naturally associate four finite dimensional nilpotent Lie algebras over a field of characteristic zero. We show that if G is a relatively free group of some variery of nilpotent groups then all the above Lie algebras are isomorphic. As a result, any two quasi-isometric relatively free nilpotent groups are isomorphic. Moreover let L be a relatively free nilpotent Lie algebra over Q generated by X. We give L the structure of a group by means of the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff formula and we show that the subgroup H generated by X is relativ…
For a set $X\subseteq \mathbb{N}$, we define the $X$-torsion of a group $G$ to be all elements $g\in G$ with $g^{n}=e$ for some $n\in X$. With $X$ recursively enumerable, we give two independent proofs (group-theoretic, and model-theoretic) that there exists a universal finitely presented $X$-torsion-free group; one which contains all finitely presented $X$-torsion-free groups. We also show that, if $X$ is recursively enumerable, then the set of finite presentations of $X$-torsion-free groups is $Π_{2}^{0}$-complete in Kleene's arithmetic hierarchy.
Since the work of Jennings (1955), it is well-known that any finitely generated torsion-free nilpotent group can be embedded into unitriangular integer matrices $UT_N(Z)$ for some $N$. In 2006, Nickel proposed an algorithm to calculate such embeddings. In this work, we show that if $UT_n(Z)$ is embedded into $UT_N(Z)$ using Nickel's algorithm, then $N \geq 2^{n/2 -2}$ if the standard ordering of the Mal'cev basis (as in Nickel's original paper) is used. In particular, we establish an exponential worst-case running time of Nickel's algorithm. On the other hand, we also prove a general exponenti…
We exhibit infinite, solvable, virtually abelian groups with a fixed number of generators, having arbitrarily large balls consisting of torsion elements. We also provide a sequence of 3-generator non-virtually nilpotent polycyclic groups of algebraic entropy tending to zero. All these examples are obtained by taking appropriate quotients of finitely presented groups mapping onto the first Grigorchuk group.
We show that for every finitely presented pro-$p$ nilpotent-by-abelian-by-finite group $G$ there is an upper bound on $\dim_{\mathbb{Q}_p} (H_1(M, \mathbb{Z}_p) \otimes_{\mathbb{Z}_p} \mathbb{Q}_p )$, as $M$ runs through all pro-$p$ subgroups of finite index in $G$.
In the first part of this note, we introduce Tietze transformations for $L$-presentations. These transformations enable us to generalize Tietze's theorem for finitely presented groups to invariantly finitely $L$-presented groups. Moreover, they allow us to prove that `being invariantly finitely $L$-presented' is an abstract property of a group which does not depend on the generating set. In the second part of this note, we consider finitely generated normal subgroups of finitely presented groups. Benli proved that a finitely generated normal subgroup of a finitely presented group is invariantl…
We prove a variant of the well-known Reidemeister-Schreier theorem for finitely $L$-presented groups. More precisely, we prove that each finite index subgroup of a finitely $L$-presented group is itself finitely $L$-presented. Our proof is constructive and it yields a finite $L$-presentation for the subgroup. We further study conditions on a finite index subgroup of an invariantly finitely $L$-presented group to be invariantly $L$-presented itself.
We prove that the free product of two finitely presented locally tame groups is locally tame and describe many examples of tame subgroups of finitely presented groups. We also include some open problems related to tame subgroups.
We obtain sufficient criteria for endomorphisms of torsion-free nilpotent groups of finite rank to be automorphisms, by considering the induced maps on the torsion-free abelianisation and the centre. Whilst these results are known in the finitely generated case removing this assumption introduces several difficulties.
The goal of this article is to study results and examples concerning finitely presented covers of finitely generated amenable groups. We collect examples of groups $G$ with the following properties: (i) $G$ is finitely generated, (ii) $G$ is amenable, e.g. of intermediate growth, (iii) any finitely presented group $E$ with a quotient isomorphic to $G$ contains non-abelian free subgroups, or the stronger (iii') any finitely presented group with a quotient isomorphic to $G$ is large.
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 …
We construct an embedding of a free Burnside group $B(m,n)$ of odd $n > 2^{48}$ and rank $m >1$ in a finitely presented group with some special properties. The main application of this embedding is an easy construction of finitely presented non-amenable groups without noncyclic free subgroups (which provides a finitely presented counterexample to the von Neumann problem on amenable groups). As another application, we construct weakly finitely presented groups of odd exponent $n \gg 1$ which are not locally finite.
We prove that every finite semigroup embeds in a finitely presented congruence-free monoid, and pose some questions around the Boone-Higman Conjecture.
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 combine classical methods of combinatorial group theory with the theory of small cancellations over relatively hyperbolic groups to construct finitely generated torsion-free groups that have only finitely many classes of conjugate elements. Moreover, we present several results concerning embeddings into such groups. As another application of these techniques, we prove that every countable group $C$ can be realized as a group of outer automorphisms of a group $N$, where $N$ is a finitely generated group having Kazhdan's property (T) and containing exactly two conjugacy classes.
