Limit groups for relatively hyperbolic groups, I: The basic tools
Daniel Groves
备注：
41 pages. The new version of this paper has been substantially rewritten. It now includes all of the results of the previous version, and also of math.GR/0408080. The exception to this is the proof of the Hopf property, which follows imediately from Theorem 5.2 of math.GR/0503045 (and does not use anything omitted from this version)
We begin the investigation of Gamma-limit groups, where Gamma is a torsion-free group which is hyperbolic relative to a collection of free abelian subgroups. Using the results of Drutu and Sapir, we adapt the results from math.GR/0404440 to this context. Specifically, given a finitely generated group G, and a sequence of pairwise non-conjugate homomorphisms {h_n : G -> Gamma}, we extract an R-tree with a nontrivial isometric G-action.
We then prove an analogue of Sela's shortening argument.
We present a careful approximation of the geodesics in trees of hyperbolic or relatively hyperbolic groups. As an application we prove a combination theorem for finite graphs of relatively hyperbolic groups, with both Farb's and Gromov's definitions.
We define relatively quasiconvex subgroups of relatively hyperbolic groups in the sense of Osin and show that such subgroups have expected properties. Also we state several definitions equivalent to the definition of relatively hyperbolic groups in the sense of Osin.
We prove that a non-elementary relatively hyperbolic group is statistically hyperbolic with respect to every finite generating set. We also establish statistical hyperbolicity for certain direct products of two groups, one of which is relatively hyperbolic.
We discuss the notion of the universal relatively hyperbolic structure on a group which is used in order to characterize relatively hyperbolic structures on the group. We also study relations between relatively hyperbolic structures on a group and relative quasiconvexity for subgroups of the group.
The asymptotic bound for a length-based attack on the Conjugacy Search Problem in relatively hyperbolic groups is cubic for hyperbolic elements and a "small" polynomial for parabolic elements, depending on the Conjugacy Search Problem for the peripheral subgroups. The bound for relatively hyperbolic groups in this paper is a significant improvement on previous work.
In this paper we give new requirements that a tree of $δ$-hyperbolic spaces has to satisfy in order to be $δ$-hyperbolic itself. As an application, we give a simple proof that limit groups are relatively hyperbolic.
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 describe the kernel of the canonical map from the Floyd boundary of a relatively hyperbolic group to its Bowditch boundary. Using our methods we then prove that a finitely generated group $H$ admitting a quasi-isometric map $ϕ$ into a relatively hyperbolic group $G$ is relatively hyperbolic with respect to a system of subgroups whose image under $ϕ$ is situated in a uniformly bounded distance from the parabolic subgroups of $G$.
Let $G$ be a relatively hyperbolic group that admits a decomposition into a finite graph of relatively hyperbolic groups structure with quasi-isometrically (qi) embedded condition. We prove that the set of conjugates of all the vertex and edge groups satisfy the limit set intersection property for conical limit points. This result is motivated by the work of Sardar for graph of hyperbolic groups.
We prove that there is an algorithm to determine whether a tuple of elements in a toral relatively hyperbolic group G is in the automorphic orbit of the other tuple.
We prove that for any finitely generated relatively hyperbolic group G and any symmetric endomorphism f of G with relatively quasiconvex image, Fixf is relatively quasiconvex subgroup of G.
In this note, we provide a (super-exponential time) algorithm to solve the generalized conjugacy problem in relatively hyperbolic groups, given solvability of the generalized conjugacy problem in each of the parabolic subgroups.
Given a metric (graph) bundle $X$ over $B$ where all the fibres are strongly relatively hyperbolic and nonelementary we show that, under certain conditions, $X$ is strongly hyperbolic relative to a collection of maximal cone-subbundles of horosphere-like spaces. Further, given a coarsely Lipschitz qi embedding $i: A\to B$, we show that the pullback $Y$ is strongly relatively hyperbolic and the map $Y\to X$ admits a Cannon-Thurston (CT) map. As an application, we prove a group-theoretic analogue of this result for a relatively hyperbolic extension of groups.
This arXived paper has two independant parts, that are improved and corrected versions of different parts of a single paper once named "On equations in relatively hyperbolic groups". The first part is entitled "Existential questions in (relatively) hyperbolic groups". We study there the existential theory of torsion free hyperbolic and relatively hyperbolic groups, in particular those with virtually abelian parabolic subgroups. We show that the satisfiability of systems of equations and inequations is decidable in these groups. In the second part, called "Finding relative hyperbolic structures…
We prove that the compressed word problem in a group that is hyperbolic relative to a collection of free abelian subgroups is solvable in polynomial time.
We examine the relationship between finitely and infinitely generated relatively hyperbolic groups, in two different contexts. First, we elaborate on a remark from math.GR/0601311, which states that the version of Dehn filling in relatively hyperbolic groups proved in math.GR/0510195, allowing infinitely generated parabolic subgroups, follows from the version with finitely generated parabolics. Second, we observe that direct limits of relatively hyperbolic groups are in fact direct limits of finitely generated relatively hyperbolic groups. We use this (and known results) to derive some consequ…
We suggest a new approach to the study of relatively hyperbolic groups based on relative isoperimetric inequalities. Various geometric, algebraic, and algorithmic properties are discussed.
We study residual properties of relatively hyperbolic groups. In particular, we show that if a group $G$ is non-elementary and hyperbolic relative to a collection of proper subgroups, then $G$ is SQ-universal.
By constructing, in the relative case, objects analoguous to Rips and Sela's canonical representatives, we prove that the set of images by morphisms without accidental parabolic, of a finitely presented group in a relatively hyperbolic group, is finite, up to conjugacy.
In this paper, we prove a combination theorem for a relatively acylindrical graph of relatively hyperbolic groups (Theorem 1.1). Here, we are extending the technique of [Tom21] and constructing Bowditch boundary of the fundamental group of graph of groups. Suppose G(Y) is a graph of relatively hyperbolic groups such that edge groups are relatively quasi-convex in adjacent vertex groups. Also, assume that the fundamental group of G(Y) is relatively hyperbolic. Then we show that the edge groups of G(Y) have finite relative height (Definition 1.5) if and only if they are relatively quasi-convex (…
In this article, we prove that if a finitely presented group has an asymptotic cone which is tree-graded with respect to a precise set of pieces then it is relatively hyperbolic. This answers a question of M. Sapir.
The aim of this short note is to provide a proof of the decidability of the generalized membership problem for relatively quasi-convex subgroups of finitely presented relatively hyperbolic groups, under some reasonably mild conditions on the peripheral structure of these groups. These hypotheses are satisfied, in particular, by toral relatively hyperbolic groups.
In arXiv:1204.2810 Agol proved the Virtual Haken and Virtual Fibering Conjectures by confirming a conjecture of Wise: Every cubulated hyperbolic group is virtually special. We extend this result to cocompactly cubulated relatively hyperbolic groups with minimal assumptions on the parabolic subgroups. Our proof proceeds by first recubulating to obtain an improper action with controlled stabilizers (a weakly relatively geometric action), and then Dehn filling to obtain many cubulated hyperbolic quotients. We apply our results to prove the Relative Cannon Conjecture for certain cubulated or parti…
Sela introduced limit groups in his work on the Tarski problem, and showed that each limit group has a cyclic hierarchy. In this paper, a class of relatively hyperbolic groups, equipped with a hierarchy similar to the one for limit groups, is shown to be closed under quasi-isometry. Additionally, these groups share some of the properties of limit groups. In particular, groups quasi-isometric to limit groups are shown to be LERF and virtually toral relatively hyperbolic.
If $u$ and $v$ are two conjugate elements of a hyperbolic group then the length of a shortest conjugating element for $u$ and $v$ can be bounded by a linear function of the sum of their lengths, as was proved by Lysenok. Bridson and Haefliger showed that in a hyperbolic group the conjugacy problem can be solved in polynomial time. We extend these results to relatively hyperbolic groups. In particular, we show that both the conjugacy problem and the conjugacy search problem can be solved in polynomial time in a relatively hyperbolic group, whenever the corresponding problem can be solved in pol…
For relatively hyperbolic groups, we investigate conditions guaranteeing that the subgroup generated by two quasiconvex subgroups $Q$ and $R$ is quasiconvex and isomorphic to $Q \ast_{Q\cap R} R$. Our results generalized known combination theorems for quasiconvex subgroups of word-hyperbolic groups. Some applications are presented.
We study the action of a relatively hyperbolic group on its boundary, by methods of symbolic dynamics. Under a condition on the parabolic subgroups, we show that this dynamical system is finitely presented. We give examples where this condition is satisfied, including geometrically finite kleinian groups.
We provide a new and elegant approach to relative quasiconvexity for relatively hyperbolic groups in the context of Bowditch's approach to relative hyperbolicity using cocompact actions on fine hyperbolic graphs. Our approach to quasiconvexity generalizes the other definitions in the literature that apply only for countable relatively hyperbolic groups. We also provide an elementary and self-contained proof that relatively quasiconvex subgroups are relatively hyperbolic.
Suppose that a finitely generated group $G$ is hyperbolic relative to a collection of subgroups $\{H_1, ..., H_m\} $. We prove that if each of the subgroups $H_1, ..., H_m$ has finite asymptotic dimension, then asymptotic dimension of $G$ is also finite.
For a group G relatively hyperbolic to a family of residually finite groups satisfying the Farrell-Jones conjecture, we reduce the solution of the Farrell-Jones conjecture for G to the case of certain nice cyclic extensions in G.
In this paper, we introduce and characterize a class of parabolically extended structures for relatively hyperbolic groups. A characterization of relative quasiconvexity with respect to parabolically extended structures is obtained using dynamical methods. Some applications are discussed. The class of groups acting geometrically finitely on Floyd boundaries turns out to be easily understood. However, we also show that Dunwoody's inaccessible group does not act geometrically finitely on its Floyd boundary.
We describe an algorithm which determines whether or not a group which is hyperbolic relative to abelian groups admits a nontrivial splitting over a finite group.
We generalize the small cancellation theory over hyperbolic groups developed by Olshanskii to the case of relatively hyperbolic groups. This allows us to construct infinite finitely generated groups with exactly $n$ conjugacy classes for every $n\ge 2$. In particular, we give the affirmative answer to the well--known question of the existence of a finitely generated group $G$ other than $\mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z$ such that all nontrivial elements of $G$ are conjugate.
We provide a solution to the isomorphism problem for torsion-free relatively hyperbolic groups with abelian parabolics. As special cases we recover solutions to the isomorphism problem for: (i) torsion-free hyperbolic groups (Sela); and (ii) fully residually free groups (Bumagin, Kharlampovich and Miasnikov). We also give a solution to the homeomorphism problem for finite volume hyperbolic n-manifolds, for $n \ge 3$. In the course of the proof of the main result, we prove that a particular JSJ decomposition of a freely indecomposable torsion-free relatively hyperbolic group with abelian parabo…
We prove asymptotically isometric, coarsely geodesic metrics on a toral relatively hyperbolic group are coarsely equal. The theorem applies to all lattices in SO(n,1). This partly verifies a conjecture by Margulis. In the case of hyperbolic groups/spaces, our result generalizes a theorem by Furman and a theorem by Krat. We discuss an application to the isospectral problem for the length spectrum of Riemannian manifolds. The positive answer to this problem has been known for several cases. All of them have hyperbolic fundamental groups. We do not solve the isospectral problem in the original se…
Let G be a finitely generated relatively hyperbolic group. We show that if no peripheral subgroup of G is hyperbolic relative to a collection of proper subgroups, then the fixed subgroup of every automorphism of G is relatively quasiconvex. It follows that the fixed subgroup is itself relatively hyperbolic with respect to a natural family of peripheral subgroups. If all peripheral subgroups of G are slender (respectively, slender and coherent), our result implies that the fixed subgroup of every automorphism of G is finitely generated (respectively, finitely presented). In particular, this hap…
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.
Consider a finitely generated group $G$ that is relatively hyperbolic with respect to a family of subgroups $H_1, ..., H_n$. We present an axiomatic approach to the problem of extending metric properties from the subgroups $H_i$ to the full group $G$. We use this to show that both (weak) finite decomposition complexity and straight finite decomposition complexity are extendable properties. We also discuss the equivalence of two notions of straight finite decomposition complexity.
Let $G$ be a group hyperbolic relative to a collection of subgroups $\{H_λ,λ\in Λ\} $. We say that a subgroup $Q\le G$ is hyperbolically embedded into $G$, if $G$ is hyperbolic relative to $\{H_λ,λ\in Λ\} \cup \{Q\} $. In this paper we obtain a characterization of hyperbolically embedded subgroups. In particular, we show that if an element $g\in G$ has infinite order and is not conjugate to an element of $H_λ$, $λ\in Λ$, then the (unique) maximal elementary subgroup contained $g$ is hyperbolically embedded into $G$. This allows to prove that if $G$ is boundedly generated, then $G$ is elementar…
Let Gamma be a torsion-free group which is hyperbolic relative to a collection of free abelian subgroups. We construct Makanin-Razborov diagrams for Gamma. We also prove that every system of equations over Gamma is equivalent to a finite subsystem, and a number of structural results about Gamma-limit groups.
Modelled on efficient algorithms for solving the conjugacy problem in hyperbolic groups, we define and study the permutation conjugacy length function. This function estimates the length of a short conjugator between words $u$ and $v$, up to taking cyclic permutations. This function might be bounded by a constant, even in the case when the standard conjugacy length function is unbounded. We give applications to the complexity of the conjugacy problem, estimating conjugacy growth rates, and languages. Our main result states that for a relatively hyperbolic group, the permutation conjugacy lengt…
Let $(W, S)$ be a Coxeter system. We give necessary and sufficient conditions on the Coxeter diagram of $(W, S)$ for $W$ to be relatively hyperbolic with respect to a collection of finitely generated subgroups. The peripheral subgroups are necessarily parabolic subgroups (in the sense of Coxeter group theory). As an application, we present a criterion for the maximal flats of the Davis complex of $(W,S)$ to be isolated. If this is the case, then the maximal affine sub-buildings of any building of type $(W,S)$ are isolated.
We introduce the bounded packing property for a subgroup of a countable discrete group G. This property gives a finite upper bound on the number of left cosets of the subgroup that are pairwise close in G. We establish basic properties of bounded packing, and give many examples; for instance, every subgroup of a countable, virtually nilpotent group has bounded packing. We explain several natural connections between bounded packing and group actions on CAT(0) cube complexes. Our main result establishes the bounded packing of relatively quasiconvex subgroups of a relatively hyperbolic group, und…
We prove that the fundamental group of a finite graph of convergence groups with parabolic edge groups is a convergence group. Using this result, under some mild assumptions, we prove a combination theorem for a graph of convergence groups with dynamically quasi-convex edge groups (Theorem 1.3). To prove these results, we use a modification of Dahmani's technique [Dah03]. Then we show that the fundamental group of a graph of relatively hyperbolic groups with edge groups either parabolic or infinite cyclic is relatively hyperbolic and construct Bowditch boundary. Finally, we show that the homeo…
We prove that, for a finitely generated group hyperbolic relative to virtually abelian subgroups, the generalised word problem for a parabolic subgroup is the language of a real-time Turing machine. Then, for a hyperbolic group, we show that the generalised word problem for a quasiconvex subgroup is a real-time language under either of two additional hypotheses on the subgroup. By extending the Muller-Schupp theorem we show that the generalised word problem for a finitely generated subgroup of a finitely generated virtually free group is context-free. Conversely, we prove that a hyperbolic gro…
Let a discrete group $G$ possess two convergence actions by homeomorphisms on compacta $X$ and $Y$. Consider the following question: does there exist a convergence action $G{\curvearrowright}Z$ on a compactum $Z$ and continuous equivariant maps $X\leftarrow Z\to Y$? We call the space $Z$ (and action of $G$ on it) {\it pullback} space (action). In such general setting a negative answer follows from a recent result of O. Baker and T. Riley [BR]. Suppose, in addition, that the initial actions are relatively hyperbolic that is they are non-parabolic and the induced action on the distinct pairs are…
