Let $x$, $y$ be two integral quaternions of norm $p$ and $l$, respectively, where $p$, $l$ are distinct odd prime numbers. We investigate the structure of $<x,y>$, the multiplicative group generated by $x$ and $y$. Under a certain condition which excludes $<x,y>$ from being free or abelian, we show for example that $<x,y>$, its center, commutator subgroup and abelianization are finitely presented infinite groups. We give many examples where our condition is satisfied and compute as an illustration a finite presentation of the group $<1+j+k, 1+2j>$ having these two generators and seven relations. In a second part, we study the basic question whether there exist commuting quaternions $x$ and $y$ for fixed $p$, $l$, using results on prime numbers of the form $r^2 + m s^2$ and a simple invariant for commutativity.
We construct vertex transitive lattices on products of trees of arbitrary dimension $d \geq 1$ based on quaternion algebras over global fields with exactly two ramified places. Starting from arithmetic examples, we find non-residually finite groups generalizing earlier results of Wise, Burger and Mozes to higher dimension. We make effective use of the combinatorial language of cubical sets and the doubling construction generalized to arbitrary dimension. Congruence subgroups of these quaternion lattices yield explicit cubical Ramanujan complexes, a higher dimensional cubical version of Ramanuj…
We prove that each infinite 2-group with a unique 2-element subgroup is isomorphic either to the quasicyclic 2-group or to the infinite group of generalized quaternions.
An anti-torus is a subgroup $<a,b>$ in the fundamental group of a compact non-positively curved space $X$, acting in a specific way on the universal covering space $\tilde{X}$ such that $a$ and $b$ do not have any commuting non-trivial powers. We construct and investigate anti-tori in a class of commutative transitive fundamental groups of finite square complexes, in particular for the groups $Γ_{p,l}$ originally studied by Mozes [15]. It turns out that anti-tori in $Γ_{p,l}$ directly correspond to non-commuting pairs of Hamilton quaternions. Moreover, free anti-tori in $Γ_{p,l}$ are related t…
In this short note we use the presentations found in \cite{MP} and \cite{Po} to show that the Picard modular groups ${\rm PU}(2,1,\mathcal{O}_d)$ with $d=1,3,7$ (respectively the quaternion hyperbolic lattice ${\rm PSp}(2,1,\mathcal{H})$ with entries in the Hurwitz integer ring $\mathcal{H}$) are generated by complex (resp. quaternionic) reflections, and that the Picard modular groups ${\rm PU}(2,1,\mathcal{O}_d)$ with $d=2,11$ have an index 4 subgroup generated by complex reflections.
This article is devoted to the investigation of wrap groups of connected fiber bundles over the fields of real $\bf R$, complex $\bf C$ numbers, the quaternion skew field $\bf H$ and the octonion algebra $\bf O$. These groups are constructed with mild conditions on fibers. Their examples are given. It is shown, that these groups exist and for differentiable fibers have the infinite dimensional Lie groups structure, that is, they are continuous or differentiable manifolds and the composition $(f,g)\mapsto f^{-1}g$ is continuous or differentiable depending on a class of smoothness of groups. Mor…
We consider the automorphism groups of various Lorentzian lattices over the Eisenstein, Gaussian, and Hurwitz integers, and in some of them we find reflection groups of finite index. These provide new finite-covolume reflection groups acting on complex and quaternionic hyperbolic spaces. Specifically, we provide groups acting on CH^n for all n<6 and n=7, and on HH^n for n=1,2,3 and 5. We compare our groups to those discovered by Deligne and Mostow and show that our largest examples are new. For many of these Lorentzian lattices we show that the entire symmetry group is generated by reflections…
We prove that the semigroup generated by a finite state Mealy automaton $\mathcal{A}=(Q,A,τ)$ is infinite if and only if there exists some right-infinite word in the alphabet $A$ with infinite orbit.
An n-dimensional Bieberbach group is the fundamental group of a closed flat $n$-dimensional manifold. K. Dekimpe and P. Penninckx conjectured that an n-dimensional Bieberbach group can be generated by n elements. In this paper, we show that the conjecture is true if the holonomy group is 2-generated (e.g. dihedral group, quaternion group or simple group) or the order of holonomy group is not divisible by 2 or 3. In order to prove this, we show that an n-dimensional Bieberbach group with cyclic holonomy group of order larger than two can be generated by n-1 elements.
For a locally compact group G and a compact subgroup K, the corresponding Hecke algebra consists of all continuous compactly supported complex functions on G that are K-bi-invariant. There are many examples of totally disconnected locally compact groups whose Hecke algebras with respect to the maximal compact subgroups are not commutative. One of those is the universal group U(F)^+, when F is primitive but not 2-transitive. For this class of groups we prove that the Hecke algebra with respect to the maximal compact subgroup K is infinitely generated and infinitely presented. This may be releva…
It is shown that there exists a finitely generated infinite simple group of infinite commutator width, and that the commutator width of a finitely generated infinite boundedly simple group can be arbitrarily large. Besides, such groups can be constructed with decidable word and conjugacy problems.
It is shown that there exist finitely generated infinite simple groups of infinite commutator width and infinite square width on which there exists no stably unbounded conjugation-invariant norm, and in particular stable commutator length vanishes. Moreover, a recursive presentation of such a group with decidable word and conjugacy problems is constructed.
We construct examples of finitely generated infinite simple groups of homeomorphisms of the real line. Equivalently, these are examples of finitely generated simple left (or right) orderable groups. This answers a well known open question of Rhemtulla from 1980 concerning the existence of such groups. In fact, our construction provides a family of continuum many isomorphism types of groups with these properties.
We prove that for arbitrary two finitely generated subgroups A and B having infinite index in a free group F, there is a subgroup H of finite index in B such that the subgroup generated by A and H has infinite index in F. The main corollary of this theorem says that a noncyclic free group of finite rank admits a faithful highly transitive action on an infinite set, whereas the restriction of this action to any finitely generated subgroup of infinite index in F has no infinite orbits.
We classify the (finite and infinite) virtually cyclic subgroups of the pure braid groups $P_{n}(RP^2)$ of the projective plane. The maximal finite subgroups of $P_{n}(RP^2)$ are isomorphic to the quaternion group of order 8 if $n=3$, and to $\Z_{4}$ if $n\geq 4$. Further, for all $n\geq 3$, up to isomorphism, the following groups are the infinite virtually cyclic subgroups of $P_{n}(RP^2)$: $\Z$, $\Z_{2} \times \Z$ and the amalgamated product $\Z_{4} \ast_{\Z_{2}} \Z_{4}$.
Let G be a noncocompact irreducible arithmetic group over a global function field K of characteristic p, and let H be a finite-index, residually p-finite subgroup of G. We show that the cohomology of H in the dimension of its associated Euclidean building with coefficients in the field of p elements is infinite.
Every finite simple group can be generated by two elements, and Guralnick and Kantor proved that, moreover, every nontrivial element is contained in a generating pair. Groups with this property are said to be $\frac{3}{2}$-generated. Thompson's group $V$ was the first finitely presented infinite simple group to be discovered. The Higman--Thompson groups $V_n$ and the Brin--Thompson groups $mV$ are two families of finitely presented groups that generalise $V$. In this paper, we prove that all of the groups $V_n$, $V_n'$ and $mV$ are $\frac{3}{2}$-generated. As far as the authors are aware, the …
Let A be an infinite set of generators for a group G, and let L_A(r) denote the number of elements of G whose word length with respect to A is exactly r. The purpose of this note is to determine all growth functions L_A(r) associated to infinite generating sets for groups, and to describe a phase transition phenomenon associated with infinite generating sets. A list of open problems is also.included.
