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Questions tagged [geometric-group-theory]

Large scale properties of groups; growth functions; Dehn functions; small cancellation properties; hyperbolicity and CAT(0); actions and representations; combinatorial group theory; presentations

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4 answers
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Units in the group ring over fours group after Gardam

Giles Gardam recently found (arXiv link) that Kaplansky's unit conjecture fails on a virtually abelian torsion-free group, over the field $\mathbb{F}_2$. This conjecture asserted that if $\Gamma$ is a ...
Ville Salo's user avatar
  • 6,652
20 votes
7 answers
5k views

Understanding groups that are not linear

I have a really hard time "feeling" what it means for a group to fail to be linear. Vaguely, I'd like to know how one should think about such groups. More precisely: What are some interesting ...
Maxime's user avatar
  • 397
15 votes
3 answers
2k views

Folner sets and balls

Several related questions were asked before on MO, but it is not clear to me if the following was settled. Given a finitely generated amenable group, is it always possible to find some finite ...
Dan Sălăjan's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
416 views

How are reflection groups related to general point groups?

I always tried to understand how the finite reflection groups of $\Bbb R^d$ (of some fixed dimension $d$) relate to the point groups of the same space $\smash{\Bbb R^d}$ (finite subgroup of the ...
M. Winter's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
1k views

CAT(0) groups that does not act on CAT(0) cubical complex

CAT(0) groups are groups that act on a CAT(0) space properly and cocompactly. If a group acts on a CAT(0) cubical complex properly and cocompactly, then of course it is a CAT(0) Group. I am wondering ...
Xiaolei Wu's user avatar
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52 votes
14 answers
14k views

Introductory text on geometric group theory?

Can someone indicate me a good introductory text on geometric group theory?
26 votes
1 answer
1k views

Group with finite outer automorphism group and large center

Does there exist a finitely generated group $G$ with outer automorphism group $\mathrm{Out}(G)$ finite, whose center contains infinitely many elements of order $p$ for some prime $p$? A motivation is ...
YCor's user avatar
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23 votes
9 answers
9k views

The free group $F_2$ has index 12 in SL(2,$\mathbb{Z}$)

Is there someone who can give me some hints/references to the proof of this fact?
m07kl's user avatar
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18 votes
1 answer
849 views

Is Hopf property a quasi-isometry invariant?

Recall that a group $G$ is called Hopfian if every surjective endomorphism $G\to G$ is injective. Malcev observed that all finitely-generated (f.g.) residually finite groups are Hopfian. It is well-...
Misha's user avatar
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12 votes
1 answer
603 views

Is residual finiteness a quasi isometry invariant for f.g. groups?

A "residually finite group" is group for which the intersection of all finite index subgroups is trivial. Suppose $G$ and $G'$ are two quasi-isometric finitely generated groups. Does the residual ...
Mostafa - Free Palestine's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
571 views

Is residual finiteness a property of "many" finitely presented groups?

Is there a reasonable random model for selecting a finitely presented group $G$ such that with positive probablity (or even with probability almost $1$) some of the following properties hold: $G$ is ...
Pablo's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
343 views

Cubic almost-vertex-transitive graphs with given spanning tree

Consider the infinite 3-regular tree. Pick a vertex $C$, the "center". For any integer $L\ge 1$ consider the closed ball, in the graph distance, of radius $L$ around $C$. Let $T_L$ be the induced ...
Abdelmalek Abdesselam's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
682 views

Ends of finitely generated torsion groups

It is known that the number of ends of a finitely generated group is 0,1, 2 or $\infty$. Problem 1. What is known about the number of ends of infinite finitely generated torsion groups? In ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Residual Finiteness of Fundamental Group of Compact 3-Manifold

Hempel, in his 1987 article "Residual Finiteness for 3-Manifolds", shows that if $M$ is a compact Haken 3-manifold, then $\pi_1(M)$ is residually finite. The outline of the proof is basically: Reduce ...
Steve D's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
257 views

Engulfing Kleinian groups?

Let $G$ be a Kleinian group, and let $H \lneq G$ be a finitely generated subgroup. Must there be a proper finite index subgroup $U$ of $G$ containing $H$ ? I know that this is true for Fuchsian ...
Pablo's user avatar
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33 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is this conjecture strictly weaker than P=NP?

My three computability questions are related to the following group theory question (first asked by Bridson in 1996): For which real $\alpha\ge 2$ the function $n^\alpha$ is equivalent to the Dehn ...
user avatar
29 votes
4 answers
2k views

Trees in groups of exponential growth

Question: Let $G$ be a finitely generated group with exponential growth. Is there a finite generating set $S \subset G$, such that the associated Cayley graph $Cay(G,S)$ contains a binary tree? ...
Andreas Thom's user avatar
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24 votes
4 answers
2k views

Free splittings of one-relator groups

Roughly speaking, I want to know whether one-relator groups only have 'obvious' free splittings. Consider a one-relator group $G=F/\langle\langle r\rangle\rangle$, where $F$ is a free group. Is it ...
HJRW's user avatar
  • 25k
24 votes
1 answer
968 views

Groups whose finite index subgroups of fixed index are isomorphic

I am interested in finitely generated groups $G$ that are residually finite and have the following property: For each $d \geq 1$, $G$ has subgroups of finite index $d$, and all such subgroups are ...
Jens Reinhold's user avatar
21 votes
1 answer
831 views

Can a hyperbolic, one ended, one relator group, have a shorter trivial word?

Let $G= \langle S \mid r \rangle$ be a one-relator presentation for a one-ended hyperbolic group, with $r$ cyclically reduced. Question: Can there be a nontrivial word $w(S)$ which is trivial in the ...
user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
2k views

Is there a non-Hopfian lacunary hyperbolic group?

The question's in the title and is easily stated, but let me try to give some details and explain why I'm interested. First, a disclaimer: if the answer's not already somewhere in the literature then ...
HJRW's user avatar
  • 25k
20 votes
4 answers
2k views

Cayley graph of $A_5$ with generators $(1,2,3,4,5),(1,4,3,2,5)$

The Cayley graph of $A_5$ with two generators of order 5 seems rather complicated. What is its graph genus (orientable or non-orientable)? The best I could get by trial and error is an embedding ...
Bjørn Kjos-Hanssen's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
5k views

Minimal number of generators for $GL(n,\mathbb{Z})$

$\DeclareMathOperator{\gl}{GL}\DeclareMathOperator{\sl}{SL}$From de la Harpe's book "Topics in Geometric Group Theory" I learnt that $\gl(n,\mathbb{Z})$ is generated by the matrices $$s_1 = \begin{...
eins6180's user avatar
  • 1,312
18 votes
1 answer
400 views

Finitely generated groups with Hölder-exotic space of ends?

The space of ends of a finitely generated group is always homeomorphic to 0, 1, 2 points, or a Cantor set, and in which of these 4 cases it falls is governed by Stallings' characterization (wikipedia ...
YCor's user avatar
  • 63.9k
18 votes
4 answers
2k views

Braid groups acting on CAT(0)-complexes

Does the braid group $B_n, n\ge 3$, act properly by isometries on a CAT(0) cube complex? Update 1. During a recent talk of Nigel Higson in Pennstate Dmitri Burago asked whether the braid groups are ...
user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
1k views

Examples of locally hyperbolic groups

It is well-known that a subgroup of a hyperbolic group need not be hyperbolic. Let us say that a (finitely generated) group $G$ is locally hyperbolic if all its finitely generated subgroups are (...
Jean Charles's user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
916 views

Is it true that every f.g. infinite simple group has exponential growth?

Is it true that every finitely generated infinite simple group has exponential (word-)growth? Remark: As Mark Sapir has pointed out, the question whether every finitely generated group of ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
16 votes
2 answers
3k views

The fundamental group of a closed surface without classification of surfaces?

The fundamental group of a closed oriented surface of genus $g$ has the well-known presentation $$ \langle x_1,\ldots, x_g,y_1,\ldots ,y_g\vert \prod_{i=1}^{g} [x_i,y_i]\rangle. $$ The proof I know ...
Johannes Ebert's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
886 views

Is there a finitely generated residually finite group with solvable word problem that does not embed in a finitely presented residually finite group?

The famous Higman embedding theorem says that every recursively presented group embeds in a finitely presented group. This is a convenient tool to construct finitely presented groups with bizarre ...
Benjamin Steinberg's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
2k views

Dehn's algorithm for word problem for surface groups

For some $g \geq 2$, let $\Gamma_g$ be the fundamental group of a closed genus $g$ surface and let $S_g=\{a_1,b_1,\ldots,a_g,b_g\}$ be the usual generating set for $\Gamma_g$ satisfying the surface ...
John M's user avatar
  • 153
13 votes
2 answers
498 views

Decidability of word problem for group admitting certain action

Let $G$ be a group acting highly transitively (and faithfully) on a set $S$. Suppose that $G$ is finitely presented, and that every stabilizer in $G$ of a finite subset of $S$ is finitely generated. I ...
Matt Zaremsky's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
910 views

Holomorphic cusp forms and cohomology of GL(2,Z)

Let $V_{k}$ denote the complex representation of $\mathrm{GL}(2)$ given by $\mathrm{Sym}^k(V)$, where $V$ is the defining 2-dimensional representation. Assume that $k$ is even. I would like to compute ...
Dan Petersen's user avatar
  • 40.2k
13 votes
1 answer
1k views

Topology of boundaries of hyperbolic groups

For many examples of word-hyperbolic groups which I have seen in the context of low-dimensional topology, the ideal boundary is either homeomorphic to a n-sphere for some n or a Cantor set. So, I was ...
Harry Baik's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
462 views

Quasimorphisms and Bounded Cohomology: Quantitative Version?

Consider maps from a discrete group $\Gamma$ to the additive group $\mathbb{R}$. A function $f:\Gamma \to \mathbb{R}$ is called a quasimorphism if it is locally close to being a group homomorphism. ...
BharatRam's user avatar
  • 949
12 votes
0 answers
373 views

Does Thompson's group $V$ have property AP?

Property AP: A discrete group $\Gamma$ has property AP (Approximation Property) if there exists a net $(\phi_i)_{i \in I}$ of finitely supported functions on $\Gamma$ such that $\phi_i \to 1 $ weak$^*$...
tattwamasi amrutam's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
598 views

If $(F_n)_n$ is a Følner sequence satisfying Tempelman's condition, is $(F_n^{-1}F_n)_n$ also Følner?

Let $G$ be a countable group. A Følner sequence is a sequence of finite subsets $(F_n)_n$ such that $$\lim_{n\to\infty} \frac{|KF_n \mathbin\triangle F_n|}{|F_n|} = 0$$ for each fixed finite subset $K ...
Rob's user avatar
  • 213
11 votes
2 answers
755 views

Quasi-isometric rigidity of Nil

Let $Nil$ be the unique simply connected non-abelian three-dimensional nilpotent Lie group, i.e. the group of upper triangular matrices with all the eigenvalues equal to 1 (this group is also known as ...
Roberto Frigerio's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
815 views

Paper by I. N. Sanov, Solution of the Burnside problem for exponent 4

I have searched extensively online and for copies of printed journals containing the paper which details Sanov's solution to the Burnside Problem for exponent 4, which is widely cited in many papers ...
user50229's user avatar
  • 201
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

When is a Baumslag-Solitar group linear?

The Baumslag-Solitar group $BS(m,n)$ is given by the group presentation $BS(m,n)=(a,b|ba^{m}b^{-1}=a^{n})$. When does it embed into a linear group? Thanks!
Kun Wang's user avatar
  • 411
9 votes
1 answer
308 views

Counterexamples to analogue of Cannon conjecture in higher dimensions

It is known that a group $G$ acts geometrically on $\mathbb{H}^2$ if and only if $G$ is word-hyperbolic and its boundary $\partial G$ is homeomorphic to $S^1$. The analogous statement for $\mathbb{H}^...
user68316's user avatar
  • 245
9 votes
3 answers
842 views

Is there a one relator group with property (T)?

Is there a one-relator group with property (T)? That is, is there an $n > 2$, and some $x \in F_n$ (the free group on $n$ generators) such that the quotient of $F_n$ by the normal subgroup ...
Pablo's user avatar
  • 11.3k
9 votes
4 answers
982 views

isometric embeddings of Cayley graphs in "nice" spaces

This is from a physicist I know and as may be expected, I am threading my way between poorly defined and poorly translated. What groups have Cayley graphs (w.r.t. a fixed finite generating set, and ...
Matt Brin's user avatar
  • 1,625
9 votes
0 answers
310 views

Breuer-Guralnick-Kantor conjecture and infinite 3/2-generated groups

A group $G$ is called $\frac{3}{2}$-generated if every non-trivial element is contained in a generating pair, i.e. $$\forall g \in G \setminus \{e \}, \ \exists g' \in G \text{ such that } \langle g,g'...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
493 views

Can $E_8$ be enlarged?

Is there any finite 8-dimensional point group which contains the $E_8$ Coxeter group as a subgroup other than $E_8$ itself?
Daniel Sebald's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
362 views

If a group $G$ has decidable word problem, must it have a decidable square problem?

My question is a refinement of this one about 'efficient' construction of square elements: If the word problem for a (finitely generated, finitely presented) group is decidable, must the 'square ...
Steven Stadnicki's user avatar
8 votes
0 answers
185 views

Sharp isoperimetry in the discrete Heisenberg group

The exact shape of the set which has the best isoperimetry in the continuous Heisenberg is (from what I know) a difficult open problem. This brought to wonder what is known in the discrete case? More ...
ARG's user avatar
  • 4,432
7 votes
3 answers
523 views

Membership to double cosets in free groups

Is there an elementary and efficient algorithm for testing the membership to a double coset of f.g. subgroups in a free group? Has this membership problem been implemented in GAP/Magma? More ...
Ashot Minasyan's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
165 views

Two-relator products of cyclic groups

In "A proof of the Scott–Wiegold conjecture on free products of cyclic groups" Howie proved that every one-relator product of three cyclic groups is nontrivial. Is there a now proven theorem that says ...
shestipalov's user avatar
  • 1,000
7 votes
2 answers
639 views

Is there an algebraically normal function from $\mathbb{Z}^{n}$ to $\{ 0 , 1\}$?

Definition: Let $h$ be a polynomial in $n$ variables, then : $\gamma(h,r,R):=\{ v \in \mathbb{Z}^{n} : \vert h(v) \vert \leq r, \Vert v \Vert < R \}$ Let $\omega : \mathbb{Z}^{n} \to \{ 0 , 1\}$...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
319 views

Which groups contain a comb?

The comb is the undirected simple graph with nodes $\mathbb{N} \times \mathbb{N}$ where $\mathbb{N} \ni 0$ and edges $$ \{\{(m,n), (m,n+1)\}, \{(m,0), (m+1,0)\} \;|\; m \in \mathbb{N}, n \in \mathbb{N}...
Ville Salo's user avatar
  • 6,652