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
987 questions
52
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14
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Introductory text on geometric group theory?
Can someone indicate me a good introductory text on geometric group theory?
40
votes
1
answer
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Orders of products of permutations
Let $p$ be a prime, $n\gg p$ not divisible by $p$ (say, $n>2^{2^p}$). Are there two permutations $a, b$ of the set $\{1,...,n\}$ which together act transitively on $\{1,2,...,n\}$ and such that all ...
user6976
38
votes
5
answers
3k
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Is there a simple proof that a group of linear growth is quasi-isometric to Z?
I proposed to a master's student to work, from the exercise in Ghys-de la Harpe's book, on the proof that a finitely generated group $G$ that is quasi-isometric to $\mathbb{Z}$ is virtually $\mathbb{Z}...
- 14.4k
35
votes
17
answers
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Equivalent definitions of Gromov hyperbolicity
Let $X$ be a metric space. I'd like to collect as many definitions of Gromov hyperbolicity or $\delta$-hyperbolicity of $X$ as possible.
I'm happy for the definitions to require some niceness ...
33
votes
1
answer
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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 ...
user6976
32
votes
3
answers
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Is the Hurewicz theorem ever used to compute abelianizations?
The Hurewicz theorem tells us that if $X$ is a path-connected space then $H_1(X, \, \mathbb{Z})$ is isomorphic to the abelianisation of $\pi_1(X)$. This gives a potential method for computing the ...
user81684
31
votes
2
answers
1k
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Group theory with grep?
While reading Bill Thurston's obituary in the Notices of the AMS I came across the following fascinating anecdote (pg. 32):
Bill’s enthusiasm during the early stages of mathematical discovery was ...
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31
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0
answers
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Is this representation of Go (game) irreducible?
This post is freely inspired by the basic rules of Go (game), usually played on a $19 \times 19$ grid graph.
Consider the $\mathbb{Z}^2$ grid. We can assign to each vertex a state "black" ($b$), "...
30
votes
7
answers
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Residual finiteness: why do we care?
Residually finite groups have been studied for a long time. However, I am struggling to work out why we care, or perhaps, why they continue to be of interest. Let me explain.
Magnus, in his 1968 ...
29
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4
answers
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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?
...
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28
votes
5
answers
4k
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Are there any computational problems in groups that are harder than P?
There are several well known classes of groups for which the word problem, conjugacy etc. are solvable in polynomial time (hyperbolic, automatic).
Then there are several classes of groups like ...
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28
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2
answers
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Invertible matrices satisfying $[x,y,y]=x$
I have been thinking about this question for quite some time but now this question by Denis Serre revived some hope.
Question. Let $x,y$ be invertible matrices (say, over $\mathbb C$) and $[x,y,...
user6976
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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 ...
- 6,652
26
votes
1
answer
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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 ...
- 63.9k
26
votes
1
answer
615
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What is the minimal dimension of a complex realising a group representation?
This question is inspired by this one, which was about representations that can be realised homologically by an action on a graph (i.e., a 1-dimensional complex).
Many interesting integral ...
- 10.9k
25
votes
1
answer
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Is the property of not containing $\mathbb{F}_2$ invariant under quasi-isometry?
Is the property of not containing the free group on two generators invariant under quasi-isometry? Amenability is, so if there is a counterexample it is also a solution to the von Neumann-Day ...
- 3,547
24
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4
answers
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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 ...
- 25k
24
votes
1
answer
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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 ...
- 11.9k
23
votes
9
answers
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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?
- 1,702
23
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2
answers
2k
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Modern references on hyperbolic groups
Several good references dedicated to hyperbolic groups have been written until 1990, including:
Hyperbolic groups, written by M. Gromov.
Géométrie et théorie des groupes : les groupes hyperboliques ...
- 8,401
23
votes
1
answer
1k
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Universal graph
A connected (and infinite) graph $U$ will be called $n$-universal if any connected graph with degree $\leqslant n$ admits an embedding in $U$.
Is there a 3-universal graph with bounded degree?
- 45k
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5
answers
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When is a extension of $\mathbb{Z}$ by a free group a CAT(0) group?
The question has an easy answer, if one replaces free by free abelian: Then the resulting group is always solvable and a solvable subgroup of a CAT(0) group is virtually abelian.
If the resulting was ...
- 11.1k
22
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3
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The role of the Automatic Groups in the history of Geometric Group Theory
What is the role of the theory of Automatic Groups in the history of Geometric Group Theory?
Motivation:
When I read through the "Word Processing in Groups" I was amazed by the supreme beauty and ...
22
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3
answers
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An example of a non-amenable exact group without free subgroups.
A countable discrete group $\Gamma$ is said to be exact if it admits an amenable action on some compact space.
So clearly amenable groups are exact, but large familes of non-amenable groups are as ...
- 2,441
22
votes
2
answers
1k
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Asymptotics of the growth rate of a group
Let $\Gamma$ be a finitely generated group of exponential growth and $gr(S)=\lim_{k\rightarrow \infty} \sqrt[k]{|B_k(S)|}$ be the growth rate of $\Gamma$ with respect to the generating set $S$. I am ...
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4
answers
2k
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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 ...
- 25k
21
votes
1
answer
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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 ...
user35370
21
votes
0
answers
473
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Are braid groups known to not be linear over $\mathbb{Z}$?
$\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}$It is known that every braid group $B_n$ embeds as a subgroup of $\GL_m(\mathbb{Z}[q^{\pm 1},t^{\pm 1}])$, where $m=n(n-1)/2$ (see Krammer - Braid groups are linear). This ...
- 3,740
20
votes
7
answers
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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 ...
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20
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3
answers
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Failure of Mostow rigidity in dimension 2
I am trying to understand why Mostow rigidity fails in dimension 2. More concretely, I have the following question:
(1) What is an example of a quasiisometry $f$ of the hyperbolic plane $\mathbb H^2$ ...
- 11.9k
20
votes
4
answers
2k
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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 ...
- 24.8k
20
votes
1
answer
951
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Amenable groups of deficiency $1$
Let $G=\langle X;R\rangle$ be a finitely presented group. The rank of $G$ is defined to be the size of smallest generating set of $G$. The deficiency ${\rm def}(G)$ of $G$ is defined to be the maximum ...
- 25.5k
19
votes
2
answers
5k
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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{...
- 1,312
19
votes
1
answer
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Is there a simple group that is torsion-free, type $\textrm{F}_\infty$, and infinite dimensional?
Does there exist an example of a group that is:
Simple,
Torsion-free,
Of type $\textrm{F}_\infty$, and
Infinite dimensional (meaning of infinite cohomological dimension)?
Thompson's group $F$ has ...
- 3,740
19
votes
0
answers
782
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Reference request: Parallel processor theorem of William Thurston
Sometime in the 1980's or 1990's, Bill Thurston proved a theorem regarding the existence of a universal parallel processing machine, using a certain class for such machines having finite deterministic ...
- 15.4k
18
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7
answers
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Examples of residually-finite groups
One of the main reasons I only supervised one PhD student is that I find it hard to find an appropriate topic for a PhD project. A good approach, in my view, is to have on the one hand a list of ...
18
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4
answers
2k
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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 ...
user6976
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-...
- 31.2k
18
votes
1
answer
783
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Are there any "simple" monoids with intermediate growth?
The discovery of the Grigorchuk group which has intermediate growth caused a number of other such groups to be found, but they are all fairly complicated, and as far as I know none of them are ...
- 1,947
18
votes
2
answers
790
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The kernel of the map from the handlebody group to Outer automorphisms of a free group
Let $K$ be a compact oriented 3-dimensional handlebody of genus $g$. The group $H_g$ of isotopy classes of diffeomorphisms of $K$ is called the handlebody group. (It embeds as a subgroup of the ...
- 6,229
18
votes
2
answers
662
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Dehn functions of finitely presented simple groups
Any finitely presented simple group has solvable word problem, and hence recursive Dehn function. I'm curious though how wild these recursive functions could possibly be.
One concrete question is ...
- 3,740
18
votes
1
answer
567
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Is Thompson's group $T$ co-Hopfian?
A group $G$ is co-Hopfian if every injective homomorphism $G\to G$ is bijective, i.e., if $G$ contains no proper subgroups isomorphic to $G$. My question is whether Thompson's group $T$ is co-Hopfian.
...
- 3,740
18
votes
1
answer
400
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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 ...
- 63.9k
18
votes
1
answer
502
views
Asymmetric metrics and cohomology
If $(X,d)$ is a metric space and $f : X \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ is a Lipschitz function with Lipschitz constant $k < 1$, then the function
$$
D(x,y) := d(x,y) + f(y) - f(x)
$$
defines an asymmetric ...
- 13.5k
18
votes
0
answers
734
views
How boundedly generated is $SL_3(\mathbb{Z})$?
The group $G = \mathrm{SL}_3(\mathbb{Z})$ is known to be boundedly generated, that is, there exists some $m \in \mathbb{N}$, and $g_1, \dots, g_m \in G$ such that we have the following equality of ...
- 11.3k
18
votes
0
answers
477
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Linear groups which don't contain products of free groups
Let $G \subset GL(n, \Bbb Z)$ be a f.g. linear group. The Tits alternative says that $G$ is either virtually solvable (i.e. has a solvable subgroup of finite index), or contains a free group $F_2$. ...
- 17k
17
votes
3
answers
1k
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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 (...
- 383
17
votes
1
answer
459
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Existence of a quasi-isometric residually finite group?
It's, by now, more or less well known that residual finiteness is not a quasi-isometry invariant for finitely generated groups (see here for an example). Thus the following question makes sense:
...
- 733
17
votes
1
answer
832
views
Loop spaces and infinite braids
The Artin braid groups $B_n$ and the symmetric groups $S_n$ are closely related by the maps $1 \to P_n \to B_n \to S_n \to 1$. The infinite symmetric group has interesting interactions with homotopy ...
- 2,734
17
votes
3
answers
1k
views
The second homotopy group of a simple CW-complex
Let $X$ be a CW-complex with
one 0-cell
two 1-cells
three 2-cells
no cells in dimensions 3 or higher.
Is it always true that $\pi_2(X)\ne 1$?
- 1,181