arXiv research

Proves one-relator groups with negative immersions are hyperbolic and virtually special.

We determine the L^2-Betti numbers of all one-relator groups and all surface-plus-one-relation groups (surface-plus-one-relation groups were introduced by Hempel who called them one-relator surface groups). In particular we show that for all such groups G, the L^2-Betti numbers b_n^{(2)}(G) are 0 for all n>1. We also o…

Uniform negative immersions prove coherence of one-relator groups.

Study builds non-bi-orderable groups without generalized torsion.

Proves one-relator groups are fundamental groups of Sasakian manifolds.

Generalizes Collins' theorem to products of locally indicable groups.

We extend several results of Helfer, Wise, Louder and Wilton related to coherence in one-relator groups to the more general setting of one-relator products of locally indicable groups. The methods developed to do so also give rise to a new proof of a theorem of Brodsky.

We obtain a number of results regarding freeness, quasiconvexity and separability for subgroups of Coxeter groups, Artin groups and one-relator groups with torsion.

Three versions of the Freiheitssatz are proved in the context of one-relator quotients of limit groups, where the latter are equipped with 1-acylindrical splittings over cyclic subgroups. These are natural extensions of previously published corresponding statements for one-relator quotients of orientable surface groups…

We prove a freeness theorem for low-rank subgroups of one-relator groups. Let $F$ be a free group, and let $w\in F$ be a non-primitive element. The primitivity rank of $w$, $π(w)$, is the smallest rank of a subgroup of $F$ containing $w$ as an imprimitive element. Then any subgroup of the one-relator group $G=F/\langle…

Recently Dicks-Linnell determined the $L^2$-Betti numbers of the orientable surface-plus-one-relation groups, and their arguments involved some results that were obtained topologically by Hempel and Howie. Using algebraic arguments, we now extend all these results of Hempel and Howie to a larger class of two-relator gr…

We prove that ``almost generically'' for a one-relator group Delzant's $T$-invariant (which measures the smallest size of a finite presentation for a group) is comparable in magnitude with the length of the defining relator. The proof relies on our previous results regarding isomorphism rigidity of generic one-relator …

How different is the universal cover of a given finite 2-complex from a 3-manifold (from the proper homotopy viewpoint)? Regarding this question, we recall that a finitely presented group $G$ is said to be properly 3-realizable if there exists a compact 2-polyhedron $K$ with $π_1(K) \cong G$ whose universal cover $\til…

The study shows that surface groups are the only non-free infinite index subgroups of certain hyperbolic groups.

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.

We study the universal character ring of some families of one-relator groups. As an application, we calculate the universal character ring of two-generator one-relator groups whose relators are palindrome, and, in particular, of the (-2,2m+1,2n+1)-pretzel knot for all integers m and n. For the (-2,3,2n+1)-pretzel knot,…

We prove that Whitehead's algorithm for solving the automorphism problem in a fixed free group $F_k$ has strongly linear time generic-case complexity. This is done by showing that the ``hard'' part of the algorithm terminates in linear time on an exponentially generic set of input pairs. We then apply these results to …

We prove that a one-relator group $G$ is Kähler if and only if either $G$ is finite cyclic or $G$ is isomorphic to the fundamental group of a compact orbifold Riemann surface of genus $g > 0$ with at most one cone point of order $n$: $< a_1\, b_1\, \,...\, a_g\, b_g\, \mid\, (\prod_{i=1}^g [a_i\, b_i])^n>\, .$

A one-relator group is a group $G_r$ that admits a presentation $\langle S \mid r \rangle$ with a single relation $r$. One-relator groups form a rich classically studied class of groups in Geometric Group Theory. If $r \in F(S)'$, the commutator subgroup of $F(S)$, we introduce the simplicial volume of $\| G_r \|$. We …

This paper proves that one-relator groups have a weak Z-structure.

We use Fox calculus to assign a marked polytope to a `nice' group presentation with two generators and one relator. Relating the marked vertices to Novikov-Sikorav homology we show that they determine the Bieri-Neumann-Strebel invariant of the group. Furthermore we show that in many cases the marked polytope is an inva…

We will say that a group G possesses the Magnus property if for any two elements u,v in G with the same normal closure, u is conjugate to v or v^{-1}. We prove that some one-relator groups, including the fundamental groups of closed nonorientable surfaces of genus g>3 possess this property. The analogous result for ori…

We introduce the notion of a bicollapsible 2-complex. This allows us to generalize the hyperbolicity of one-relator groups with torsion to a broader class of groups with presentations whose relators are proper powers. We also prove that many such groups act properly and cocompactly on a CAT(0) cube complex.

Study groups with polynomial growth, finding structure and applications.

Paper withdrawn because of a gap in the proof of Proposition 3 of Thomas Schick: "Integrality of L2-Betti numbers", Math. Ann. 317, 727-750 (arXiv.org/abs/math.gt/0001101). Most results of the withdrawn paper were based on this proposition.

We give explicit formulae for the volumes of hyperbolic cone-manifolds of double twist knots, a class of two-bridge knots which includes twist knots and two-bridge knots with Conway notation $C(2n,3)$. We also study the Riley polynomial of a class of one-relator groups which includes two-bridge knot groups.

The study of Morse functions on 3-manifolds and their Reeb graphs.

The main result of this article is that among the family of one-relator presentation 2-complexes that might be expected to be finitely unsplittable (not the union of two proper subpolyhedra with finite first homology groups) almost all have this property. Included among these one-relator presentation 2-complexes are al…

We show that the free-by-cyclic groups of the form F(2)-by-Z act properly cocompactly on CAT(0) square complexes. We also show using generalised Baumslag-Solitar groups that all known groups defined by a 2-generator 1-relator presentation are either SQ-universal or are cyclic or isomorphic to BS(1,j). Finally we consid…

The goal of this paper is to obtain restrictions on the prime to p quotient of the étale fundamental group of a smooth projective variety in characteristic $p\ge 0$. The results are analogues some theorems in the study of Kähler groups. Our first main result is that such groups are indecomposable under coproduct. The s…

We apply the method of Arzhantseva-Ol'shanskii to prove that for an exponentially generic (in the sense of Ol'shanskii) class of one-relator groups the isomorphism problem is solvable in at most exponential time. This is obtained as a corollary of our more general result that for any fixed integers $m>1, n>0$ there is …

We generalize basic results relating the associated graded Lie algebra and the holonomy Lie algebra from finitely presented, commutator-relators groups to arbitrary finitely presented groups. In the process, we give an explicit formula for the cup-product in the cohomology of a finite 2-complex, and an algorithm for co…

We use the theory of group actions on profinite trees to prove that the fundamental group of a finite, 1-acylindrical graph of free groups with finitely generated edge groups is conjugacy separable. This has several applications: we prove that positive, $C'(1/6)$ one-relator groups are conjugacy separable; we provide a…

In this paper we give an example of a linear group such that its tensor square is not linear. Also, we formulate some sufficient conditions for the linearity of non-abelian tensor products $G \otimes H$ and tensor squares $G \otimes G$. Using these results we prove that tensor squares of some groups with one relation a…

We use Klyachko's methods to prove that the natural map G to G-hat, where G is a torsion-free group and G-hat is obtained by adding a new generator t and a new relator w, is surjective only if w is conjugate to gt or gt^{-1} for some g in G. This solves a special case of the surjectivity problem for group extensions, r…

The description of invariants of surfaces with respect to the motion groups is reduced to the description of invariants of parameterized surfaces with respect to the motion groups. Existence of a commuting system of invariant partial differential operators (derivatives) and a finite system of invariants, such that any …

Groups of importance in group theory have flexible stability properties.

The study characterizes subgroups of mapping tori of free groups.

The Thurston norm of a 3-manifold measures the complexity of surfaces representing two-dimensional homology classes. We study the possible unit balls of Thurston norms of 3-manifolds $M$ with $b_1(M) = 2$, and whose fundamental groups admit presentations with two generators and one relator. We show that even among this…

We calculate the universal character ring of a class of two-generator, one-relator groups. As an application we give a less technical proof of a result in [LT] on the universal character ring of the (-2,3,2n+1)-pretzel knot. We also give an elementary proof of a result in [Ma] on the character variety of the (-2,3,2n+1…

In a previous paper on coupled gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations of Reissner-Nordström spacetime in a polarized setting, we derived a system of wave equations for two independent quantities, one related to the Weyl curvature and one related to the Ricci curvature of the perturbed spacetime. We analyze her…

A group is coherent if all its finitely generated subgroups are finitely presented. In this article we provide a criterion for positively determining the coherence of a group. This criterion is based upon the notion of the perimeter of a map between two finite 2-complexes which is introduced here. In the groups to whic…

From the cohomological point of view the symplectomorphism group $Sympl (M)$ of a symplectic manifold is `` tamer'' than the diffeomorphism group. The existence of invariant polynomials in the Lie algebra $\frak {sympl }(M)$, the symplectic Chern-Weil theory, and the existence of Chern-Simons-type secondary classes are…

A graph is Helly if every family of pairwise intersecting combinatorial balls has a nonempty intersection. We show that weak Garside groups of finite type and FC-type Artin groups are Helly, that is, they act geometrically on Helly graphs. In particular, such groups act geometrically on spaces with convex geodesic bico…

For a smooth manifold $N$ denote by $E^m(N)$ the set of smooth isotopy classes of smooth embeddings $N\to\mathbb R^m$. A description of the set $E^m(S^p\times S^q)$ was known only for $p=q=0$ or for $p=0$, $m\ne q+2$ or for $2m\ge 2(p+q)+\max\{p,q\}+4$. (The description was given in terms of homotopy groups of spheres …

In 1976 Thurston associated to a $3$-manifold $N$ a marked polytope in $H_1(N;\mathbb{R}),$ which measures the minimal complexity of surfaces representing homology classes and determines all fibered classes in $H^1(N;\mathbb{R})$. Recently the first and the last author associated to a presentation $π$ with two generato…

We give a survey on the Weierstrass representations of surfaces in three- and four-dimensional spaces, their applications to the theory of the Willmore functional and on related problems of spectral theory of the two-dimensional Dirac operator with periodic coefficients.

Survey on CR Paneitz operator and manifold embeddability.