English

On infinite groups generated by two quaternions

Group Theory 2007-05-23 v5 Rings and Algebras

Abstract

Let xx, yy be two integral quaternions of norm pp and ll, respectively, where pp, ll are distinct odd prime numbers. We investigate the structure of <x,y><x,y>, the multiplicative group generated by xx and yy. Under a certain condition which excludes <x,y><x,y> from being free or abelian, we show for example that <x,y><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><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 xx and yy for fixed pp, ll, using results on prime numbers of the form r2+ms2r^2 + m s^2 and a simple invariant for commutativity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.math/0502512,
  title  = {On infinite groups generated by two quaternions},
  author = {Diego Rattaggi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:math/0502512},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

31 pages. Completely revised version, several new results and simplified proofs