English

On the genus of infinite groups

Group Theory 2011-12-01 v1

Abstract

We associate to each finite presentation of a group G a compact CW-complex that is a 3-manifold in the complement of a point, and whose fundamental group is isomorphic to G. We use this complex to define a notion of genus for G and give examples, and also define a notion of `closed group'. A group has genus 0 if and only if it is the fundamental group of a compact orientable 3-manifold.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1111.7016,
  title  = {On the genus of infinite groups},
  author = {Iain Aitchison and Lawrence Reeves},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1111.7016},
  year   = {2011}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T19:43:40.040Z