English

SL(3,Z) is not Howson

Group Theory 2026-05-26 v1 Geometric Topology

Abstract

We give an explicit construction of two 22-generated subgroups H,K\SL(3,Z)H,K\leq \SL(3,\Z) whose intersection is not finitely generated. The construction takes place inside the standard parabolic subgroup Z2\SL(2,Z)\SL(3,Z)\Z^2\rtimes \SL(2,\Z)\leq \SL(3,\Z). The main point is to identify HKH\cap K with the stabilizer of a point for an affine action of a free group on Z2\Z^2, and then to prove, using the Schreier graph of this action, that this stabilizer is not finitely generated. Furthermore, we prove that there exists a sequence of subgroups Hq,Kq\SL(3,Z)H_q, K_q \leq \SL(3,\mathbb{Z}) such that \rank(Hq)=\rank(Kq)=4\rank(H_q)=\rank(K_q)=4, and \rank(HqKq)q+1, \rank(H_q\cap K_q)\geq q+1, while HqKqH_q\cap K_q is finitely generated.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.25080,
  title  = {SL(3,Z) is not Howson},
  author = {Shengkui Ye and Qiang Zhang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.25080},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-22T07:31:01.655Z