English

Weak $\mathcal Z$-structures and one-relator groups

Geometric Topology 2022-07-20 v1

Abstract

Motivated by the notion of boundary for hyperbolic and CAT(0)CAT(0) groups, M. Bestvina in "Local Homology Properties of Boundaries of Groups" introduced the notion of a (weak) Z\mathcal Z-structure and (weak) Z\mathcal Z-boundary for a group GG of type F\mathcal F (i.e., having a finite K(G,1)K(G,1) complex), with implications concerning the Novikov conjecture for GG. Since then, some classes of groups have been shown to admit a weak Z\mathcal Z-structure (see "Weak Z\mathcal Z-structures for some classes of groups" by C.R. Guilbault for example), but the question whether or not every group of type F\mathcal F admits such a structure remains open. In this paper, we show that every torsion free one-relator group admits a weak Z\mathcal Z-structure, by showing that they are all properly aspherical at infinity; moreover, in the 11-ended case the corresponding weak Z\mathcal Z-boundary has the shape of either a circle or a Hawaiian earring depending on whether the group is a virtually surface group or not. Finally, we extend this result to a wider class of groups still satisfying a Freiheitssatz property.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2207.09117,
  title  = {Weak $\mathcal Z$-structures and one-relator groups},
  author = {M. Cárdenas and F. F. LasHeras and A. Quintero},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2207.09117},
  year   = {2022}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-25T01:02:35.837Z