Related papers: On the Complexity of Sails
We establish a close connection between stable commutator length in free groups and the geometry of sails (roughly, the boundary of the convex hull of the set of integer lattice points) in integral polyhedral cones. This connection allows…
We obtain sharp estimates on the growth rate of stable commutator length on random (geodesic) words, and on random walks, in hyperbolic groups and groups acting nondegenerately on hyperbolic spaces. In either case, we show that with high…
This paper has two parts, on Baumslag-Solitar groups and on general G-trees. In the first part we establish bounds for stable commutator length (scl) in Baumslag-Solitar groups. For a certain class of elements, we further show that scl is…
Let G be a group acting on a tree with cyclic edge and vertex stabilizers. Then stable commutator length (scl) is rational in G. Furthermore, scl varies predictably and converges to rational limits in so-called "surgery" families. This is a…
The commutator length $cl_G(g)$ of an element $g \in [G,G]$ in the commutator subgroup of a group $G$ is the least number of commutators needed to express $g$ as their product. If $G$ is a non-abelian free groups, then given an integer $n…
Let $w$ be a word in a free group. As was revealed by Magee and Puder in [arXiv:1802.04862], the stable commutator length (scl) of $w$, a well-known topological invariant, can also be defined in terms of certain stable Fourier coefficients…
We show that the set $SCL^{rp}$ of stable commutator lengths on recursively presented groups equals the set of non-negative right-computable numbers. Hence all non-negative algebraic or computable numbers are in $SCL^{rp}$ and $SCL^{rp}$ is…
It is shown that there exist finitely generated infinite simple groups of infinite commutator width and infinite square width on which there exists no stably unbounded conjugation-invariant norm, and in particular stable commutator length…
The integer hull of a polyhedron is the convex hull of the integer points contained in it. We show that the vertices of the integer hulls of a rational family of polyhedra of size O(n) have quasipolynomial coordinates. As a corollary, we…
Let $w$ be a word in a free group. A few years ago, Magee and the first named author discovered that the stable commutator length (scl) of $w$, a well-known topological invariant, can also be defined in terms of certain Fourier coefficients…
We study stable commutator length (scl) in free products via surface maps into a wedge of spaces. We prove that scl is piecewise rational linear if it vanishes on each factor of the free product, generalizing the main result in Danny…
We study stable W-length in groups, especially for W equal to the n-fold commutator gamma_n:=[x_1,[x_2, . . . [x_{n-1},x_n]] . . . ]. We prove that in any perfect group, for any n at least 2 and any element g, the stable commutator length…
In this paper we obtain uniform positive lower bounds on stable commutator length in word-hyperbolic groups and certain groups acting on hyperbolic spaces (namely the mapping class group acting on the complex of curves, and an amalgamated…
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…
We show that stable commutator length is rational on free products of free Abelian groups amalgamated over $\mathbb{Z}^k$, a class of groups containing the fundamental groups of all torus knot complements. We consider a geometric model for…
For any group, there is a natural (pseudo-)norm on the vector space B1 of real (group) 1-boundaries, called the stable commutator length norm. This norm is closely related to, and can be thought of as a relative version of, the Gromov…
We show that the stable commutator length vanishes for certain groups defined as infinite unions of smaller groups. The argument uses a group-theoretic analogue of the Mazur swindle, and goes back to the works of Anderson, Fisher, and…
An arbitrary homomorphism between groups is nonincreasing for stable commutator length, and there are infinitely many (injective) homomorphisms between free groups which strictly decrease the stable commutator length of some elements.…
Every finite group $G$ has a normal series each of whose factors is either a solvable group or a direct product of non-abelian simple groups. The minimum number of nonsolvable factors, attained on all possible such series in $G$, is called…
We give a new upper bound on the stable commutator length of Dehn twists in hyperelliptic mapping class groups, and determine the stable commutator length of some elements. We also calculate values and the defects of homogeneous…