Related papers: Turn graphs and extremal surfaces in free groups
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 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…
We study stable commutator length on free $\mathbb{Q}$-groups. We prove that every non-identity element has positive stable commutator length, and that the corresponding free group embeds isometrically. We deduce that a non-abelian free…
We give a new proof of a theorem of D. Calegari that says that the Cayley graph of a surface group with respect to any generating set lying in finitely many mapping class group orbits has infinite diameter. This applies, for instance, to…
We give a new proof of rationality of stable commutator length (scl) of certain elements in surface groups: those represented by curves that do not fill the surface. Such elements always admit extremal surfaces for scl. These results also…
Starting from context-free inverse graphs, we introduce a new class of groups and study their structural properties. We establish closure properties, show that their co-word problems are context-free, analyze torsion elements, and realize…
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.…
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…
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…
Given a finite graph G there is a corresponding group given by the presentation with generators the vertices of G and a relation [x,y]=1 for generators x and y precisely when (x,y) is an edge of G. Such groups are known as partially…
We show how to use topological ideas, such as compactness, to establish orderability properties of infinite groups. A new application is to provide a left-ordering for the group of PL homeomorphisms of a connected surface with boundary…
The aim of this paper is to study the group of isomorphism classes of torsors of finite flat group schemes of rank 2 over a commutative ring $R$. This, in particular, generalises the group of quadratic algebras (free or projective), which…
Consider a one-ended word-hyperbolic group. If it is the fundamental group of a graph of free groups with cyclic edge groups then either it is the fundamental group of a surface or it contains a finitely generated one-ended subgroup of…
We discuss a partial normalisation of a finite graph of finite groups $(\Gamma(-), X)$ which leaves invariant the fundamental group. In conjunction with an easy graph-theoretic result, this provides a flexible and rather useful tool in the…
In this expository note we provide a proof of Artin's theorem which states that the commutator subgroup of a free group on two generators is not finitely generated. The proof employs the infinite grid as in two other proofs in the…
A proof of freeness of the commutator subgroup of the fundamental group of a smooth irreducible affine curve over a countable algebraically closed field of nonzero characteristic. A description of the abelianizations of the fundamental…
Let X be a smooth complex projective surface. We prove that for any sufficiently big m there exists a rational dominant map f from X into a complex rational ruled surface Y, such that f is generically finite of degree m and has monodromy…
Factors $\frac{X}{Y}$ in a free group $F$ with $Y$ normal in $X$ are considered. Precise results on the free structure of ${Y}$ relative to the free structure of ${X}$ when $\frac{X}{Y}$ is abelian are obtained. Some extensions and…
We provide the first example of a finitely presented (in fact, type $F_\infty$) group with elements whose stable commutator length is algebraic and irrational, answering a question of Calegari. Our example is the lift to the real line of…
Let $G$ be a hyperbolic group that splits as a graph of free groups with cyclic edge groups. We prove that, unless $G$ is isomorphic to a free product of free and surface groups, every finite abelian group $M$ appears as a direct summand in…