Related papers: Lefschetz pencils and finitely presented groups

For a finite group $G$, denote by $\alpha(G)$ the minimum number of vertices of any graph $\Gamma$ having $\text{Aut}(\Gamma)\cong G$. In this paper, we prove that $\alpha(G)\leq |G|$, with specified exceptions. The exceptions include four…

Given an arbitrary, finitely presented, residually finite group $\Gamma$, one can construct a finitely generated, residually finite, free-by-free group $M_\Gamma = F_\infty\rtimes F_4$ and an embedding $M_\Gamma \hookrightarrow (F_4\ast…

Bidouble covers $\pi : S \mapsto Q$ of the quadric Q are parametrized by connected families depending on four positive integers a,b,c,d. In the special case where b=d we call them abc-surfaces. Such a Galois covering $\pi$ admits a small…

The Gruenberg-Kegel graph $\Gamma(G)$ associated with a finite group $G$ has as vertices the prime divisors of $|G|$, with an edge from $p$ to $q$ if and only if $G$ contains an element of order $pq$. This graph has been the subject of much…

We study simple wrinkled fibrations, a variation of the simplified purely wrinkled fibrations introduced by Williams, and their combinatorial description in terms of surface diagrams. We show that simple wrinkled fibrations induce handle…

We prove part of a higher rank analogue of the Mazur-Gouvea Conjecture. More precisely, let $\tilde{\bf G}$ be a connected, reductive ${\Bbb Q}$-split group and let $\Gamma$ be an arithmetic subgroup of $\tilde{\bf G}$. We show that the…

We prove height bounds concerning intersections of finitely generated subgroups in a torus with algebraic subvarieties, all varying in a pencil. This vastly extends the previously treated constant case and involves entirely different, and…

We study finite groups that occur as combinatorial automorphism groups or geometric symmetry groups of convex polytopes. When $\Gamma$ is a subgroup of the combinatorial automorphism group of a convex $d$-polytope, $d\geq 3$, then there…

Let $\Gamma$ be a finitely generated group which is hyperbolic relative to a finite family $\{H_1,...,H_n\}$ of subgroups. We prove that $\Gamma$ is uniformly embeddable in a Hilbert space if and only if each subgroup $H_i$ is uniformly…

In this article, we study the maximal length of positive Dehn twist factorizations of surface mapping classes. In connection to fundamental questions regarding the uniform topology of symplectic 4-manifolds and Stein fillings of contact…

Verifying a conjecture of Gromov we establish a generalized Margulis Lemma for manifolds with lower Ricci curvature bound. Among the various applications are finiteness results for fundamental groups of compact $n$-manifolds with upper…

We show that a four-manifold admits a boundary Lefschetz fibration over the disc if and only if it is diffeomorphic to $S^1 \times S^3\# n \overline{\mathbb{C} P^2}$, $\# m\mathbb{C} P^2 \#n\overline{\mathbb{C} P^2}$ or $\# m (S^2 \times…

This paper investigates the relationship between strata of abelian differentials and various mapping class groups afforded by means of the topological monodromy representation. Building off of prior work of the authors, we show that the…

We introduce the Lax-Kirchhoff moduli space associated with a finite quiver $\Gamma$ and a compact connected Lie group $G$. On each oriented edge we consider the Lax equation $\dot{A}_1 + [A_0, A_1] = 0$ and impose a Kirchhoff-type matching…

Consider a fixed connected, finite graph $\Gamma$ and equip its vertices with weights $p_i$ which are non-negative integers. We show that there is a finite number of possibilities for the coefficients of the canonical cycle of a numerically…

We introduce an idea of constructing Lefschetz fibrations of Weinstein manifolds from Weinstein handle decompositions on them. We prove theorems that formulate the idea for the cases of cotangent bundles and some plumbings. As a corollary,…

Spinal open book decompositions provide a natural generalization of open book decompositions. We show that any minimal symplectic filling of a contact 3-manifold supported by a planar spinal open book is deformation equivalent to the…

We define a family of groups that include the mapping class group of a genus g surface with one boundary component and the integral symplectic group Sp(2g,Z). We then prove that these groups are finitely generated. These groups, which we…

Let $\C(\Gamma)$ be the set of isomorphism classes of the finite groups that are homomorphic images of $\Gamma$. We investigate the extent to which $\C(\Gamma)$ determines $\Gamma$ when $\Gamma$ is a group of geometric interest. If…

We prove a general Zariski-van Kampen-Lefschetz type theorem for higher homotopy groups of generic and nongeneric pencils on singular open complex spaces.