Related papers: Groups with decidable word problem that do not emb…

We investigate the average-case complexity of decision problems for finitely generated groups, in particular the word and membership problems. Using our recent results on ``generic-case complexity'' we show that if a finitely generated…

We construct and study finitely presented groups with quadratic Dehn function (QD-groups) and present the following applications of the method developed in our recent papers. (1) The isomorphism problem is undecidable in the class of…

For a set $X\subseteq \mathbb{N}$, we define the $X$-torsion of a group $G$ to be all elements $g\in G$ with $g^{n}=e$ for some $n\in X$. With $X$ recursively enumerable, we give two independent proofs (group-theoretic, and model-theoretic)…

We prove that the abstract commensurator of a nonabelian free group, an infinite surface group, or more generally of a group that splits appropriately over a cyclic subgroup, is not finitely generated. This applies in particular to all…

We construct an extension $E(A,G)$ of a given group $G$ by infinite non-Archimedean words over an discretely ordered abelian group like $Z^n$. This yields an effective and uniform method to study various groups that "behave like $G$". We…

We construct a finitely presented non-amenable group without free non-cyclic subgroups thus providing a finitely presented counterexample to von Neumann's problem. Our group is an extension of a group of finite exponent n >> 1 by a cyclic…

In this paper we study the generic, i.e., typical, behavior of finitely generated subgroups of hyperbolic groups and also the generic behavior of the word problem for amenable groups. We show that a random set of elements of a nonelementary…

We prove that there is no algorithm that can determine whether or not a finitely presented group has a non-trivial finite quotient; indeed, this remains undecidable among the fundamental groups of compact, non-positively curved square…

We prove that, given a finitely generated subgroup $H$ of a free group $F$, the following questions are decidable: is $H$ closed (dense) in $F$ for the pro-(met)abelian topology? is the closure of $H$ in $F$ for the pro-(met)abelian…

We prove that, for a finitely generated group hyperbolic relative to virtually abelian subgroups, the generalised word problem for a parabolic subgroup is the language of a real-time Turing machine. Then, for a hyperbolic group, we show…

We show that any one-relator group $G=F/\langle\langle w\rangle\rangle$ with torsion is coherent -- i.e., that every finitely generated subgroup of $G$ is finitely presented -- answering a 1974 question of Baumslag in this case.

We give Scott sentences for certain computable groups, and we use index set calculations as a way of checking that our Scott sentences are as simple as possible. We consider finitely generated groups and torsion-free abelian groups of…

We show that the generation problem in Thompson group $F$ is decidable, i.e., there is an algorithm which decides if a finite set of elements of $F$ generates the whole $F$. The algorithm makes use of the Stallings $2$-core of subgroups of…

This paper is a short survey on four basic questions on Artin-Tits groups: the torsion, the center, the word problem, and the cohomology ($K(\pi,1)$ problem). It is also an opportunity to prove three new results concerning these questions:…

There have been several attempts to extend the notion of conjugacy from groups to monoids. The aim of this paper is study the decidability and independence of conjugacy problems for three of these notions (which we will denote by $\sim_p$,…

We combine classical methods of combinatorial group theory with the theory of small cancellations over relatively hyperbolic groups to construct finitely generated torsion-free groups that have only finitely many classes of conjugate…

Existentially closed groups are, informally, groups that contain solutions to every consistent finite system of equations and inequations. They were introduced in 1951 in an algebraic context and subsequent research elucidated deep…

We study the word and conjugacy problems in lacunary hyperbolic groups (briefly, LHG). In particular, we describe a necessary and sufficient condition for decidability of the word problem in LHG. Then, based on the graded small-cancellation…

In \cite[Problem 72]{Fuchs60} Fuchs posed the problem of characterizing the groups which are the groups of units of commutative rings. In the following years, some partial answers have been given to this question in particular cases. In a…

We construct the first examples of finitely presented groups with quadratic Dehn function containing a finitely generated infinite torsion subgroup. These examples are "optimal" in the sense that the Dehn function of any such finitely…