Related papers: When is the Outer Space of a free product CAT(0)?

We associate a contractible ``outer space'' to any free product of groups G=G_1*...*G_q. It equals Culler-Vogtmann space when G is free, McCullough-Miller space when no G_i is Z. Our proof of contractibility (given when G is not free) is…

We investigate CAT(0) metric spaces whose associated Tits boundary is compact. Prominent examples of such spaces are of course the euclidean ones. However there exist non trivial geodesically complete CAT(0) spaces with compact Tits…

Ballmann's Rank Rigidity Conjecture predicts that a CAT(0) space of higher rank with a geometric group action is rigid -- isometric to a Riemannian symmetric space, a Euclidean building, or splits as a direct product. We confirm this…

The first author and Oguni introduced a wide class of metric spaces, called coarsely convex spaces. It includes Gromov hyperbolic metric spaces, CAT(0) spaces, systolic complexes, proper injective metric spaces. We introduce the notion of…

For any right-angled Artin group $A_{\Gamma}$ we construct a finite-dimensional space $\mathcal{O}_{\Gamma}$ on which the group $\text{Out}(A_{\Gamma})$ of outer automorphisms of $A_{\Gamma}$ acts with finite point stabilizers. We prove…

A famous open problem asks whether the asymptotic dimension of a CAT(0) group is necessarily finite. For hyperbolic groups, it is known that asymptotic dimension of the group is bounded above by the dimension of the boundary plus one, which…

We will show that if a proper complete CAT(0) space X has a visual boundary homeomorphic to the join of two Cantor sets, and X admits a geometric group action by a group containing a subgroup isomorphic to Z^2, then its Tits boundary is the…

In this project we explore the geometry of general metric spaces, where we do not necessarily have the tools of differential geometry on our side. Some metric spaces $(X,d)$ allow us to define geodesics, permitting us to compare geodesic…

Dowdall and Taylor observed that given a finite-index subgroup of a free group, taking covers induces an embedding from the Outer Space of the free group to the Outer Space of the subgroup, that this embedding is an isometry with respect to…

A CAT(0) space has rank at least $n$ if every geodesic lies in an $n$-flat. Ballmann's Higher Rank Rigidity Conjecture predicts that a CAT(0) space of rank at least $2$ with a geometric group action is rigid -- isometric to a Riemannian…

We define the symmetric (outer) automorphism group of a right-angled Artin group and construct for it a (spine of) Outer space. This `symmetric spine' is a contractible cube complex upon which the symmetric outer automorphism group acts…

We explore the geometry of nonpositively curved spaces with isolated flats, and its consequences for groups that act properly discontinuously, cocompactly, and isometrically on such spaces. We prove that the geometric boundary of the space…

We announce results on the structure of CAT(0) groups, CAT(0) lattices and of the underlying spaces. Our statements rely notably on a general study of the full isometry groups of proper CAT(0) spaces. Classical statements about Hadamard…

The class of uniformly smooth hyperbolic spaces was recently introduced by the first author as a common generalization of both CAT(0) spaces and uniformly smooth Banach spaces, in a way that Reich's theorem on resolvent convergence could…

We develop the theory of a metric completion of an asymmetric metric space. We characterize the points on the boundary of Outer Space that are in the metric completion of Outer Space with the Lipschitz metric. We prove that the simplicial…

Let $G$ be a countable group that splits as a free product of groups of the form $G=G_1\ast\dots\ast G_k\ast F_N$, where $F_N$ is a finitely generated free group. We identify the closure of the outer space…

We study those groups that act properly discontinuously, cocompactly, and isometrically on CAT(0) spaces with isolated flats and the Relative Fellow Traveller Property. The groups in question include word hyperbolic CAT(0) groups as well as…

Let $X$ be a proper CAT($0$) space and $G$ a cocompact group of isometries of $X$ without fixed point at infinity. We prove that if $\partial X$ contains an invariant subset of circumradius $\pi/2$, then $X$ contains a quasi-dense, closed…

We provide a new geometric characterization for the spine of untwisted outer space of a right-angled Artin group, constructed by Charney, Stambaugh, and Vogtmann. We realize the spine as the natural simplicial complex associated with the…

For every free product decomposition $G = G_{1} \ast ...\ast G_{q} \ast F_{r}$ of a group of finite Kurosh rank $G$, where $F_r$ is a finitely generated free group, we can associate some (relative) outer space $\mathcal{O}$. We study the…