Related papers: Out($F_r$) train track automata I: Proper full fol…
This is the first in a series of four papers (with research announcement posted on this arXiv) that together develop a decomposition theory for subgroups of Out(F_n). In this paper we develop further the theory of geometric EG strata of…
We define fully irreducible automorphisms of generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups in analogy with fully irreducible automorphisms of free groups. We first obtain a characterization of fully irreducible automorphisms analogous to a condition…
This is the first of two papers in which we investigate the properties of the displacement functions of automorphisms of free groups (more generally, free products) on Culler-Vogtmann Outer space and its simplicial bordification - the free…
Let $G$ be a group and let ${\mathcal G}$ be a free factor system of $G$, namely a free splitting of $G$ as $G=G_1*\dots*G_k*F_r$. In this paper, we study the set of train track points for ${\mathcal G}$-irreducible automorphisms $\phi$…
We will survey the work on the topology of $Out(F_n)$ in the last 20 years or so. Much of the development is driven by the tantalizing analogy with mapping class groups. Unfortunately, $Out(F_n)$ is more complicated and less well-behaved.…
Similarly to the action of $Out(F_N)$ on Outer Space, the outer automorphism group of a Generalized Baumslag Solitar group acts on a deformation space endowed with the Lipschitz metric and the action of any fully irreducible automorphism…
Every irreducible outer automorphism of the free group of rank r is topologically represented by an irreducible train track map $f$ on some graph $\Gamma$ of rank r. Moreover, $f$ can always be written as a composition of folds and a graph…
Subsurface projection has become indispensable in studying the geometry of the mapping class group and the curve complex of a surface. When the subsurface is an annulus, this projection is sometimes called relative twisting. We give two…
An outer automorphism of a free group is geometric if it can be represented by a homeomorphism of a compact surface. Bestvina and Handel gave an algorithmic characterization of geometric irreducible outer automorphisms using relative train…
For any finite collection $f_i$ of fully irreducible automorphisms of the free group $F_n$ we construct a connected $\delta$-hyperbolic $Out(F_n)$-complex in which each $f_i$ has positive translation length.
Stallings remarked that an outer automorphism of a free group may be thought of as a subdivision of a graph followed by a sequence of folds. In this thesis, we prove that automorphisms of fundamental groups of graphs of groups satisfying…
Every rotationless outer automorphism of a finite rank free group is represented by a particularly useful relative train track map called a CT. The main result of this paper is that the constructions of CTs can be made algorithmic. A key…
Our goal is to find dynamic invariants that completely determine elements of the outer automorphism group $\Out(F_n)$ of the free group $F_n$ of rank $n$. To avoid finite order phenomena, we do this for {\it forward rotationless} elements.…
We construct a covering of Culler-Vogtmann Outer space by the Teichmuller spaces of punctured surfaces. By considering the equivariant homology for the action of Out(F_n) on this covering, we construct a spectral sequence converging to the…
In this paper we study the set of tensors that admit a special type of decomposition called an orthogonal tensor train decomposition. Finding equations defining varieties of low-rank tensors is generally a hard problem, however, the set of…
We study the behaviour of quasi-geodesics in Out(F_n). Given an element f in Out(F_n) there are several natural paths connecting the origin to f in Out(F_n); for example, paths associated to sequences of Stallings folds and paths induced by…
Handel and Mosher define the axis bundle for a fully irreducible outer automorphism in "Axes in Outer Space." In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the axis bundle to consist of a unique periodic fold line. As a…
We show that the axis bundle of a nongeometric fully irreducible outer automorphism admits a canonical "cubist" decomposition into branched cubes that fit together with special combinatorics. From this structure, we locate a canonical…
We present an effective algorithm for detecting automorphic orbits in free groups, as well as a number of algorithmic improvements of train tracks for free group automorphisms.
We characterize strongly Morse quasi-geodesics in Outer space as quasi-geodesics which project to quasi-geodesics in the free factor graph. We define convex cocompact subgroups of $Out(F_n)$ as subgroups such that an orbit map in the free…