Related papers: Orbit-blocking words in free groups
We construct words with small image in a given finite alternating or unimodular group. This shows that word width in these groups is unbounded in general.
We consider the class of groups whose word problem is poly-context-free; that is, an intersection of finitely many context-free languages. We show that any group which is virtually a finitely generated subgroup of a direct product of free…
Let $F_k$ be the free group on $k$ generators, and let $H\le J\le \F_k$ be subgroups of finite rank. We present a new elementary algorithm to determine whether $H$ is a free factor of $J$. In particular, this algorithm can determine whether…
Surface groups are determined among limit groups by their profinite completions. As a corollary, the set of surface words in a free group is closed in the profinite topology.
Let v and w be nontrivial words in two free groups. We prove that, for all sufficiently large finite non-abelian simple groups G, there exist subsets C of v(G) and D of w(G) of size such that every element of G can be realized in at least…
Let u be a cyclic word in a free group F_n of finite rank n that has the minimum length over all cyclic words in its automorphic orbit, and let N(u) be the cardinality of the set {v: |v|=|u| and v= \phi(u) for some \phi \in \text {Aut}F_n}.…
The palindromic length of a finite word $w$ is defined as the minimal number of palindromes such that their product is $w$. Clearly, this function may take different values depending on if we consider $w$ as an element a free semigroup or…
This article studies the complexity of the word problem in groups of automorphisms of subshifts. We show in particular that for any Turing degree, there exists a subshift whose automorphism group contains a subgroup whose word problem has…
It was recently proven that all free and many virtually free verbally closed subgroups are algebraically closed in any group. We establish sufficient conditions for a group that is an extension of a free non-abelian group by a group…
We find a lower bound to the size of finite groups detecting a given word in the free group, more precisely we construct a word w_n of length n in non-abelian free groups with the property that w_n is the identity on all finite quotients of…
In this paper, we study the fibers of "automorphic word maps", a certain generalization of word maps, on finite groups and on nonabelian finite simple groups in particular. As an application, we derive a structural restriction on finite…
We consider some questions about formal languages that arise when inverses of letters, words and languages are defined. The reduced representation of a language over the free monoid is its unique equivalent representation in the free group.…
This work considers a natural generalization of primitivity with respect to a language. Given a language $L$, a nonempty word $w$ is said to be $L$-primitive if $w$ is not a proper power of any word in $L$. After ascertaining the number of…
In analogy with the free factors of a free group we define special factors of Generalized Baumslag-Solitar (GBS) groups as non-cyclic subgroups which appear in splittings over infinite cyclic groups. We give an algorithm which, given a GBS…
We show that the conjugacy problem is solvable in [finitely generated free]-by-cyclic groups, by using a result of O. Maslakova that one can algorithmically find generating sets for the fixed subgroups of free group automorphisms, and one…
Howie and Duncan observed that a word in a free product with length at least two and which is not a proper power can be decomposed as a product of two cyclic subwords each of which is uniquely positioned. Using this property, they proved…
J.H.C. Whitehead's second free-group algorithm determines whether or not two given elements of a free group lie in the same orbit of the automorphism group of the free group. The algorithm involves certain connected graphs, and Whitehead…
An element w in the free group on r letters defines a map f from G^r to G for each group G. In this note, we show that whenever w is non-trivial and G is a semisimple algebraic group, f is dominant. When G is a finite simple group, the…
This paper studies decision problems for semigroups that are word-hyperbolic in the sense of Duncan & Gilman. A fundamental investigation reveals that the natural definition of a `word-hyperbolic structure' has to be strengthened slightly…
In this work, we explore the following question: If two words in a finitely generated free group have identical images as word maps on every finite group, must they be endomorphic to each other? In this regard, we introduce weak profinite…