Related papers: On the CAT(0) dimension of 2-dimensional Bestvina-…

We exhibit 3-generator Artin groups which have finite 2-dimensional Eilenberg-Mac Lane spaces, but which do not act properly discontinuously by semi-simple isometries on a 2-dimensional CAT(0) complex. We prove that infinitely many of these…

If a group $\Gamma$ acts geometrically on a CAT(0) space $X$ without 3-flats, then either $X$ contains a $\Gamma$-periodic geodesic which does not bound a flat half-plane, or else $X$ is a rank 2 Riemannian symmetric space, a 2-dimensional…

We compute the relative divergence and the subgroup distortion of Bestvina-Brady subgroups. We also show that for each integer $n\geq 3$, there is a free subgroup of rank $n$ of some right-angled Artin group whose inclusion is not a…

Let $\Gamma$ be a finite simplicial graph such that the flag complex on $\Gamma$ is a $2$-dimensional triangulated disk. We show that with some assumptions, the Dehn function of the associated Bestvina--Brady group is either quadratic,…

Bestvina-Brady groups arise as kernels of length homomorphisms from right-angled Artin groups G_\G to the integers. Under some connectivity assumptions on the flag complex \Delta_\G, we compute several algebraic invariants of such a group…

Let G be a group acting isometrically with discrete orbits on a separable complete CAT(0)-space of bounded topological dimension. Under certain conditions, we give upper bounds for the Bredon cohomological dimension of G for the families of…

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…

In 2000, Croke and Kleiner showed that a CAT(0) group G can admit more than one boundary. This contrasted with the situation for word hyperbolic groups, where it was well-known that each such group admitted a unique boundary---in a very…

The 2-dimensional Shephard groups are quotients of 2-dimensional Artin groups by powers of standard generators. We show that such a quotient is not $\mathrm{CAT}(0)$ if the powers taken are sufficiently large. However, for a given…

Right-angled Artin groups and their subgroups are of great interest because of their geometric, combinatorial and algorithmic properties. It is convenient to define these groups using finite simplicial graphs. The isomorphism type of the…

Let $\Gamma$ be a finitely generated group of matrices over $\mathbb{C}$. We construct an isometric action of $\Gamma$ on a complete CAT(0) space $X$ such that the restriction of this action to any subgroup of $\Gamma$ containing no…

Let $G$ be the right-angled Artin group associated to the flag complex $\Sigma$ and let $\pi:G\to\Z$ be its canonical height function. We investigate the presentation theory of the groups $\Gamma_n=\pi^{-1}(n\Z)$ and construct an algorithm…

It is well known that every word hyperbolic group has a well-defined visual boundary. An example of C. Croke and B. Kleiner shows that the same cannot be said for CAT(0) groups. All boundaries of a CAT(0) group are, however, shape…

We study discrete groups from the view point of a dimension gap in connection to CAT(0) geometry. Developing studies by Brady-Crisp and Bridson, we show that there exist finitely presented groups of geometric dimension 2 which do not act…

In this paper we prove that the asymptotic dimension of a finite-dimensional CAT(0) cube complex is bounded above by the dimension. To achieve this we prove a controlled colouring theorem for the complex. We also show that every CAT(0) cube…

We prove that the Dehn function of every finitely presented Bestvina-Brady group grows as a linear, quadratic, cubic, or quartic polynomial. In fact, we provide explicit criteria on the defining graph to determine the degree of this…

A finite simple graph \G determines a right-angled Artin group G_\G, with one generator for each vertex v, and with one commutator relation vw=wv for each pair of vertices joined by an edge. The Bestvina-Brady group N_\G is the kernel of…

In this paper, we show some splitting theorems for CAT(0) spaces on which a product group acts geometrically and we obtain a splitting theorem for compact geodesic spaces of non-positive curvature. A CAT(0) group $\Gamma$ is said to be {\it…

The aim of this thesis is to present the notion of spaces whose curvature is bounded above, and to give some of its application in the context of Combinatorial Algebra. The thesis is made of two parts, one of theoretic purpose, and the…

We prove that the automorphism group of the braid group on four strands acts faithfully and geometrically on a CAT(0) 2-complex. This implies that the automorphism group of the free group of rank two acts faithfully and geometrically on a…