Related papers: Stable commutator length in subgroups of PL(I)

We give an algorithm to compute stable commutator length in free products of cyclic groups which is polynomial time in the length of the input, the number of factors, and the orders of the finite factors. We also describe some experimental…

Let $\Gamma$ be a finite index subgroup of the mapping class group $MCG(\Sigma)$ of a closed orientable surface $\Sigma$, possibly with punctures. We give a precise condition (in terms of the Nielsen-Thurston decomposition) when an element…

For any group, there is a natural (pseudo-)norm on the vector space B1 of real (group) 1-boundaries, called the stable commutator length norm. This norm is closely related to, and can be thought of as a relative version of, the Gromov…

The commutator length $cl_G(g)$ of an element $g \in [G,G]$ in the commutator subgroup of a group $G$ is the least number of commutators needed to express $g$ as their product. If $G$ is a non-abelian free groups, then given an integer $n…

We show that the set $SCL^{rp}$ of stable commutator lengths on recursively presented groups equals the set of non-negative right-computable numbers. Hence all non-negative algebraic or computable numbers are in $SCL^{rp}$ and $SCL^{rp}$ is…

We show that the stable commutator length vanishes for certain groups defined as infinite unions of smaller groups. The argument uses a group-theoretic analogue of the Mazur swindle, and goes back to the works of Anderson, Fisher, and…

This paper has two parts, on Baumslag-Solitar groups and on general G-trees. In the first part we establish bounds for stable commutator length (scl) in Baumslag-Solitar groups. For a certain class of elements, we further show that scl is…

We study stable commutator length on free $\mathbb{Q}$-groups. We prove that every non-identity element has positive stable commutator length, and that the corresponding free group embeds isometrically. We deduce that a non-abelian free…

Stable commutator length vanishes in any group that obeys a law.

In this note, we show that the sets of all stable commutator lengths in the braided Ptolemy-Thompson groups are equal to non-negative rational numbers.

In this paper we obtain uniform positive lower bounds on stable commutator length in word-hyperbolic groups and certain groups acting on hyperbolic spaces (namely the mapping class group acting on the complex of curves, and an amalgamated…

We study stable commutator length on mapping class groups of certain infinite-type surfaces. In particular, we show that stable commutator length defines a continuous function on the commutator subgroups of such infinite-type mapping class…

Each element of the commutator subgroup of a group can be represented as a product of commutators. The minimal number of factors in such a product is called the commutator length of the element. The commutator length of a group is defined…

We study stable W-length in groups, especially for W equal to the n-fold commutator gamma_n:=[x_1,[x_2, . . . [x_{n-1},x_n]] . . . ]. We prove that in any perfect group, for any n at least 2 and any element g, the stable commutator length…

We give an upper and lower estimate for the maximal commutator length of a noncentral element of the elementary subgroup of the general linear group over a skew-field based on the maximal commutator length of an element of the…

We give examples of finitely presented groups containing elements with irrational (in fact, transcendental) stable commutator length, thus answering in the negative a question of M. Gromov. Our examples come from 1-dimensional dynamics, and…

Let A be a quasi-finite R-algebra (i.e., a direct limit of module finite algebras) with identity. Let I_i, i=0,...,m, be two-sided ideals of A, \GL_n(A,I_i) the principal congruence subgroup of level I_i in GL_n(A) and E_n(A,I_i) be the…

Let p be a prime. Every finite group G has a normal series each of whose quotients either is p-soluble or is a direct product of nonabelian simple groups of orders divisible by p. The non-p-soluble length of G is defined as the minimal…

We show that stable commutator length is rational on free products of free Abelian groups amalgamated over $\mathbb{Z}^k$, a class of groups containing the fundamental groups of all torus knot complements. We consider a geometric model for…

We give a new proof of rationality of stable commutator length (scl) of certain elements in surface groups: those represented by curves that do not fill the surface. Such elements always admit extremal surfaces for scl. These results also…