Stable commutator length on free $\mathbb{Q}$-groups
Abstract
We study stable commutator length on free -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 -group has an infinite-dimensional space of homogeneous quasimorphisms modulo homomorphisms, answering a question of Casals-Ruiz, Garreta, and de la Nuez Gonz{\'a}lez. We conjecture that stable commutator length is rational on free -groups. This is connected to the long-standing problem of rationality on surface groups: indeed, we show that free -groups contain isometrically embedded copies of non-orientable surface groups.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2507.14009,
title = {Stable commutator length on free $\mathbb{Q}$-groups},
author = {Francesco Fournier-Facio},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.14009},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
14 pages. v2: removed Remark 3.4, which had a mistake, and added Corollary 4.4. v3: final version, to appear in Bulletin of the LMS