Skip to main content
Log in

Large groups of deficiency 1

  • Published:
Israel Journal of Mathematics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We prove that if a group possesses a deficiency 1 presentation where one of the relators is a commutator, then it is ℤ × ℤ, large or is as far as possible from being residually finite. Then we use this to show that a mapping torus of an endomorphism of a finitely generated free group is large if it contains a ℤ × ℤ subgroup of infinite index, as well as showing that such a group is large if it contains a Baumslag-Solitar group of infinite index and has a finite index subgroup with first Betti number at least 2. We give applications to free by cyclic groups, 1 relator groups and residually finite groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. G. Arzhantseva, A. Minasyan and D. Osin, The SQ-universality and residual properties of relatively hyperbolic groups, Journal of Algebra 315 (2007), 165–177.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  2. B. Baumslag and S. J. Pride, Groups with two more generators than relators, Journal of the London Mathematical Society 17 (1978), 425–426.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. G. Baumslag, A non-cyclic one-relator group all of whose finite quotients are cyclic, Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society 10 (1969), 497–498.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. G. Baumslag, Finitely generated cyclic extensions of free groups are residually finite, Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society 5 (1971), 131–136.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  5. G. Baumslag, A non-cyclic, locally free, free-by-cyclic group all of whose finite factors are cyclic, Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society 6 (1972), 313–314.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  6. G. Baumslag, Topics in Combinatorial Group Theory, Lectures in Mathematics ETH Zürich, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  7. M. Bestvina, Questions in Geometric Group Theory, available at http://www.math.utah.edu/~bestvina

  8. M. Bestvina and M. Feighn, A combination theorem for negatively curved groups, Journal of Differential Geometry 35 (1992), 85–101.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. M. Bestvina and M. Feighn, Addendum and correction to “A combination theorem for negatively curved groups”, Journal of Differential Geometry 43 (1996), 783–788.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  10. R. Bieri, W. D. Neumann and R. Strebel, A geometric invariant of discrete groups, Inventiones Mathematicae 90 (1987), 451–477.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. R. Bieri and R. Strebel, Almost finitely presented soluble groups, Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici 53 (1978), 258–278.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. A. Blass and P. M. Neumann, An application of universal algebra in group theory, The Michigan Mathematical Journal 21 (1974), 167–169.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  13. A. Borisov and M. Sapir, Polynomial maps over finite fields and residual finiteness of mapping tori of group endomorphisms, Inventiones Mathematicae 160 (2005), 341–356.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  14. P. Brinkmann Hyperbolic automorphisms of free groups, Geometric and Functional Analysis 10 (2000), 1071–1089.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  15. K. S. Brown, Trees, valuations, and the Bieri-Neumann-Strebel invariant, Inventiones Mathematicae 90 (1987), 479–504.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  16. J. O. Button Mapping tori with first Betti number at least two, Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan 59 (2007), 351–370.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  17. J. W. Cannon, W. J. Floyd and W. R. Parry, Introductory notes on Richard Thompson’s groups, Enseignement des Mathématiques 42 (1996), 215–256.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  18. M. Edjvet, The Concept of “Largeness” in Group Theory, Ph. D thesis, University of Glasgow, 1984.

  19. M. Edjvet, Groups with balanced presentations, Archiv der Mathematik (Basel) 42 (1984), 311–313.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  20. M. Edjvet and S. J. Pride, The concept of “largeness” in group theory II, in Groups-Korea 1983, Lecture Notes in Mathematics vol. 1098, Springer, Berlin, 1984, pp. 29–54.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  21. M. Feighn and M. Handel, Mapping tori of free group automorphisms are coherent, Annals of Mathematics 149 (1999), 1061–1077.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  22. R. Geoghegan, M. L. Mihalik, M. Sapir and D. T. Wise, Ascending HNN extensions of finitely generated free groups are Hopfian, The Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society 33 (2001), 292–298.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  23. M. Gromov, Volume and bounded cohomology, Institut de Hautes Études Scientifiques. Publications Mathématiques No. 56 (1982), 5–99.

  24. M. Hall Jnr., Coset representations in free groups, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 67 (1949), 421–432.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  25. P. de la Harpe, Topics in Geometric Group Theory, Chicago Lectures in Mathematics, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  26. G. Higman, A finitely related group with an isomorphic proper factor group, Journal of the London Mathematical Society 26 (1951), 59–61.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  27. G. Higman, A finitely generated infinite simple group, Journal of the London Mathematical Society 26 (1951), 61–64.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  28. J. A. Hillman, Tits alternatives and low dimensional topology, Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan 55 (2003), 365–383.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  29. J. Howie, Free subgroups in groups of small deficiency, Journal of Group Theory 1 (1998), 95–112.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  30. I. Kapovich, Mapping tori of endomorphisms of free groups, Communications in Algebra 28 (2000), 2895–2917.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  31. I. Kapovich, A remark on mapping tori of free group endomorphisms, preprint, available at http://front.math.ucdavis.edu/math.GR/0208189 (2002)

  32. I. Kapovich, A. Myasnikov, P. Schupp and V. Shpilrain, Generic-case complexity, decision problems in group theory, and random walks, Journal of Algebra 264 (2003), 665–694.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  33. M. Koubi, Croissance uniforme dans les groupes hyperboliques, Annales de lInstitut Fourier (Grenoble) 48 (1998), 1441–1453.

    MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  34. M. Lackenby, A characterisation of large finitely presented groups, Journal of Algebra 287 (2005), 458–473.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  35. W. B. R. Lickorish, An Introduction to Knot Theory, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, 175, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1997.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  36. D. Long and A. W. Reid, Surface Subgroups and Subgroup Separability in 3-Manifold Topology, Publicações Matemátcas do IMPA 25, Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplcada, Rio de Janeiro, 2005.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  37. A. Lubotzky, Free Quotients and the first Betti number of some hyperbolic manifolds, Transformation Groups 1 (1996), 71–82.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  38. A. Lubotzky and D. Segal, Subgroup Growth, Progress in Mathematics 212, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2003.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  39. R. C. Lyndon and P. E. Schupp, Combinatorial Group Theory, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, 1977.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  40. C. T. McMullen, The Alexander polynomial of a 3-manifold and the Thurston norm on cohomology, Annales Scientifiques de lÉcole Normale Supérieure 35 (2002), 153–171.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  41. W. Magnus, A. Karrass and D. Solitar, Combinatorial Group Theory, Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY, 2004.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  42. P. M. Neumann, The SQ-universality of some finitely presented groups, Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society 16 (1973), 1–6.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  43. New York Group Theory Cooperative, Open problems in combinatorial and geometric group theory, available at http://zebra.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/web/nygtc/problems/

  44. A. Yu. Ol’shanskii, SQ-universality of hyperbolic groups, Sbornik. Mathematics 186 (1995), 1199–1211.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  45. S. J. Pride, The concept of “largeness” in group theory, in Word problems (II), Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics 95, North-Holland, Amsterdam-New York, 1980, pp. 299–335.

    Google Scholar 

  46. G. P. Scott and C. T. C. Wall, Topological Methods in Group Theory, in Homological group theory (Proc. Sympos., Durham, 1977), London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series 36, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge-New York, 1979, pp. 137–203.

    Google Scholar 

  47. J.-P. Serre, Trees, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 1980.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  48. R. Stöhr, Groups with one more generator than relators, Mathematische Zeitschrift 182 (1983), 45–47.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  49. J. S. Wilson, Soluble groups of deficiency 1, The Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society 28 (1996), 476–480.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. O. Button.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Button, J.O. Large groups of deficiency 1. Isr. J. Math. 167, 111–140 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11856-008-1043-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11856-008-1043-9

Keywords

Navigation