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Bounded Depth Ascending HNN Extensions and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70B}_{1}$-Semistability at infinity

Part of: Special aspects of infinite or finite groups Structure and classification of infinite or finite groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2019

Michael L. Mihalik
Michael L. Mihalik*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA Email: michael.l.mihalik@vanderbilt.edu
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Abstract

A well-known conjecture is that all finitely presented groups have semistable fundamental groups at infinity. A class of groups whose members have not been shown to be semistable at infinity is the class ${\mathcal{A}}$ of finitely presented groups that are ascending HNN-extensions with finitely generated base. The class ${\mathcal{A}}$ naturally partitions into two non-empty subclasses, those that have “bounded” and “unbounded” depth. Using new methods introduced in a companion paper we show those of bounded depth have semistable fundamental group at infinity. Ascending HNN extensions produced by Ol’shanskii–Sapir and Grigorchuk (for other reasons), and once considered potential non-semistable examples are shown to have bounded depth. Finally, we devise a technique for producing explicit examples with unbounded depth. These examples are perhaps the best candidates to date in the search for a group with non-semistable fundamental group at infinity.

Keywords

ascending HNN extensionfundamental group at infinitysemistability at infinity

MSC classification

Primary: 20F69: Asymptotic properties of groups
Secondary: 20F65: Geometric group theory 20E22: Extensions, wreath products, and other compositions
Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Mathematics , Volume 72 , Issue 6 , December 2020 , pp. 1529 - 1550
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Copyright
© Canadian Mathematical Society 2019

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