Torsion-free group without unique product property (Q1820239): Difference between revisions

This is a lovely result answering in the negative a question which has been considered for over 40 years. The authors construct a torsion free group which does not have the unique product property. This means that the group ring zero divisor problem will not have a purely group theoretic solution; it is now definitely a ring theoretic problem. The construction itself is complicated, the group being given by generators and relations involving a number of families of parameters. The main tool is a slight generalization of small cancellation theory as described by \textit{R. C. Lyndon} and \textit{P. E. Schupp} [Combinatorial Group Theory (1977; Zbl 0368.20023)].