Centralizer in PD(3) groups (Q1876878): Difference between revisions

A Poincaré duality group \(G\) of dimension \(n\) -- or PD\((n)\) group -- is a group which behaves cohomologically as the fundamental group of a closed aspherical manifold of dimension \(n\); more precisely \(H^i(G,{\mathbb Z}[G])\) is trivial unless \(i=n\) in which case it is infinite cyclic. Although in dimension \(2\) all PD\((2)\) groups are surface groups [\textit{B. Eckmann}, Combinatorial group theory and topology, Sel. Pap. Conf., Alta/Utah 1984, Ann. Math. Stud. 111, 35--51 (1987; Zbl 0656.20037)], this is not the case in dimension \(n\geq4\) [\textit{M. W. Davis}, Duke Math. J. 91, No. 2, 297--314 (1998; Zbl 0995.20022)]. In dimension \(3\) Bowditch proved that a PD\((3)\) group admitting an infinite cyclic normal subgroup is the fundamental group of a Seifert manifold, but it is not known whether all PD\((3)\) groups are fundamental groups of closed aspherical \(3\)-manifolds. Nevertheless, Scott and Swarup showed that these groups admit a special decomposition which is the algebraic equivalent of the JSJ decomposition for irreducible \(3\)-manifolds. In this note, exploiting Scott and Swarup's result, the author describes the centralizer of a non-trivial element in a PD\((3)\) group (in fact in a PD\((3)\) pair), thus proving for PD\((3)\) groups a result originally known for fundamental groups of Haken manifolds and due to \textit{W. H. Jaco} and \textit{P. B. Shalen} [Mem. Am. Math. Soc. 220 (1979; Zbl 0415.57005)]. The main result is the following: the centralizer of a non-trivial element in a PD\((3)\) group is either isomorphic to the fundamental group of an annulus, torus or Klein bottle, or conjugate to a subgroup of a Seifert piece of the JSJ decomposition of index at most \(2\), if the element is not infinitely divisible; else the centralizer contains a subgroup of index \(2\) isomorphic to a non-cyclic subgroup of the additive rationals. A second result of the paper roughly says that a PD\((3)\) group cannot contain a Baumslag-Solitar group.