A geometric characterization of free formations of profinite groups (Q2277575)

The paper presents a characterization of free formations of profinite groups in terms of profinite graphs. A theory of covering spaces of profinite graphs is constructed. Furthermore the concepts of profinite tree and simply connected graph are compared. It is shown that any projective group is the fundamental group of some graph and, finally, some characterizations of free pro-\(C\)-groups over a pointed profinite space in terms of the action of these groups on connected simply connected graphs are given.