Commensurated subgroups in finitely generated branch groups (Q516380)

Two subgroups \(H,K\) of a group \(G\) are \textit{commensurate} if \(H\cap K\) has finite index in \(H\) and in \(K\). A subgroup \(H\leq G\) is \textit{commensurated} if \(H\) is commensurate to \(H^g\) for all \(g\in G\). Every subgroup commensurate to a normal subgroup (in particular, finite or finite-index) is commensurated, though the converse fails in general. A group is \textit{just infinite} if all its non-trivial normal subgroups have finite index; equivalently, if every non-trivial normal subgroup is commensurate to \(G\). In view of the above, a valuable goal is to classify commensurability classes of commensurated subgroups. Branch groups are certain groups acting on rooted trees and commensurate, for every finite cut in the tree, to a direct product of subgroups acting individually on the branches growing from the cut; see [the reviewer et al., in: Handbook of algebra. Volume 3. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 989--1112 (2003; Zbl 1140.20306)]. They yield valuable examples of just infinite groups. The main result (Theorem~1.1) is that finitely generated branch groups are just infinite if and only if all their commensurated subgroups are commensurate to \(1\) or \(G\). Example~3.3 shows that the finite generation hypothesis is necessary.