On the conjugacy separability of certain graphs of groups (Q1379079)

A group \(G\) is said to be conjugacy separable if, whenever \(x\) and \(y\) are nonconjugate elements of \(G\), there exists a finite quotient group of \(G\) in which the images of \(x\) and \(y\) are not conjugate. In this paper the authors, after commenting about classes of groups which are conjugacy separable and about preserving the property of conjugacy separability in forming free products, free products with amalgamation and HNN-extensions, they prove some results about HNN-extensions and fundamental groups of torsion free nilpotent groups. More precisely: Let \(G=\langle t,K\mid t^{-1}At=B,\;\varphi\rangle\) be the HNN-extension with base group \(K\) a finitely generated abelian group and associated subgroups \(A\), \(B\) with \(A\neq K\), \(B\neq K\). Then \(G\) is residually finite iff \(G\) is conjugacy separable. If \(G\) is as above but with \(K\) finitely generated torsion free nilpotent and \(A\), \(B\) of finite index in \(K\), then \(G\) is residually finite iff \(G\) is conjugacy separable iff \(G\) is \(\mathbb{Z}\)-linear. The third main result concerns the fundamental group of a graph of groups: Let \(G\) be the fundamental group of a finite graph \(({\mathcal G},X)\) of groups, where \(X\) is a tree and all vertex and edge groups are finitely generated torsion free nilpotent groups of the same Hirsch number. Then \(G\) is conjugacy separable. Interesting corollaries are given in special cases.