A class of Artin groups in which the \(K( \pi ,1)\) conjecture holds (Q6103329): Difference between revisions

An Artin group \(A\) is a group defined by a presentation with generators \(x_1,\ldots, x_n\) in which each defining relation is of the form \(\underbrace{x_ix_jx_i\ldots}_{n_{ij}} = \underbrace{x_jx_ix_j\ldots}_{n_{ji}}\) for some \(n_{ij}=n_{ji}\geq 2\). Adding relators \(x_i^2\) (for each \(i\)) to the defining presentation we obtain a corresponding Coxeter group \(W\). An Artin group is the fundamental group of a space, denoted \(N(W)\), which is the quotient by a \(W\)-action of the complement of a particular configuration of hyperplanes. The \(K(\pi,1)\) Conjecture states that \(N(W)\) is an Eilenberg-MacLane space for \(A\); that is, \(N(W)\) is aspherical. It has been proved for various classes of Artin groups. One flavour of such results is that if certain parabolic subgroups of an Artin group \(A\) satisfy the \(K(\pi,1)\) Conjecture, then so does \(A\). The \textit{spherical radical} \(SR(A)\) of an Artin group \(A\) is defined to be the standard parabolic subgroup of \(A\) generated by all the standard spherical parabolic subgroups of \(A\), generated by at least three standard generators. The first main result of this paper (Theorem A) is that an Artin group \(A\) satisfies the \(K(\pi,1)\) conjecture if and only if \(SR(A)\) does. The power of the result is demonstrated by exhibiting five Artin groups which the theorem implies satisfy the \(K(\pi,1)\) conjecture, but where this could not be proved by previously published results. (Moreover, while may of the cases covered by Theorem A are also covered by recent work by \textit{K. Goldman} [``The $K(\pi,1)$ conjecture and acylindrical hyperbolicity for relatively extra-large Artin groups'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:2211.16391}], not all of the exhibited examples are.) A key observation is that the space \(N(W)\) is homotopy equivalent to the presentation complex \(K(\mathbb{P})\) of a particular relative presentation \(\mathbb{P}\) for \(A\). The engine of the proof of Theorem A is that \(K(\mathbb{P})\) is aspherical, which is shown in a separate theorem using combinatorial curvature calculations in van Kampen diagrams. Having established this asphericity, a second main result (Theorem B) follows for an Artin group \(A\): (a) \(A\) is torsion-free if and only if \(SR(A)\) is torsion free; and (b) in dimension at least 3, the homology (resp. cohomology) groups of \(A\) and \(SR(A)\) are isomorphic.