Virtually free pro-\(p\) products (Q1678649)

\textit{J. Stallings}' decomposition theorem [Group theory and three-dimensional manifolds. New Haven-London: Yale University Press (1971; Zbl 0241.57001)] states that if \(G\) is a finitely generated group containing a subgroup of finite index which is a non-trivial free product, then \(G\) splits either as a free product with amalgamation, or as an HNN-extension over a finite group. The first result of the paper under review is a pro-\(p\) analogue of this. Theorem A states that if \(G\) a finitely generated pro-\(p\) group containing an open subgroup which is a non-trivial free pro-\(p\) product, then \(G\) splits either as a free pro-\(p\) product with amalgamation, or as a pro-\(p\) HNN-extension over a finite \(p\)-group. Corollary B then states that if the group \(G\) of Theorem A is torsion-free, then \(G\) is a non-trivial free pro-\(p\) product. In Theorem C, the authors then obtain the following version of Theorem A, which they describe as more conceptual and which relies on the description of finitely generated virtually free pro-\(p\) groups by \textit{W. Herfort} and the second author [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 118, 193--211 (2013; Zbl 1288.20037)]. Let \(G\) be a finitely generated pro-\(p\) group containing an open subgroup \(H\) which has a non-trivial free product decomposition, that is, there are non-trivial, proper, closed subgroups \(A, B\) of \(H\) such that \(H = A \amalg B\). Then \(G\) is isomorphic to the pro-\(p\) fundamental group of a finite graph of pro-\(p\) groups with finite edge stabilisers.