The infinite simple group \(V\) of Richard J. Thompson: presentations by permutations (Q1691967)

Summary: We show that one can naturally describe elements of R. Thompson's finitely presented infinite simple group \(V\) , known by Thompson to have a presentation with four generators and fourteen relations, as products of permutations analogous to transpositions. This perspective provides an intuitive explanation towards the simplicity of \(V\) and also perhaps indicates a reason as to why it was one of the first discovered infinite finitely presented simple groups: it is (in some basic sense) a relative of the finite alternating groups. We find a natural infinite presentation for \(V\) as a group generated by these ``transpositions,'' which presentation bears comparison with Dehornoy's infinite presentation and which enables us to develop two small presentations for \(V\): a human-interpretable presentation with three generators and eight relations, and a Tietze-derived presentation with two generators and seven relations.