About the automorphism group of a free product of groups (Q1812990)

Let \(\{A_ i\}_{i=1,...,n}\) be a finite family of nontrivial groups, with \(n\geq 2\), such that \(*^{n}_{i=1}A_ i\neq {\mathbb{Z}}_ 2*{\mathbb{Z}}_ 2\). Denote by C(\(*^{n}_{i=1}A_ i)\) the kernel of the canonical map \(\pi: *^{n}_{i=1}A_ i\to \times^{n}_{i=1}A_ i.\) In this paper we prove the following result: If \(\alpha \in Aut(*^{n}_{i=1}A_ i)\) and \(\alpha |_{C(*A_ i)}=id_{C(*A_ i)},\) then \(\alpha =id_{*A_ i}.\) Moreover, if each \(A_ i\), \(i=1,...,n\) is indecomposable, and if among the \(A_ i's\) we have at least one abelian group which is not isomorphic to \({\mathbb{Z}}\), then \(*^{n}_{i=1}A_ i\) contains a nonabelian free characteristic subgroup F such that one has an embedding \(\text{Aut}(*^{n}_{i=1}A_ i)\hookrightarrow \text{Aut}(F).\) This result extends the work of \textit{D. J. Collins} [Arch. Math. 50, No.5, 385-390 (1988; Zbl 0654.20036)], where the same is proved for a finite free product of indecomposable groups with all factors nonisomorphic to \({\mathbb{Z}}\). Our result is used [in V. Niţică and A. Török, The automorphism group of a free product of groups and simple \(C^*\)-algebras (to appear in J. Oper. Theory)] to generalize a theorem of C. A. Akemann and T. Y. Lee about discrete groups having the reduced \(C^*\)-algebra simple with unique trace.