Kernels of van den Dries-Wilkie homomorphisms and \(o\)-automorphisms of graphs (Q1977552)

Let \(\Gamma\) be a connected graph and \(g\) an automorphism of \(\Gamma\). Fix a vertex \(x\) of \(\Gamma\). For any nonnegative integer \(n\), denote by \(\xi(g,n)\) the maximum of \(d_\Gamma(y,g(y))\) as \(y\) runs through the set of vertices at a distance of at most \(n\) from \(x\) in \(\Gamma\). It is not difficult to see that \(\xi(g,n)\leq 2n+C\) where \(C=d_\Gamma(x,g(x))\) is independent of \(n\). In this case \(\xi(g,n)=o(n)\) (that is \(\xi(g,n)/n\to 0\) as \(n\to\infty\); this property of \(g\) is independent of the choice of \(x\)) and \(g\) is said to be an \(o\)-automorphism of \(\Gamma\). The set \(o(\Aut\Gamma)\) of all \(o\)-automorphisms of \(\Gamma\) is a normal subgroup of \(\Aut\Gamma\), if \(G\leq\Aut\Gamma\) then put \(o(G)=G\cap o(\Aut\Gamma)\). The main results of this paper are the following. Theorem 1. Let \(G\) be an automorphism group of a connected locally finite graph \(\Gamma\) such that the stabilizer in \(G\) of a vertex of \(\Gamma\) is finite. Then \(o(G)\) is locally (finite-by-nilpotent). Theorem 2. Let \(G\) be a finitely generated group. Then the intersection of the kernels of the van den Dries-Wilkie homomorphisms \(l^{(R)}\) is contained in the maximal normal locally (finite-by-nilpotent) subgroup of \(G\).