Digraphs and cycle polynomials for free-by-cyclic groups (Q2343342)

Let \(f:\tau\to\tau\) be a graph map, where \(\tau\) is a topological graph. Identifying the fundamental group \(\pi_{1}(\tau)\) with a free group \(F_{n}\) it is said that \(f\) represents an element \(\varphi \in \mathrm{Out}(F_{n})\), if \(\varphi\) is conjugate to \(f_{\ast}\) as an element of \(\mathrm{Out}(F_{n})\). A graph map \(f:\tau\to\tau\) is called train-track map if: {\parindent=8mm \begin{itemize}\item[(i)] \(f^{k}(e)\) has no back-tracking for all edges \(e\) of \(\tau\) and \(k\geq 1\). \item[(ii)] \(f\) is a homotopy equivalence. \end{itemize}} Given a train-track map \(f:\tau\to\tau\), a matrix (the transition matrix) \(M_{f}\) is associated with it, see Def. 4.5 in the paper. The dilatation of \(f\) is the spectral radius of \(M_{f} \lambda (f)=\max \{ | \mu |\) where \(\mu\) is an eigenvalue of \(M_{f} \}\). A train-track map \(f:\tau\to\tau\) is called irreducible if its transition matrix \(M_{f}\) is irreducible and it is called expanding if the lengths of edges of \(\tau\) under iterations of \(f\) are unbounded. Let \(F_n\) be the free group of rank \(n\). If \(\varphi \in \mathrm{Out}(F_n)\) is represented by an expanding irreducible train-track map \(f\), then its dilatation is defined to be \(\lambda (\varphi)=\lambda (f)\). An outer automorphism \(\varphi \in \mathrm{Out}(F_n)\) is called reducible if \(\varphi\) leaves the conjugacy class of a proper free factor in \(F_n\) fixed. If \(\varphi\) is not reducible, then it is called irreducible. By a Theorem of \textit{M. Bestvina} and \textit{M. Handel} [Ann. Math. (2) 135, No. 1, 1--51 (1992; Zbl 0757.57004)], if \(\varphi \in \mathrm{Out}(F{_n})\) is irreducible, then \(\varphi\) can be represented by an irreducible train-track map. In [\textit{J. R. Stallings}, Invent. Math. 71, 551--565 (1983; Zbl 0521.20013)], the fold of a topological graph at a vertex and the folding map are defined (see Def. 5.1 in the paper). If \(f: \tau\to\tau\) is a graph map, then a folding decomposition of \(f\) (see Def. 5.3 in the paper) is defined. Especially, if \(f: \tau\to\tau\) is a train-track, then a folding decomposition \(\mathrm{f}=(f_{1}, \dots , f_{k}; h)\) is defined. Given a 2-dimensional CW-complex \(X\), a continuous map (called semiflow) \(\psi : X\times \mathbb{R}_{+}\to X\) and a \(\psi\)-compatible cell-decomposition \(\mathfrak{C}\) of \(X\) can be defined (see Def. 3.1 in the paper). The triple \((X, \mathfrak{C}, \psi)\) is called a branched surface. To a branched surface \((X, \mathfrak{C}, \psi)\) its dual digraph and its cyclic function (see Definitions 3.4 and 3.5 in the paper) are associated. Here the authors, for a given irreducible expanding train-track map \(f\) with a folding decomposition \(\mathrm{f}=(f_{1}, \dots , f_{k}; h)\), define branched surfaces \(\mathrm{Y}=(X_{f}, \mathfrak{C}_{f}, \psi_{f})\) and \(\mathrm{X}=(X_{\mathrm{f}}, \mathfrak{C}_{\mathrm{f}}, \psi_{\mathrm{f}})\). If \(\vartheta_{\mathrm{Y}}\) and \(\vartheta_{\mathrm{X}}\) are the cyclic functions of \(\mathrm{Y}\) and \(\mathrm{X}\) respectively, then it is proved that they coincide (Prop. 5.9 in the paper). Thus the McMullen cone associated to the cyclic function \(\vartheta_{\mathrm{X}}\) is given by \(\mathcal{T}_{f}=\{ \alpha \in \mathrm{Hom}(G ; \mathbb{R})\mid \alpha (g)>0 \) for all \(g\in \mathrm{Supp}(\vartheta_{\mathrm{Y}}) \}\). Also the associated positive cone \(\mathcal{A}_{\mathrm{f}}\) for \(\mathrm{X}=(X_{\mathrm{f}}, \mathfrak{C}_{\mathbf{f}}, \psi_{\mathrm{f}})\) is defined (Def. 5.7 in the paper). Now we are in position to quote the main Theorem of this paper. \textbf{Theorem A} Let \(\varphi \in \mathrm{Out}(F_{n})\) be an outer automorphism that is representable by an expanding irreducible train-track map, \(\Gamma =F_{n}\rtimes_{\varphi}\mathbb{Z}\) and let \(G=\Gamma^{ab}/torsion\). Then there exists an element \(\Theta \in \mathbb{Z}G\) (well-defined up to an automorphism of \(\mathbb{Z}G\)) with the following properties. {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[(1)] There is an open cone \(\mathcal{T}_{\varphi}\subset Hom(G ; \mathbb{R})\) dual to a vertex of the Newton polyhedron of \(\Theta \) so that for any expanding irreducible train-track representative \(f: \tau\to\tau\) and any folding decomposition \(\mathrm{f}\) of \(f\), we have \(\mathcal{A}_{\mathrm{f}}\subset \mathcal{T}_{\varphi}\). \item[(2)] For any integral \(\alpha \in \mathcal{A}_{\mathrm{f}}\), we have \(| \Theta^{(\alpha)}|=\lambda (\varphi_{\alpha})\). \item[(3)] The function \(L(\alpha)=\log| \Theta^{(\alpha)}|\), which is defined on the primitive integral points of \(\mathcal{A}_{\mathrm{f}}\), extends to a real analytic, convex function on \(\mathcal{T}_{\varphi}\) that is homogeneous of degree \(-1\) and goes to infinity towards the boundary of any affine planar section of \(\mathcal{T}_{\varphi}\). \item[(4)] The element \(\Theta \) is minimal with respect to property (2), that is, if \(\vartheta \in \mathbb{Z}G\) satisfies \(| \theta^{(\alpha)}|=\lambda (\varphi_{\alpha})\) on the integral elements of some open subcone of \(\mathcal{T}_{\varphi}\), then \(\Theta\) divides \(\theta\). \end{itemize}}