JSJ-decompositions of finitely presented groups and complexes of groups. (Q2491971)

A JSJ-splitting of a group over a certain class of subgroups is a decomposition of \(G\) as a graph of groups which describes all possible decompositions of \(G\) as an amalgamated product or an HNN extension over certain classes of subgroups. JSJ-splittings originated in work in 3-manifold topology (Jaco-Shalen-Johansson decompositions). A finitely generated group \(G\) is said to be `slender' if every subgroup of \(G\) that acts on a tree either leaves an infinite line invariant or it fixes a point. Equivalently, by a result of Dunwoody and Sageev, a group is slender if and only if all of its subgroups are finitely generated. This is obtained in the paper [Invent. Math. 135, No. 1, 25-44 (1999; Zbl 0939.20047)], in which \textit{M. J. Dunwoody} and \textit{M. E. Sageev}, generalizing a result by Rips and Sela, produce a JSJ-splitting for any finitely presented group which describes its splitting over slender groups under the assumption that the group does not split over groups that are ``smaller'' than the ones considered. In the paper under review, generalizing the JSJ-splitting construction of Dunwoody and Sageev, the authors construct a JSJ-splitting for any finitely presented group with respect to the class of all slender subgroups along which the group splits. The techniques are different from those used by Dunwoody and Sageev; they are based on Haefliger's theory of complexes of groups and actions on products of trees.