The Jørgensen number of the Whitehead link group (Q2493424)

For any non-elementary two-generator subgroup of \(\text{PSL}_2(\mathbb{C})\) the Jørgensen number \(J(G)\) is defined as the infimum of all numbers \[ J(A, B):= |\text{tr}^2 A-4|+|\text{tr}(ABA^{-1} B^{-1})- 2|, \] where \(A\), \(B\) generate \(G\). It is known that always \(J(A,B)\geq 1\) and that the bound 1 is best possible here. For many familiar groups the Jørgensen number is equal to one, that is, these groups are so-called Jørgensen groups. In the paper under review, the author proves that the Jørgensen number of the link groups of the Whitehead link is equal to two, hence this group is not a Jørgensen group. In previous work, the author and his co-authors introduced an interesting two-parameter family of \(\text{PSL}_2(\mathbb{C})\) containing (conjugates of) many familiar groups. In the work under review it is shown that the Whitehead link group is also contained in this family, and its parameters are determined explicitly.