Highly Transitive Jordan Representations of Free Products (Q4024915)

A permutation groyp \((X,G)\) on an infinite set \(X\) is highly transitive if it is \(n\)-transitive for all \(n\). A highly transitive \((X,G)\) is a Jordan group if there exists \(S \subseteq X\) such that \(S\) and \(X - S\) are both infinite and such that the pointwise stabilizer of \(S\) acts highly transitively on \(X - S\). The focus here is on (faithful) representations of free products \(G = M * N\) (sometimes with amalgamated subgroup \(A\)) as Jordan groups on the natural numbers \(\omega\). (For permutation groups which are not highly transitive, there is a related definition of ``Jordan group'', and the primitive Jordan groups of that sort were recently classified by S. A. Adeleke and P. M. Neumann.) Theorem. Let \(G = M *_ A N\) be a free product of finitely generated groups \(M\) and \(N\) such that there exist \(x \in M\) and \(y \in N\) with \(x^ 2 \notin A\), \(A \cap A^ y = 1\), and \(A \cap y A y = \emptyset\). Then \(G\) has \(2^{\aleph_ 0}\) highly transitive Jordan representations on \(\omega\) none of which is equivalent to any subaction of another. Theorem. The above conclusion holds for the free product \(G = \mathbb{Z}_ m * \mathbb{Z}_ n\) (\(m \geq 3\), \(n \geq 2\)) of finite cyclic groups, and in this case \(G\) has such a representation whose point stabilizer subgroup has decision problem of any given Turing degree. These results are proved by constructing a subgroup \(H\) of \(G\) to serve as the point stabilizer. This is done by means of spelling and cancellation arguments. Meanwhile (see the author's note added in proof), \textit{S. V. Gunhouse} [Arch. Math. 58, 435-443 (1992; Zbl 0724.20004)], building on work of \textit{A. M. W. Glass} and \textit{S. H. McCleary} [Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 43, 19-35 (1991; Zbl 0717.20001)], was independently using much more geometric methods to establish the existence of a highly transitive representation on \(\omega\) for every free product \(G = M * N\) of non-trivial finite or countable groups (except \(\mathbb{Z}_ 2 * \mathbb{Z}_ 2\)). Subsequently, \textit{S. V. Gunhouse} [Ph. D. Thesis, Bowling Green State Univ., Bowling Green, Ohio USA (1993)] managed to relax the hypotheses in the first theorem quoted above.