Quotients and subgroups of Baumslag-Solitar groups. (Q486447)

A generalized Baumslag-Solitar (GBS) group \(G\) is the fundamental group of a finite graph of groups \(\Gamma\) whose edge and vertex groups are infinite cyclic. The inclusion of edge groups into vertex groups is given by multiplication by the (integer) edge labels; these edge labels define integers \(Q,R,X,Y\). The Baumslag-Solitar groups \(BS(m,n)=\langle a,t\mid ta^mt^{-1}=t^n\rangle\) occur when the graph \(\Gamma\) is a loop. If a non-cyclic 2-generator GBS group \(G\) is defined by the graph \(\Gamma\) then \(\Gamma\) is a segment, a circle, or a lollipop. The first main result of this article fixes \(\Gamma\) to be a labelled graph representing a GBS group \(G\) (that is not \(\mathbb Z\) or the Klein bottle group) and determines the values of \(m,n\) in terms of \(Q,R,X,Y\) for which \(G\) is a quotient of \(BS(m,n)\). A corollary determines which \(BS(m,n)\) have infinitely many GBS quotients (up to isomorphism). In the (interesting) cases of the circle or lollipop the theorem shows that \(BS(QX,QY)\) is the `smallest' Baumslag-Solitar group that maps onto the GBS group \(G\). Another theorem determines when (in the case that \(G\) is not Hopfian) \(G\) maps onto the same \(BS(QX,QY)\). Two groups are said to be epi-equivalent if each is isomorphic to a quotient of the other. A corollary of this theorem determines which GBS groups are epi-equivalent to a Baumslag-Solitar group. Another determines (for a fixed non-Hopfian group \(BS(m,n)\)) necessary and sufficient conditions on \(m,n\) for there to be infinitely many (pairwise non-isomorphic) GBS group that are epi-equivalent to \(BS(m,n)\). These considerations, combined with a result of the author [\textit{G. Levitt}, Generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups: rank and finite index subgroups. Ann. Inst. Fourier (to appear)] characterize which GBS groups are large (that is, which have a finite index subgroup that maps onto a non-abelian free group): \(G\) is large if and only if it is not a quotient of any \(BS(m,n)\) with \(m,n\) coprime. Immersions of groups are used to find Baumslag-Solitar subgroups in GBS groups and, using this technique, the (known result) that a GBS group is residually finite if and only if it is solvable or virtually \(F\times\mathbb Z\) (where \(F\) is a free group) is obtained. The paper determines (for \(|m|,|n|\) not both 1) necessary and sufficient conditions on the parameters \(r,s,m,n\) for \(BS(r,s)\) to embed in \(BS(m,n)\). The final theorem characterizes (for \(n\geq 2\)) which non-cyclic GBS groups embed in \(BS(n,n)\); a corollary gives that a finitely generated group \(G\) embeds into some \(BS(n,n)\) if and only if \(G\) is torsion-free and either \(G\) is free or \(G\) is a central extension of \(\mathbb Z\) by a free product of cyclic groups.