Graph groups, coherence, and three-manifolds (Q583228)

We study groups given by presentations each of whose defining relations is of the form \(xy=yx\) for some generators x and y. To such a presentation we associate a graph X whose vertices are the generators, two vertices x and y being adjacent in X if and only if \(xy=yx\) is a defining relation. Given a graph X, we denote by GX the group defined by the presentation associated to X in this way. We call GX a graph group. These groups have been studied by \textit{K. H. Kim} and \textit{F. Roush} [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 17, 179-186 (1980; Zbl 0444.05066)] and by \textit{W. Dicks} [ibid. 22, 215- 228 (1981; Zbl 0471.16001)]. We prove the following: Theorem 1. If X is a finite graph, then the group GX is coherent if and only if each circuit of X of length greater than three has a chord. (Recall that a group is called coherent if each of its finitely generated subgroups is finitely presented.) Theorem 2. If X is a finite graph, then the group GX is the fundamental group of a three-dimensional manifold if and only if each connected component of X is either a tree or a triangle.