Commensurability of graph products (Q5947967)

Two groups \(G\), \(G^*\) are commensurable if there is a group \(H\) isomorphic to a subgroup of finite index in both \(G\) and \(G^*\); they are strongly commensurable if \(H\) has the same index in both \(G\) and \(G^*\). The authors prove that, if \((G_v)_{v\in V}\), \((G^*_v)_{v\in V}\) are two families of groups indexed by vertices of a finite graph and if, for each \(v\in V\), \(G_v\) and \(G_v^*\) are strongly commensurable, then the two corresponding graph products are also strongly commensurable. The proof involves two complementary descriptions of right-angled buildings on which a graph product acts. Since a group commensurable with a linear group is linear, the result allows the authors to prove the linearity of a number of graph products whose linearity was not known before. The authors generalize the main result somewhat to allow commensurability, under certain circumstances, to replace strong commensurability; but examples show that additional hypotheses are required.