Maximally symmetric trees. (Q698128)

Given a finitely generated group \(G\), the authors call a `model geometry' for \(G\) a proper metric space \(X\) on which \(G\) acts properly and coboundedly by isometries. Given a metric space \(X\), the `quasi-isometry group' of \(X\) is the group of self quasi-isometries of \(X\) modulo identification of quasi-isometries which have bounded distance in the sup norm. Given a quasi-isometry class \(\mathcal C\) of finitely generated groups, the authors consider the following questions: (1) Is there a common (coarse) geodesic model geometry for every group in \(\mathcal C\)? (2) Is there a common locally compact group \(\Gamma\) in which every group of \(\mathcal C\) has a discrete, cocompact, finite kernel representation? The main result of this paper is a characterization of the `best' model geometries for the quasi-isometry class of virtually free groups of finite rank. (The fact that this class is a single quasi-isometry class follows from results of Stallings and Dunwoody.) For that purpose, the authors describe a class of spaces which they call `maximally symmetric trees' and they show that these constitute a class of countably infinite distinct best model geometries for these groups. A substantial part of the paper deals with the description of several characterizations of maximally symmetric trees in quasi-isometric, topological and graph-theoretical terms, and the construction of a maximally symmetric tree as a model geometry for a virtually free group. The proofs of the main results use the theory of edge-indexed graphs developed by Bass and Kulkarni, tree techniques developed by Bass and Lubotzky, and rigidity theorems for quasi-actions on trees which were obtained by the authors of the paper under review in their previous paper [Ann. Math. (2) 158, No. 1, 115-164 (2003; Zbl 1038.20016)].