On surjectively universal Polish groups (Q715209)

A~Polish group \(G\) is said to be surjectively universal if every Polish group~\(H\) is isomorphic to a topological quotient group of \(G\) or, equivalently, there is a continuous surjective homomorphism \(\Phi:G\to H\). \textit{A. S. Kechris} [Topology Appl. 58, No. 3, 195--222 (1994; Zbl 0805.54035)] raised the problem whether there exist surjectively universal Polish groups. In the paper under review the author proves that every Polish group is isomorphic to a topological quotient group of the completion of a free group endowed with a new metric introduced by the author and \textit{S. Gao} [Topology Appl. 154, No. 2, 410--420 (2007; Zbl 1111.22001)]. Consequently, every surjectively universal group should have this form and there is a surjectively universal \(\boldsymbol\Pi^0_3\)~subgroup of \(S_\infty\). The author gives a~sufficient condition for the new metrics to guarantee that the completion of a free group is surjectively universal.