Enumerating palindromes and primitives in rank two free groups.

DOI10.1016/J.JALGEBRA.2011.02.010zbMATH Open1237.20023arXiv0802.2731OpenAlexW2963909527MaRDI QIDQ645235FDOQ645235

Authors: Jane Gilman, Linda Keen 

Publication date: 8 November 2011

Published in: Journal of Algebra (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Let $F=<a,b>$ be a rank two free group. A word $W(a,b)$ in $F$ is {sl primitive} if it, along with another group element, generates the group. It is a {sl palindrome} (with respect to $a$ and $b$) if it reads the same forwards and backwards. It is known that in a rank two free group any primitive element is conjugate either to a palindrome or to the product of two palindromes, but known iteration schemes for all primitive words give only a representative for the conjugacy class. Here we derive a new iteration scheme that gives either the unique palindrome in the conjugacy class or expresses the word as a unique product of two unique palindromes. We denote these words by $E_{p/q}$ where $p/q$ is rational number expressed in lowest terms. We prove that $E_{p/q}$ is a palindrome if $pq$ is even and the unique product of two unique palindromes if $pq$ is odd. We prove that the pairs $(E_{p/q},E_{r/s})$ generate the group when $|ps-rq|=1$. This improves the previously known result that held only for $pq$ and $rs$ both even. The derivation of the enumeration scheme also gives a new proof of the known results about primitives.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/0802.2731

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zbMATH Keywords

enumerating palindromesprimitive elements of free groups

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Free nonabelian groups (20E05) Generators, relations, and presentations of groups (20F05)

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Cited In (16)

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• Combinatorial growth in the modular group
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• On palindromic width of certain extensions and quotients of free nilpotent groups
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• On some properties palindromes of automorphisms of a free group
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