Some metric properties of automorphisms of groups.

DOI10.1016/J.JALGEBRA.2005.10.001MaRDI QIDQ855335zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Vladimir Shpilrain, Alexei Myasnikov

Publication date 7 December 2006

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

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0510398

zbMATH Keywords

automorphismscurlfixed pointsfluxfree groupsgrowthinjective endomorphismsmetric properties

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Free nonabelian groups (20E05) Automorphisms of infinite groups (20E36) Geometric group theory (20F65)

Abstract: Study of the dynamics of automorphisms of a group is usually focused on their growth and/or finite orbits, including fixed points. In this paper, we introduce properties of a different kind; using somewhat informal language, we call them metric properties. Two principal characteristics of this kind are called here the "curl" and the "flux"; there seems to be very little correlation between these and the growth of an automorphism, which means they are likely to be an essentially new tool for studying automorphisms. We also observe that our definitions of the curl and flux are sufficiently general to be applied to mappings of arbitrary metric spaces.

Review text

In this paper, the authors introduce some metric properties of automorphisms (and endomorphisms) of groups via two new functions called `curl' and `flux' to be used in the study of automorphisms and endomorphisms. The definitions of these concepts are too complicated to be included in this review. After giving some obvious properties they state some interesting problems concerning the values of flux and curl. They also give some examples concerning the automorphisms of free groups \(F_r\) of rank \(r\) and the values of flux and curl in some simple cases. For example, they prove that if \(q\) is an injective endomorphism of \(F_r\), then either \(\text{Flux}(\varphi)=0\) in which case \(|\varphi(x)|=1\) for all \(x\in X\) (\(X\) the generating set of \(F_r\), \(|\varphi(x)|\) the length of the word \(\varphi(x)\)) or \(\text{Flux}(\varphi)\leq 1/4\). They also evaluate the approximate values of curl and flux in some simple cases using a computer. Finally they prove the following Theorem. Let \(\alpha\) be an automorphism of the group \(F_r\) which is not a composition of an inner automorphism and a permutation of the set \(X\cup X^{-1}\). Then \(\text{Curl}(\alpha)<1\). Moreover, \(\text{Curl}(\alpha)\) is bounded away from \(1\), i.e., there is a constant \(c=c(r)<1\), independent of \(\alpha\), such that \(\text{Curl}(\alpha)<c\).

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Cites work

• Average-case complexity and decision problems in group theory.
• Generic properties of Whitehead's algorithm and isomorphism rigidity of random one-relator groups.
• Irreducible automorphisms of growth rate one
• Periodic ends, growth rates, Hölder dynamics for automorphisms of free groups
• The subadditive ergodic theorem and generic stretching factors for free group automorphisms.
• The Tits alternative for \(\text{Out}(F_n)\). I: Dynamics of exponentially-growing automorphisms

Cited in

(6)

• Growth rate of an endomorphism of a group.
• Growths of endomorphisms of finitely generated semigroups
• The generalized conjugacy problem for virtually free groups.
• Metric properties of Diestel-Leader groups.
• A Sufficient Condition for Conjugacy of Metric Automorphisms
• The subadditive ergodic theorem and generic stretching factors for free group automorphisms.

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