Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 1501.05579

Amenability of Schreier graphs and strongly generic algorithms for the conjugacy problem

Abstract

In various occasions the conjugacy problem in finitely generated amalgamated products and HNN extensions can be decided efficiently for elements which cannot be conjugated into the base groups. This observation asks for a bound on how many such elements there are. Such bounds can be derived using the theory of amenable graphs: In this work we examine Schreier graphs of amalgamated products and HNN extensions. For an amalgamated product $G = H *_A K $ with $[H:A] \geq [K:A] \geq 2$, the Schreier graph with respect to $H$ or $K$ turns out to be non-amenable if and only if $[H:A] \geq 3$. Moreover, for an HNN extension of the form $G = $, we show that the Schreier graph of $G$ with respect to the subgroup $H$ is non-amenable if and only if $A \neq H \neq ϕ(A)$. As application of these characterizations we show that under certain conditions the conjugacy problem in fundamental groups of finite graphs of groups with free abelian vertex groups can be solved in polynomial time on a strongly generic set. Furthermore, the conjugacy problem in groups with more than one end can be solved with a strongly generic algorithm which has essentially the same time complexity as the word problem. These are rather striking results as the word problem might be easy, but the conjugacy problem might be even undecidable. Finally, our results yield another proof that the set where the conjugacy problem of the Baumslag group is decidable in polynomial time is also strongly generic.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Volker Diekert, Alexei G. Myasnikov, Armin Weiß. 2016-05-05. Amenability of Schreier graphs and strongly generic algorithms for the conjugacy problem. https://arxiv.org/abs/1501.05579

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

On commensurators of free groups and free pro-p groups

We study the commensurators of free groups and free pro-$p$ groups, as well as certain subgroups of these. We prove that the commensurator $Comm(F)$ of a non-abelian free group of finite rank $F$ is not virtually simple, answering a question of Lubotzky. On the other hand, we exhibit a family of easy-to-define finitely generated subgroups of $Comm(F)$ and show that some groups in this family are simple. For a prime $p$, we also consider the p-commensurator $Comm_p(F)$, which is the commensurator of $F$ viewed as a group with pro-$p$ topology. By contrast with $Comm(F)$, we prove that $Comm_p(F)$ has a simple subgroup of index at most 2. Further, while the isomorphism class of $Comm(F)$ does not depend on the rank of $F$, we prove that the isomorphism class of $Comm_p(F)$ depends on the rank of $F$ and determine the exact dependency. If $\mathbf F$ is the pro-$p$ completion of $F$ (which is a free pro-$p$ group), $Comm(\mathbf F)$ is a totally disconnected locally compact (tdlc) group containing $\mathbf F$ as an open subgroup. We use $Comm_p(F)$ to construct an abstractly simple subgroup of $Comm(\mathbf F)$ containing $\mathbf F$ as well as a family of non-discrete tdlc groups which are compactly generated and simple.

math.GR

Asymmetry of $\ell^{2}$-cohomology via skewed Følner geometry

We study the two $\ell^{2}$-Dirichlet structures on a countable group $G$ arising from the left and right regular actions on $\mathbb{R}^{G}$. Although the two regular representations are unitarily equivalent, their $\ell^{2}$-Dirichlet subspaces of $\mathbb{R}^{G}$ need not coincide. Our main result gives a complete classification of this asymmetry for countable amenable groups: $$\mathcal{D}_{2}\left(G,λ\right)=\mathcal{D}_{2}\left(G,ρ\right)\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad G \text{ is an FC-group}.$$ The proof is based on a skewed Følner-geometric mechanism, called a left scheme, combining summability of left boundaries with displacement under a right translation. We develop this mechanism generally, and demonstrate it concretely in the Heisenberg group and amenable wreath products over $\mathbb{Z}$. We also show that this mechanism has a dynamical counterpart in the theory of nonsingular Bernoulli shifts: every countable amenable group that is not an FC-group admits Bernoulli schemes whose left shift is nonsingular, conservative and weakly mixing, whereas the right shift by some element is singular.

math.GR

Analogues of Sylow's first theorem, Cauchy's theorem, and Hall's theorem for skew braces

We establish an unconditional analogue of Sylow's first theorem for finite skew braces, and deduce an analogue of Cauchy's theorem. We also prove an analogue of the existence part of Hall's theorem for finite skew braces with soluble additive and multiplicative groups. We make some observations regarding the number of Sylow subskew braces of a skew brace in various cases. By applying these results we streamline the classification of skew braces of order $ pq $, where $ p,q $ are distinct prime numbers.

math.GR