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Max Forester

Publications and source records attributed to Max Forester.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Minimal complexity cusped hyperbolic 3-manifolds with geodesic boundary

In the early 2000s, Frigerio, Martelli, and Petronio studied $3$-manifolds of smallest combinatorial complexity that admit hyperbolic structures. As part of this work they defined and studied the class $M_{g,k}$ of smallest complexity manifolds having $k$ torus cusps and connected totally geodesic boundary a surface of genus $g$. In this paper, we provide a complete classification of the manifolds in $M_{k,k}$ and $M_{k+1,k}$, which are the cases when the genus $g$ is as small as possible. In addition to classifying manifolds in $M_{k,k}$, $M_{k+1,k}$, we describe their isometry groups as well as a relationship between these two sets via Dehn filling on small slopes. Finally, we give a description of important commensurability invariants of the manifolds in $M_{k,k}$.

math.GT↗
arXiv2024

Finite-index accessibility of groups

We prove an accessibility theorem for finite-index splittings of groups. Given a finitely presented group G there is a number n(G) such that, for every reduced locally finite G-tree T with finitely generated stabilizers, T/G has at most n(G) vertices and edges. We also show that deformation spaces of locally finite trees (with finitely generated stabilizers) are maximal in the partial ordering of domination of G-trees.

math.GR↗
arXiv2022

On stable commutator length of non-filling curves in surfaces

We give a new proof of rationality of stable commutator length (scl) of certain elements in surface groups: those represented by curves that do not fill the surface. Such elements always admit extremal surfaces for scl. These results also hold more generally for non-filling 1-chains.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

Incommensurable lattices in Baumslag-Solitar complexes

This paper concerns locally finite 2-complexes $X_{m,n}$ which are combinatorial models for the Baumslag-Solitar groups $BS(m,n)$. We show that, in many cases, the locally compact group Aut($X_{m,n}$) contains incommensurable uniform lattices. The lattices we construct also admit isomorphic Cayley graphs and are finitely presented, torsion-free, and coherent.

math.GR↗
arXiv2017

Genus bounds in right-angled Artin groups

We show that in any right-angled Artin group whose defining graph has chromatic number $k$, every non-trivial element has stable commutator length at least $1/(6k)$. Secondly, if the defining graph does not contain triangles, then every non-trivial element has stable commutator length at least $1/20$. These results are obtained via an elementary geometric argument based on earlier work of Culler.

math.GR↗
arXiv2016

Veech surfaces and simple closed curves

We study the SL(2,R)-infimal lengths of simple closed curves on half-translation surfaces. Our main result is a characterization of Veech surfaces in terms of these lengths. We also revisit the "no small virtual triangles" theorem of Smillie and Weiss and establish the following dichotomy: the virtual triangle area spectrum of a half-translation surface either has a gap above zero or is dense in a neighborhood of zero. These results make use of the auxiliary polygon associated to a curve on a half-translation surface, as introduced by Tang and Webb.

math.GT↗
arXiv2016

Snowflake geometry in CAT(0) groups

We construct CAT(0) groups containing subgroups whose Dehn functions are given by $x^s$, for a dense set of numbers $s \in [2, \infty)$. This significantly expands the known geometric behavior of subgroups of CAT(0) groups.

math.GR↗
arXiv2016

Effective quasimorphisms on right-angled Artin groups

We construct new families of quasimorphisms on many groups acting on CAT(0) cube complexes. These quasimorphisms have a uniformly bounded defect of 12, and they "see" all elements that act hyperbolically on the cube complex. We deduce that all such elements have stable commutator length at least 1/24. The group actions for which these results apply include the standard actions of right-angled Artin groups on their associated CAT(0) cube complexes. In particular, every non-trivial element of a right-angled Artin group has stable commutator length at least 1/24. These results make use of some new tools that we develop for the study of group actions on CAT(0) cube complexes: the essential characteristic set and equivariant Euclidean embeddings.

math.GR↗
arXiv2013

Stable commutator length in Baumslag-Solitar groups and quasimorphisms for tree actions

This paper has two parts, on Baumslag-Solitar groups and on general G-trees. In the first part we establish bounds for stable commutator length (scl) in Baumslag-Solitar groups. For a certain class of elements, we further show that scl is computable and takes rational values. We also determine exactly which of these elements admit extremal surfaces. In the second part we establish a universal lower bound of 1/12 for scl of suitable elements of any group acting on a tree. This is achieved by constructing efficient quasimorphisms. Calculations in the group BS(2,3) show that this is the best possible universal bound, thus answering a question of Calegari and Fujiwara. We also establish scl bounds for acylindrical tree actions. Returning to Baumslag-Solitar groups, we show that their scl spectra have a uniform gap: no element has scl in the interval (0, 1/12).

math.GR↗
arXiv2008

Density of isoperimetric spectra

We show that the set of k-dimensional isoperimetric exponents of finitely presented groups is dense in the interval [1, \infty) for k > 1. Hence there is no higher-dimensional analogue of Gromov's gap (1,2) in the isoperimetric spectrum.

math.GR↗
arXiv2007

Whitehead moves for G-trees

We generalize the familiar notion of a Whitehead move from Culler and Vogtmann's Outer space to the setting of deformation spaces of G-trees. Specifically, we show that there are two moves, each of which transforms a reduced G-tree into another reduced G-tree, that suffice to relate any two reduced trees in the same deformation space. These two moves further factor into three moves between reduced trees that have simple descriptions in terms of graphs of groups. This result has several applications.

math.GR↗
arXiv2007

On the isomorphism problem for generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups

Generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups (GBS groups) are groups that act on trees with infinite cyclic edge and vertex stabilizers. Such an action is described by a labeled graph (essentially, the quotient graph of groups). This paper addresses the problem of determining whether two given labeled graphs define isomorphic groups; this is the isomorphism problem for GBS groups. There are two main results and some applications. First, we find necessary and sufficient conditions for a GBS group to be represented by only finitely many reduced labeled graphs. These conditions can be checked effectively from any labeled graph. Then we show that the isomorphism problem is solvable for GBS groups whose labeled graphs have first Betti number at most one.

math.GR↗
arXiv2006

Snowflake groups, Perron-Frobenius eigenvalues, and isoperimetric spectra

The k-dimensional Dehn (or isoperimetric) function of a group bounds the volume of efficient ball-fillings of k-spheres mapped into k-connected spaces on which the group acts properly and cocompactly; the bound is given as a function of the volume of the sphere. We advance significantly the observed range of behavior for such functions. First, to each non-negative integer matrix P and positive rational number r, we associate a finite, aspherical 2-complex X_{r,P} and calculate the Dehn function of its fundamental group G_{r,P} in terms of r and the Perron-Frobenius eigenvalue of P. The range of functions obtained includes x^s, where s is an arbitrary rational number greater than or equal to 2. By repeatedly forming multiple HNN extensions of the groups G_{r,P} we exhibit a similar range of behavior among higher-dimensional Dehn functions, proving in particular that for each positive integer k and rational s greater than or equal to (k+1)/k there exists a group with k-dimensional Dehn function x^s. Similar isoperimetric inequalities are obtained for arbitrary manifold pairs (M,\partial M) in addition to (B^{k+1},S^k).

math.GR↗
arXiv2005

The adjunction problem over torsion-free groups

In this note we prove injectivity and relative asphericity for "layered" systems of equations over torsion-free groups, when the exponent matrix is invertible over Z. We also give elementary geometric proofs of results due to Bogley-Pride and Serre that are used in the proof of the main theorem.

math.GR↗
arXiv2005

Splittings of generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups

We study the structure of generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups from the point of view of their (usually non-unique) splittings as fundamental groups of graphs of infinite cyclic groups. We find and characterize certain decompositions of smallest complexity (`fully reduced' decompositions) and give a simplified proof of the existence of deformations. We also prove a finiteness theorem and solve the isomorphism problem for generalized Baumslag-Solitar groups with no non-trivial integral moduli.

math.GR↗