On automorphism-fixed subgroups of a free group

Let F be a flnitely generated free group, and let n denote its rank. A subgroup H of F is said to be automorphism-flxed, or auto-flxed for short, if there exists a set S of automorphisms of F such that H is precisely the set of elements flxed by every element of S; similarly, H is 1-auto-flxed if th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martino, Armando, Ventura Capell, Enric|||0000-0003-3519-4135
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2000
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/24777
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/24777
https://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jabr.2000.8329
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Free groups
Group theory
Grups, Teoria de
Classificació AMS::20 Group theory and generalizations
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Matemàtiques i estadística::Àlgebra::Teoria de grups
Descripción
Sumario:Let F be a flnitely generated free group, and let n denote its rank. A subgroup H of F is said to be automorphism-flxed, or auto-flxed for short, if there exists a set S of automorphisms of F such that H is precisely the set of elements flxed by every element of S; similarly, H is 1-auto-flxed if there exists a single automorphism of F whose set of flxed elements is precisely H. We show that each auto-flxed subgroup of F is a free factor of a 1-auto-flxed subgroup of F. We show also that if (and only if) n ‚ 3, then there exist free factors of 1-auto-flxed subgroups of F which are not auto-flxed subgroups of F. A 1-auto-flxed subgroup H of F has rank at most n, by the Bestvina-Handel Theorem, and if H has rank exactly n, then H is said to be a maximum-rank 1-auto-flxed subgroup of F, and similarly for auto-flxed subgroups. Hence a maximum-rank auto-flxed subgroup of F is a (maximum-rank) 1-auto-flxed subgroup of F. We further prove that if H is a maximum-rank 1-auto-flxed subgroup of F, then the group of automorphisms of F which flx every element of H is free abelian of rank at most n ¡ 1. All of our results apply also to endomorphisms.