Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/iii/paper-104/6/a/2/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 6 a 2 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Suppose in . In , the commutator is a nonempty cyclically alternating free-product word. Every positive power remains reduced, so has infinite order. Each also has infinite order: this is immediate for ; if , then , and otherwise is a cyclically alternating word of length two.
Consequently the presentation defining is a multiple HNN extension identifying the infinite cyclic subgroups and . By the normal form theorem for an HNN extension, embeds in .
The subgroupis a free group on exactly these elements. For a proof, view as . For every , the reduced expression lies neither in nor in . It therefore belongs to none of the associated cyclic subgroups or . Any freely reduced word in with a stable letter has no pinch and is nontrivial by Britton's lemma. A word with no stable letters is a nonzero power of , also nontrivial. This proves the claimed free basis of a group.
Inside the rank-two free group , the elementsfreely generate a subgroup of rank . This is the same free-product normal-form calculation as for the conjugate basis in Question 5: between conjugates with distinct indices, a nonzero power of remains. The identifications in the output presentation give an isomorphism matching these free bases. HenceThe normal form theorem for an amalgamated free product makes both factors embed. Composing the embeddings givesThus the construction preserves whenever the input word is nontrivial, regardless of whether that word has finite or infinite order in .
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