On aspherical presentations of groups

We show that PD4-complexes with free fundamental group are determined by their intersection pairings and that every hermitian form on a finitely generated free module over the group ring of a free group is realized by some such complex. The purpose of this article is to show that some of the basic properties of PD4-complexes with free fundamental group can be derived homologically, without reference to the topology of 4-manifolds or stabilization by connected sums, as used in (4, 8, 13). We also avoid explicit calculations of obstructions, relying instead on the easily verified fact that the 3-skeletons of the complexes considered have su‰ciently many self homotopy equivalences. In particular we give a new proof of the fact that such complexes are determined by their intersection pairings, and that every hermitian form on a finitely generated free module over the group ring of a free group is realized by some such complex. In the final section we consider briefly the classification (up to s-cobordism) of closed 4-manifolds with free fundamental group.

Some primitive group rings

We investigate algebraic sets over certain finitely generated torsion-free metabelian groups. The class of groups under consideration is the class of so-called ρ-groups. It consists of all wreath products of finitely generated free abelian groups and their subgroups. In particular, it includes all free metabelian groups of finite rank. Our main result is a characterization of certain irreducible algebraic sets over ρ-groups. More precisely, we consider irreducible algebraic sets which are determined by a system of equations in n indeterminates. For their coordinate groups, we introduce a discrete invariant called the relative characteristic. This is an ordered pair of non-negative integers. We determine the structure of the coordinate group of the n-dimensional affine space, and show that its relative characteristic is (n, n). Then we characterize the irreducible algebraic sets of relative characteristic (n, n) and (0, k ) where 0 ≤ k ≤ n . We also obtain some examples of somewhat unusual algebraic sets over ρ-groups, thus demonstrating that algebraic sets over these groups are much more varied and complicated than, say, algebraic sets over free groups.

Class group of the group ring of a cyclic group of order p2 over the ring of integers in a quadratic number field

A BV-algebra structure on Hochschild cohomology of the integral group ring of finitely generated Abelian groups

Let K[G] denote the group ring of G over the field K. In this note we characterize those group rings in which all left ideals are right ideals. Let R be a ring. We say that R is l.i.r.i. if every left ideal is a right ideal. A ring is l.a.r.i. if every left annihilator is a right ideal. Our notation follows that of [2]. The main results are THEOREM I. Let K be a field and let G be a nonabelian periodic group. Then if K[G] is l.a.r.i. one of the following occurs (i) Char K = 0 and G is a Hamiltonian group such that for each odd exponent, n, of G the quaternion algebra over the field K(4), where 4 is a primitive nth root of unity, is a division ring. (ii) Char K = 2 and K does not contain any primitive cube root of unity. Moreover G = Q x A, where Q is the quaternion group of order 8 and A is abelian in which each element has odd order and if n is an exponent for A, the least integer m > 1 satisfying 2m -1 (mod n) is odd. Conversely if K[G] satisfies either (i) or (ii), then K[G] is l.i.r.i. and, in particular, it is l.a.r.i. Observe that if char K > 2 and G is periodic, then K[GI is l.a.r.i. if and only if G is abelian. THEOREM II. Let K[G] denote the group ring over a nonabelian group. Then the following are equivalent (i) K[G] is l.i.r.i. (ii) G is locally finite and if a,f8 E K[GI with a,8 = 0, then /3a = 0. (iii) G is locally finite and K[G] is l.a.r.i. If we combine the above theorems we get necessary and sufficient conditions for K[GI to be l.i.r.i. By using the antiautomorphism of K[G] given by ,xeG k.x H* IeG kxxwe see that K[G] is l.i.r.i. (l.a.r.i.) if and only if K[G] is r.i.l.i. (r.a.l.i.). Received by the editors February 2, 1978. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 16A26.

According to the results of research which has been carried on until now, the rubber formula can hardly be formulated without a ring system. It has either a very large, closed ring of isopentene groups, or a long chain, somewhat as in Formula II, in which the terminal isoprene group has disappeared through ring formation. It is the problem of organic preparative chemistry to carry on in the most exact way the by-no-means hopeless search for the end members of the long-chain 210 natural products, and not to rely wholly upon the results of physical methods alone. The imagination of organic chemists must still more than before seek to trace the characteristic reactions of the end groups, which differ from the remaining chain members. For proteins, the determination of the increase of free terminal amino groups and carboxyl groups in cleavage reactions is already an important method of investigation, and with polysaccharides the reaction of hypoiodite with a free terminal aldehyde group has been carried out with success by Bergmann for determining the length of the chains. In the field of high molecular natural substances, which is so difficult to investigate, we shall consider a concept as certain only if it is supported equally by the results of chemical as well as physical methods of investigation.

A consequence of Schreier's formula is that if G is a subgroup of the free group F of rank n < 1 and rank G ≦ n, then G = F or G is of infinite index in F. However, if S is a free sovlvable group of derived length I < 1 and H is a subgroup of S which is free solvable of the same length, then the rank of H does not exceed the rank of S. These observations led G. Baumslag to conjecture that if H is of finite index in S then H = S. In fact, we have sharper results in two directions. If H and S are free solvable of the same length, not only is H of infinite index in S, but δ1−1(S)/δ1−1(H) is torsion-free. In another direction we need not assume that S is free solvable, only that s is torsion-free and of derived length l (l > 1) and that H is not cyclic. Thus Stallings' theorem [11] that a finitely generated torsionfree group with a free subgroup of finite index is itself free has an even stronger counterpart in the variety of groups solvable of length at most l (l > 1): a torsionfree group in that variety with a non-cyclic free subgroup of finite index coincides with this subgroup. The proof relies on the following theorem: If S is a free solvable group, J is the group of automorphisms of S which induce the identity on S/S', and I is the group of inner automorphisms of S, then J/I is torsion-free. The proofs of these theorems form the bulk of the first four sections.

We classify compact oriented 5-manifolds with free fundamental group and π 2 a torsion free abelian group in terms of the second homotopy group considered as π 1 -module, the cup product on the second cohomology of the universal covering, and the second Stiefel-Whitney class of the universal covering.We apply this to the classification of simple boundary links of 3-spheres in S 5 .Using this we give a complete algebraic picture of closed 5manifolds with free fundamental group and trivial second homology group.

The original Novikov conjecture concerns the (oriented) homotopy invariance of higher sig-natures of manifolds and is equivalent to the rational injectivity of the assembly map in surgery theory. The integral injectivity of the assembly map is important for other purposes and is called the integral Novikov conjecture. There are also assembly maps in other theories and hence re-lated Novikov and integral Novikov conjectures. In this paper, we discuss several results on the integral Novikov conjectures for all torsion free arithmetic subgroups of linear algebraic groups and all S-arithmetic subgroups of reductive linear algebraic groups over number fields. For re-ductive linear algebraic groups over function fields of rank 0, the integral Novikov conjecture also holds for all torsion-free S-arithmetic subgroups. Since groups containing torsion elements occur naturally and frequently, we also discuss a generalized integral Novikov conjecture for groups containing torsion elements, and prove it for all arithmetic subgroups of reductive linear algebraic groups over number fields and S-arithmetic subgroups of reductive algebraic groups of rank 0 over function fields. 1

Let G be a locally indicable group, K a division ring, and KG a crossed-product group ring. In 1961, Ian Hughes proved that, up to KG-isomorphism, at most one division ring of fractions of KG satisfies a certain independence condition, now called Hughes freeness. This result was applied by others in work on division rings of fractions of group rings of free groups. In this article, we introduce concepts that illuminate Hughes' arguments, and we simplify the proof of the theorem.

Let [Formula: see text] be a division ring with center [Formula: see text] and multiplicative group [Formula: see text], of char [Formula: see text], and with an involution *. Let [Formula: see text] be the group of unitary units of [Formula: see text], namely [Formula: see text]. We investigate various instances where the dimension [Formula: see text], and in which every non-central normal subgroup [Formula: see text] contains a free non cyclic subgroup. Among them, we consider the cases where [Formula: see text] is either generated over its center of characteristic 0 by a torsion free nilpotent group, or [Formula: see text] is the field of fractions of a group algebra [Formula: see text] of the residually torsion free nilpotent group [Formula: see text] over the field [Formula: see text] of characteristic 0 , or the field of fractions of the enveloping algebra of a locally solvable residually nilpotent Lie [Formula: see text]-algebra [Formula: see text].

Bestvina and Mess [BM] proved a remarkable formula for torsion free hyperbolic groups $$ \dim_L\partial\Gamma=cd_L\Gamma-1 $$ connecting the cohomological dimension of a group $\Gamma$ with the cohomological dimension of its boundary $\partial\Gamma$. In [Be] Bestvina introduced a notion of $\sZ$-structure on a discrete group and noticed that his formula holds true for all torsion free groups with $\sZ$-structure. Bestvina's notion of $\sZ$-structure can be extended to groups containing torsion by replacing the covering space action in the definition by the geometric action. Though the Bestvina-Mess formula trivially is not valid for groups with torsion, we show that it still holds in the following modified form: {\it The cohomological dimension of a $\sZ$-boundary of a group $\Gamma$ equals its global cohomological dimension for every PID $L$ as the coefficient group} $$ \dim_L\partial\Gamma=gcd_L(\partial\Gamma). $$ Using this formula we show that the cohomological dimension of the boundary $\dim_{L}\partial\Gamma$ is a quasi-isometry invariant of a group.

Products of Free Groups in the Unit Group of Integral Group Rings II

We show that, even under very favourable hypotheses, a polygonal product of finitely generated torsion free nilpotent groups amalgamating infinite cyclic subgroups is, in general, not residually finite, thus answering negatively a question of C. Y. Tang. A second example shows similar kinds of limitations apply even when the factors of the product are free abelian groups.