The normal closure of big Dehn twists, and plate spinning with rotating families

We study the normal closure of a big power of one or several Dehn twists in a Mapping Class Group. We prove that it has a presentation whose relators consists only of commutators between twists of disjoint support, thus answering a question of Ivanov. Our method is to use the theory of projection complexes of Bestvina Bromberg and Fujiwara, together with the theory of rotating families, simultaneously on several spaces.Comment: 32 page

Deciding Isomorphy using Dehn fillings, the splitting case

We solve Dehn's isomorphism problem for virtually torsion-free relatively hyperbolic groups with nilpotent parabolic subgroups. We do so by reducing the isomorphism problem to three algorithmic problems in the parabolic subgroups, namely the isomorphism problem, separation of torsion (in their outer automorphism groups) by congruences, and the mixed Whitehead problem, an automorphism group orbit problem. The first step of the reduction is to compute canonical JSJ decompositions. Dehn fillings and the given solutions of the algorithmic problems in the parabolic groups are then used to decide if the graphs of groups have isomorphic vertex groups and, if so, whether a global isomorphism can be assembled. For the class of finitely generated nilpotent groups, we give solutions to these algorithmic problems by using the arithmetic nature of these groups and of their automorphism groups.Comment: 76 pages. This version incorporates referee comments and corrections. The main changes to the previous version are a better treatment of the algorithmic recognition and presentation of virtually cyclic subgroups and a new proof of a rigidity criterion obtained by passing to a torsion-free finite index subgroup. The previous proof relied on an incorrect result. To appear in Inventiones Mathematica

Spectral theorems for random walks on mapping class groups and Out(FN)\text{Out}(F_N)

We establish spectral theorems for random walks on mapping class groups of connected, closed, oriented, hyperbolic surfaces, and on $\text{Out}(F_N)$. In both cases, we relate the asymptotics of the stretching factor of the diffeomorphism/automorphism obtained at time $n$ of the random walk to the Lyapunov exponent of the walk, which gives the typical growth rate of the length of a curve -- or of a conjugacy class in $F_N$ -- under a random product of diffeomorphisms/automorphisms. In the mapping class group case, we first observe that the drift of the random walk in the curve complex is also equal to the linear growth rate of the translation lengths in this complex. By using a contraction property of typical Teichm\"uller geodesics, we then lift the above fact to the realization of the random walk on the Teichm\"uller space. For the case of $\text{Out}(F_N)$, we follow the same procedure with the free factor complex in place of the curve complex, and the outer space in place of the Teichm\"uller space. A general criterion is given for making the lifting argument possible.Comment: 45 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1506.0724

Recognizing a relatively hyperbolic group by its Dehn fillings

Dehn fillings for relatively hyperbolic groups generalize the topological Dehn surgery on a non-compact hyperbolic $3$-manifold such as a hyperbolic knot complement. We prove a rigidity result saying that if two non-elementary relatively hyperbolic groups without suitable splittings have sufficiently many isomorphic Dehn fillings, then these groups are in fact isomorphic. Our main application is a solution to the isomorphism problem in the class of non-elementary relatively hyperbolic groups with residually finite parabolic groups and with no suitable splittings.Comment: Minor modification (including typesetting). 56 page

The isomorphism problem for all hyperbolic groups

We give a solution to Dehn's isomorphism problem for the class of all hyperbolic groups, possibly with torsion. We also prove a relative version for groups with peripheral structures. As a corollary, we give a uniform solution to Whitehead's problem asking whether two tuples of elements of a hyperbolic group $G$ are in the same orbit under the action of \Aut(G). We also get an algorithm computing a generating set of the group of automorphisms of a hyperbolic group preserving a peripheral structure.Comment: 71 pages, 4 figure

Foliations for solving equations in groups: free, virtually free, and hyperbolic groups

We give an algorithm for solving equations and inequations with rational constraints in virtually free groups. Our algorithm is based on Rips classification of measured band complexes. Using canonical representatives, we deduce an algorithm for solving equations and inequations in hyperbolic groups (maybe with torsion). Additionnally, we can deal with quasi-isometrically embeddable rational constraints.Comment: 70 pages, 7 figures, revised version. To appear in Journal of Topolog

Presenting parabolic subgroups

Consider a relatively hyperbolic group G. We prove that if G is finitely presented, so are its parabolic subgroups. Moreover, a presentation of the parabolic subgroups can be found algorithmically from a presentation of G, a solution of its word problem, and generating sets of the parabolic subgroups. We also give an algorithm that finds parabolic subgroups in a given recursively enumerable class of groups.Comment: 15 page

Growth of quasiconvex subgroups

We prove that non-elementary hyperbolic groups grow exponentially more quickly than their infinite index quasiconvex subgroups. The proof uses the classical tools of automatic structures and Perron-Frobenius theory. We also extend the main result to relatively hyperbolic groups and cubulated groups. These extensions use the notion of growth tightness and the work of Dahmani, Guirardel, and Osin on rotating families.Comment: 28 pages, 1 figure. v3 is the final version, to appear in Math Proc. Cambridge Philos. So

Proper actions on ℓp\ell^p spaces for relatively hyperbolic groups

We show that for any group $G$ that is hyperbolic relative to subgroups that admit a proper affine isometric action on a uniformly convex Banach space, then $G$ acts properly on a uniformly convex Banach space as well.Comment: 28 pages, revise