On the Invariance of a Quotient Group of the Center of F/[R, R]

Abstract

Let F be a free group of rank ⩾ 2, let F/R ≅ π, and let F0 = F/[R, R]. Auslander and Lyndon showed that the center of Fo is a subgroup of R/[R, R] = Ro, and that it is non-trivial if and only if π is finite [1, corollary 1.3 and theorem 2]. In this paper it will be shown that there is a canonically defined (and not always trivial) quotient group of the center of F which depends only on π.</jats:p