{"@context":["https://w3id.org/fdo/context/v1",{"schema":"https://schema.org/","prov":"http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#","fdo":"https://w3id.org/fdo/vocabulary/"}],"@id":"https://fdo.portal.mardi4nfdi.de/fdo/Q799799","@type":"DigitalObject","kernel":{"@id":"https://fdo.portal.mardi4nfdi.de/fdo/Q799799","digitalObjectType":"https://schema.org/ScholarlyArticle","primaryIdentifier":"mardi:Q799799","kernelVersion":"v1","immutable":true,"modified":"2026-01-05T18:39:44Z"},"profile":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ScholarlyArticle","@id":"https://portal.mardi4nfdi.de/entity/Q799799","name":"The p-adic topology on a free group: A counterexample","headline":"The p-adic topology on a free group: A counterexample","description":"scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3873584","url":"https://portal.mardi4nfdi.de/entity/Q799799","datePublished":"1984-00-00","author":[{"@id":"https://portal.mardi4nfdi.de/entity/Q347257"}],"publisher":[{"@id":"https://portal.mardi4nfdi.de/entity/Q163114"}],"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","propertyID":"doi","value":"10.1007/BF01163163","url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01163163"},"sameAs":["https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01163163"],"comment":"In [Math. Z. 184, 1-17 (1983; Zbl 0496.57006)] \\textit{J. Stallings} made several conjectures related to the Kervaire conjecture. In the paper under review some of these conjectures are disproved.    Let F be a finitely generated free group, and let p be a prime (or 0). Define \\({}_ pF_ i\\) inductively by \\({}_ pF_ 1=F\\), \\(_ pF_{i+1}=sgp\\{u^ p[v,w]:\\quad u,v\\in_ pF_ i,\\quad w\\in F\\}.\\) Taking these subgroups as a basis for 1 gives rise to the p-adic topology on F, and to the p-adic completion \\({}_ p\\hat F\\) of F. Stallings made the following \\(conjectures:\\)    \\(A_ n(p):\\) for any n elements \\(u_ 1,u_ 2,...,u_ n\\in F\\) the set \\(\\{w:\\quad w=\\prod^{n}_{i=1}z_ i^{-1}u_ iz_ i\\quad\\exists z_ 1,z_ 2,...,z_ n\\in F\\}\\) is closed in the p-adic topology.    C(p): for any normal subgroup N of F the intersection of F and the normal closure of N in \\({}_ p\\hat F\\) is equal to N.    Stallings showed that if \\(A_ n(p)\\) holds for all n then C(p) holds. He also showed that \\(A_ 1(p)\\) holds. In the present paper the author gives an example showing that C(p) and \\(A_ 2(p)\\) (and hence \\(A_ n(p)\\) for \\(n>2)\\) are false.    Stallings made several other conjectures in his paper. Related conjectures have been made by \\textit{S. M. Gersten} [''Non-singular equations of small weight over groups'', Proc. Alta Conf. Theory Groups, Ann. Math. Stud. (to appear)] and \\textit{J. Howie} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 96, 255-268 (1984; Zbl 0542.20013)]. Recently, \\textit{S. Gersten} [''Products of conjugacy classes in a free group: a counterexample'' (preprint)] has disproved these conjectures (except for the Kervaire conjecture itself)."},"provenance":{"prov:generatedAtTime":"2026-01-05T18:39:44Z","prov:wasAttributedTo":"MaRDI Knowledge Graph"}}