GROUPS ACTING ON TREES

TH. WEIGEL

Preface
This manusscript is a collection of the handouts of a course with the same title
given by the author at the summer school SMI (Scuola Matematica Interuniversi-
taria) which took place from July 30th to August 31st , 2012, in Perugia. It was a
bit of work, but - as you can see - also a lot of fun. The course followed the book

Trees by J-P. Serre. However, as one participant mentioned: Lui (J-P. Serre)
parte droppo forte! So these notes were the attempt to start on a lower level and
guide the students to the structure theorem of the so-called Bass-Serre the-
ory, which gives a complete and satisfactory description of all groups that act on
a tree. These notes do not substitute the brilliant book previously mentioned, but
might serve as a guideline (and maybe as an entrance ticket to read the book).
The original course was divided in 5 units (due to the fact that the course took
5 weeks). Later I decided that the natural division should be in 3 units:
(1) A general discussion of the concept graph as used by J-P. Serre;
(2) a general discussion of groups acting on graphs (or trees) with various
group theoretical constructions;
(3) the discussion of the notion graph of groups and its related concepts.
Students who attended the course will find a slight rearrangement of the handouts
I was giving out during the course.

Date: September 6, 2012.

Key words and phrases. Graphs, trees, groups acting on trees.
1
2 TH. WEIGEL

1. Graphs (ala Serre)

1.1. The definition.
Definition 1.1. A graph (in the sense of J-P. Serre) consists of a
(i) a non-empty set of vertices V(),
(ii) a set of edges E(),
(iii) an edge reversing map : E() E(),
(iv) a terminus map t : E() V(),
(v) and an origin map o : E() V(),
such that for all e E() the following conditions are satisfied:
= e,
(vi) e 6= e and e
(vii) t(e) = o(e) and o(e) = t(e).
Examples 1.1. (a) In order to define graphs in a efficient way we use the symbol
(with indexing) for a vertex and draw an an arrow for any edge e E() from o(e)
to t(e). E.g.,

e2 A2

t
e1


(1.1) 1 40l e2
e3
e1
e3 ,3

is a graph with V() = {0, 1, 2, 3} and E() = {e1 , e1 , e2 , e2 , e3 , e3 }, while

82
e2
e1
(1.2) t 40
1
e1
e3
&
3
is not a graph (in the sense of J-P. Serre). Similarly,
# {
(1.3) cir1 : e 1 e

is a graph, while
#
(1.4) e 1

is not a graph. The graph described in (1.3) plays a special role in the theory and
will be called the loop or the circuit of degree 1.
(b) Another way of defining a graph is by specifying a set of vertices V(), and
by specifying a subset
(1.5) E() (V() V()) \ (V()),
where (V()) = { (v, v) | v V() } V()V() denotes the diagonal of V().
E.g., for (v, w) E(), one puts
(1.6) (v, w) = (w, v), t(v, w) = w, o(v, w) = v.
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 3

This is a very convenient way of defining graphs, but unfortunately, one may define
this way only a special kind of graphs (cf. Definition 1.5).
(c) For n 0 let linn be the graph given by

V(linn ) = {0, . . . , n},

(1.7)
E(linn ) = { (k 1, k), (k, k 1) | 1 k n }.

The graph linn is called the straight line of length n. Note that |V(linn )| = n+1,
and |E(linn )| = 2n. Moreover, using the description (a) one obtains

e1 e2 e3 en
(1.8) t 41t 42t 43 u 4n
0
e1 e2 e3 en

where ek = (k 1, k), 1 k n.
(d) For n 3 let cirn be the graph given by

V(cirn ) = {1, . . . , n},

(1.9)
E(cirn ) = { (k, k + 1), (k + 1, k) | 1 k < n } t {(n, 1), (1, n)}.

E.g., for n = 8 one obtains

e3 ;3l e2

{ e3 e2
,2
4L [

e4 e1
e4 e1

 
(1.10) 5[ 1L

e5 e8
e5 e8

 
6l e6 e7 ;8

e6
,7{ e7

where ek = (k, k + 1) for 1 k 7 and e8 = (8, 1). The graph cirn is called the
circuit of degree n. Note that |V(cirn )| = n and |E(cirn )| = 2n.
(e) There exists also a circuit of degree 1 and 2, but one cannot use the con-
struction (b) in order to define these graphs. The circuit of degree 1 is given by
4 TH. WEIGEL

(1.3), and the circuit of degree 2 is given by

e1

e1

z 
(1.11) 1Z :2

e2

e2

1.2. Subgraphs and homomorphisms of graphs.

Definition 1.2. Let be graph. A subgraph of consists of a non-empty
subset V() V() and a subset E() E() such that
(1.12) E() E(), t(E()) V(), o(E()) V().
So, by definition, any subgraph of a graph is a graph. Let X V() be a
non-empty subset of vertices of a graph . Then, by definition,
(1.13) span (X) = (X, E(X)),
where E(X) = { e E() | t(e), o(e) X }, is a subgraph of , the subgraph
spanned by the set of vertices X.
Definition 1.3. Let be a subgraph of the graph . Then is called a
proper subgraph, if = span (V()).
The proof of the following fact is left to the reader (cf. Exer. 1.1).
Fact 1.1. Let be a graph, and let X V() be a non-empty set of vertices. Then
span (X) is proper.
Homomorphisms of graphs are defined in an obvious fashion.
Definition 1.4. Let and be graphs. A pair of mappings = (V , E ), where
V : V() V() and E : E() E(), is called a homomorphism of graphs,
if it commutes with the mappings , t and o, i.e., one has
(1.14) E = E , V t = t E , V o = o E .
A homomorphism of graphs : , = (V , E ), is called an isomorphism
if V and E are isomorphisms. Two graphs and are called isomorphic, if
there exists an isomorphism : .
By definition, every subgraph of a graph defines a canonical injective homo-
morphism of graphs : .
1.3. Combinatorial graphs. We have seen in (1.3) and (1.11) that there are
pathological examples of graphs which one would like to avoid if possible. Very
often one restricts considerations to the class of combinatorial graphs.
Definition 1.5. A graph is called combinatorial, if the map
(1.15) (o, t) : E() V() V()
is injective.
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 5

Remark 1.2. Every graph given by the construction method described in Exam-
ple 1.1(b) is automatically combinatorial. E.g., the straight line linn of length
n 0, and the circuits cirm of degree m 3 are combinatorial graphs. However,
the graphs cir1 and cir2 are not combinatorial (cf. Exer. 1.3).

The property of being combinatorial is inherited by subgraphs.

Fact 1.3. Let be a subgraph of a combinatorial graphs . Then is combi-

natorial.

Proof. By hypothesis, one has a commutative diagram

(o ,t )
(1.16) E() / V() V()

E V V
 (o ,t ) 
E() / V() V()

with E and V V injective. This yields the claim. 

The following property shows that the graphs cir1 and cir2 are the only obstruc-
tion of being combinatorial.

Proposition 1.4. Let be a graph. Then the following are equivalent:

(i) is combinatorial;
(ii) does not contain subgraphs isomorphic to cir1 or cir2 .

Proof. The implication (i)(ii) is a direct consequence of Fact 1.3 and Exercise 1.3.
Assume that (ii) holds, and suppose that is not combinatorial. Then there exist
two edges e1 , e2 E(), e1 6= e2 , such that o(e1 ) = o(e2 ) = v and t(e1 ) = t(e2 ) =
w. If v = w, then ({v}, {e1 , e1 }) would be a subgraph isomorphic to cir1 which is
impossible by assumption. Hence v 6= w and ({v, w}, {e1 , e1 , e2 , e2 }) is a subgraph
isomorphic to cir2 , a contradiction. This yields the claim. 

1.4. Local properties of graphs. Let be a graph. For a vertex v V() we

define the star of v in by

(1.17) st (v) = { e E() | o(e) = v } E(),

and the valency of v by

(1.18) val (v) = |st (v)| N0 {}.

Definition 1.6. Let be a graph. Then v V() is called

(i) isolated, if val (v) = 0,
(ii) and terminal, if val (v) = 1.
The graph is called
(iii) thick, if val (w) 3 for all w V(),
(iv) and locally-finite, if val (w) < for all w V().
(v) A locally-finite graph such that val (v) = k N0 for all v V() will be
called k-regular.
6 TH. WEIGEL

1.5. Paths. Let be a graph. A sequence of edges p = (ei )1ir , where r 1

and ei E(), satisfying o(ei+1 ) = t(ei ) for all i {1, . . . , r 1} is called a path
of length `(p) = r from v = o(e1 ) to w = t(er ). We put o(p) = o(e1 ) = v, and
t(p) = t(er ) = w. If ei+1 6= ei for all i {1, . . . , r 1}, then we say that p is
without backtracking. For every vertex u V() we also define a path Ou of
length 0 from u to u. By Pv,w we denote the set of all paths from v to w without
backtracking. It is straight forward to verify that for v, w V() one has a map
(1.19) : Pv,w Pw,v , p = (fk )1km , fk = er+1k ,
for p = (ej )1jr Pv,w .
Let q = (ei )1ir be a path from v = o(e1 ) to w = t(er ), and let k r 1 be
the smallest integer such that ek = ek+1 . Then q = (e
j )1jr2 , where
(
ej for 1 j < k,
(1.20) e j =
ej+2 for k j r 2,
is a path of length r 2. By repeating this process if q is not already without
backtracking, we obtain a path qred Pv,w which is without backtracking. Two
paths p and q from v to w are said to be equivalent, if pred = qred .
Let u, v, w V(), and let p Pu,v , p = (ei )1in , q Pv,w , q = (fj )1jm .
Then q p = (dk )1kn+m , where dk = ek for 1 k n and dk = fkn for
n < k n + m, is a path from u to w, i.e., (q p)red Pu,w . The following fact is
straight forward.
Fact 1.5. Let be a graph, v, w V(), and let p, q Pv,w . Then p 6= q if, and
only if, (p q)red 6= Ov .
Definition 1.7. A graph is called connected, if Pv,w 6= for all v, w V().
In a connected graph one defines a distance function
dist ( , ) : V() V() N0
(1.21)
dist (v, w) = min{ `(p) | p Pv,w }, v, w V(),
satisfying dist (v, w) = 0 if, and only if, v = w.
1.6. Cayley graphs. Let G be a group. A subset S G will be called admissible,
if 1 6 S, and S = S 1 , where S 1 = { s1 | s S }.
Definition 1.8. For a group G and an admissible subset S G the Cayley graph
(G, S) is defined to be the graph given by
(i) V((G, S)) = G,
(ii) E((G, S)) = { (g, gs) | g G, s S },
where : E((G, S)) E((G, S)), t : V((G, S)) E((G, S)) and the mapping
o : V((G, S)) E((G, S)) are given as in Example 1.1(b).
Since 1 6 S, E((G, S)) (G G) \ (G). Hence (G, S) is a subgraph of
G , the complete graph on the set G (cf. Exer. 1.6), and thus, by Fact 1.3, is
combinatorial. Moreover, one has the following.
Proposition 1.6. Let G be a group, and let S G be an admissible subset of G.
Then the following are equivalent.
(i) S generates G, i.e., G = hSi,
(ii) (G, S) is connected.
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 7

Proof. Suppose that (i) holds, and let g, h G, g 6= h. Then there exist elements
s1 , . . . , sr S such that h1 g = s1 sr . Hence g = hs1 sr , and
(1.22) (h, hs1 ), (hs1 , hs1 s2 ), (hs1 s2 , hs1 s2 s3 ), . . . (hs1 sr1 , hs1 sr )
is a path from h to g = hs1 sr . Thus (G, S) is connected.
Suppose that (ii) holds, and let g G, g 6= 1. Then there exists a path
(1.23) (1, t1 ), (t1 , t2 ), (t2 , t3 ), . . . (tr1 , tr )
from 1 to g, i.e., g = tr . By definition, t1 S and t1
j1 tj S, 2 j r. So, by
induction, g = tr hSi. Thus G = hSi. 
Cayley graphs are often used for constructing certain families of regular graphs.
Proposition 1.7. Let G be a group, and let S G be a finite, admissible subset
of G. Then (G, S) is |S|-regular.
Proof. Let = (G, S), and let g G = V((G, S)). Then
(1.24) st (g) = { (g, gs) | s S }.
Hence val (g) = |st (g)| = |S|. 
1.7. Trees.
Definition 1.9. A graph is called a tree, if
(i) is connected, and
(ii) does not contain subgraphs isomorphic to cirn , n 1.
The graphs linn , n 0, as well as the graph (1.1) are trees. Note that every tree
is a combinatorial graph (cf. Prop. 1.4). The following fact is straight forward.
Fact 1.8. Let be a tree, and let be a connected subgraph of . Then is
a tree.
Trees can be characterized by the set of paths.
Proposition 1.9. Let be a graph. Then the following are equivalent.
(i) is a tree;
(ii) for all v, w V() one has |Pv,w | = 1.
Proof. Suppose that (i) holds, and let v, w V(). As every tree is connected,
Pv,w 6= . Hence |Pv,w | 1. Suppose that there exist v, w V() such that
|Pv,w | > 1. Then there exist s, t V() of minimal distance such that |Ps,t | 2.
Let p, q Ps,t with p 6= q. We may also assume that `(p) is minimal with
respect to all paths in Ps,t , and that `(q) is minimal with respect to all paths in
Ps,t \ {p}. As (p q)red , Os Ps,s and (p q)red 6= Os (cf. Fact 1.5), the minimality
of dist (s, t) implies that s = t.
As s = t, by construction, one must have p = Os and q = (ei )1im has length
`(q) = m > 0. By the minimality of `(q), all vertices t(ei ), 1 i m, must
be pairwise distinct. Hence (V(), E()), where V() = { t(ei ) | 1 i m } and
E() = { ei , ei | 1 i m }, is isomorphic to a circuit of degree m, a contradiction,
and (ii) holds.
The implication (ii)(i) follows from the fact that for any circuit cirm and any
pair of vertices v, w V(cirm ) one has |Pv,w (cirm )| 2. 
8 TH. WEIGEL

For any non-negative integer k there exists a k-regular tree Tk which isomor-
phism type is uniquely determined by k (cf. Exer. 1.14), e.g., one has T0 = lin0 ,
T1 = lin1 , T2 is isomorphic to the infinite line lin
(1.25)
u 5 u 5 u 5 u 5

i.e., V(T2 ) = Z, E(T2 ) = { (k, k 1) | k Z }. The following figure visualize the

4-regular tree.

V
v 6 v 6
X
V V
v 6 x 8 T x 8 v 6
V V
 
V V
v 6 v 6 v 6 v 6
X X
V V
v 6 x 8 Xt 4Tt 4 Xx 8 v 6
(1.26) V V
 
v 6 Vv 6 v 6 Vv 6
 
V V
v 6 x 8  Xx 8 v 6
V V
 
v 6 Vv 6


For a graph , |V()| =

6 1, and v V() let v be the subgraph given by
V( v) = V() \ {v},
(1.27)
E( v) = E() \ { e E() | t(e) = v or o(e) = v }.

The following property will turn out to be useful for our purpose.

Proposition 1.10. Let be a connected graph, |V()| 2, and let v V() be a

terminal vertex. Then the following are equivalent.
(i) is a tree,
(ii) v is a tree.

Proof. It suffices to prove the implication (ii)(i) (cf. Fact 1.8). So suppose that
(ii) holds. As v is a terminal vertex, one has E() = E( v) t {e, e} and e E()
is the unique edge satisfying o(e) = t(e) = v. Let x = t(e).
By hypothesis, if u, w V() \ {v}, then |Pu,w | = 1. On the other hand, if
q Pv,w , then q = p e, where p Px,w . Hence |Pv,w | = 1. Since Pw,v = Pv,w ,
Proposition 1.9 yields the claim. 
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 9

1.8. An injectivity criterion. For the proof of the structure theorem we will
make use of the following fact:
Fact 1.11. Let : be a homomorphism of graphs such that
(i) is connected,
(ii) is a tree,
(iii) e |st (u) : st (u) st (v (u)) is injective for all u V().
Then = (v , e ) is injective.
Proof. It suffices to show that v is injective. Suppose that there exists v, w V()
such that v (v) = v (w) = u with v 6= w. Since is connected, there exists
p Pv,w (). By property (iii), e (p) is reduced and contained in Pu,u (), a
contradiction. This yields the claim. 

1.9. Maximal subtrees. Let be a connected graph. The set

(1.28) SubTr() = { | tree }
with the relation is a non-trivial partially ordered set (=poset). Moreover, if
Y SubTr() is a totally-ordered subset of SubTr() then (V((Y)), E((Y))
given by
S S
(1.29) V((Y)) = Y V(), E((Y)) = Y E(),
is a connected subgraph of . Let u, v V((Y)), and suppose that there exists
two distinct paths p, q Pu,v ((Y)), where p = (ei )1im , q = (fj )1jn . As Y is
totally-ordered, there exists Y such that ei , fj E(). Hence p, q Pu,v (),
a contradiction to Proposition 1.9, showing that (Y) is a tree. Thus by Zorns
lemma, SubTr() contains maximal elements. The maximal elements in SubTr()
are called maximal subtrees. The following property is important in this context.
Proposition 1.12. Let be a connected graph, and let be a maximal subtree.
Then V() = V().
Proof. Put X = V(), and suppose that V() \ X 6= . Let v V() \ X such that
(1.30) dist (v, X) = min{ dist (v, x) | x X }
is minimal with respect to all v 0 V() \ X. Note that dist (v, X) = 0 would imply
that v X which is not possible by the choice of v. Hence dist (v, X) 1.
Let x X be such that dist (v, X) = dist (v, x), and let p Pv,x such that
(1.31) dist (v, X) = dist (v, x) = `(p) 1.
Let p = (ei )1ir , r = `(p), and put w = t(e1 ). If w 6 X, then dist (w, X)
`(p) 1, contradicting the choice of v. Hence w X, and, by the choice of x, one
has w = x X. In particular, dist (v, X) = 1. Let
(1.32) = (V() t {v}, E() t {e1 , e1 }).
Then is a connected subgraph of (cf. Exer. 1.9), and val (v) = 1, i.e., v is a
terminal vertex of . By construction, v = . Hence by Proposition 1.10,
is a subtree of properly containing contradicting the maximality of . Thus
V() = V(). 
10 TH. WEIGEL

1.10. Orientations. Let be a graph, and let C2 = Z/2Z = {1, } be the cyclic
group of order 2. Then E() carries a left C2 -action given by
(1.33) .e = e, 1.e = e, e E()
and hence forms a left C2 -set. A system of representatives E + () E() of the
orbit relation C2 is called an orientation of , i.e., |E + () {e, e}| = 1 for all
e E(). If is a tree, there are particular orientations which come from the
choice of a base point.
Proposition 1.13. Let be a tree, and let x V(). Then
(1.34) Ex+ () = { e E() | dist (x, o(e)) < dist (x, t(e)) }
is an orientation such that for all v V(), p Px,v and p = (ei )1ir , one has
ei Ex+ () for all i {1, . . . , r}.
Proof. Let e E(), u = o(e), w = t(e), and let q Px,u . Then e q is either
without backtracking - in which case we have dist (x, w) = dist (x, u) + 1 - or with
backtracking in which case one has dist (x, w) = dist (x, u) 1. Thus Ex+ () is an
orientation.
By construction and induction on dist (x, v), one concludes that for all v V(),
p Px,v and p = (ei )1ir , one has ei Ex+ () for all i {1, . . . , r}. 
1.11. The characteristic map of a graph. Let be a graph. In this section we
introduce a mapping of Q-vector spaces
(1.35) Q : EQ () VQ ().
The proficient reader might realize that we do nothing else than defining the homol-
ogy groups H0/1 (||, Q), where H ( , Q) denotes the singular homology groups
with rational coefficients, and || denotes the geometric realization of the graph ,
which will be the subject of the subsequent subsection. We put
(1.36) VQ () = Q[V()] = spanQ (V())

to be the free Q-vector space over the set V(),

(1.37) EQ () = Q[E()]/h e + e | e E() iQ ,

where Q[E()] denotes the free Q-vector space over the set E(), and
(1.38) h e + e | e E() iQ = spanQ { e + e | e E() } Q[E()].
Since E() Q[E()] is a basis, the assigment
(1.39) Q (e) = t(e) o(e), e E(),
defines a Q-linear map Q : Q[E()] V() satisfying
(1.40) Q (e + e) = Q (e) + Q (e) = t(e) o(e) + (o(e) t(e)) = 0.
Hence Q induces a Q-linear map Q : EQ () VQ () satisfying
(1.41) Q ([e]) = t(e) o(e),
where [e] EQ () denotes the canonical image of e Q[E()] in EQ (). We define
(1.42) H0 (, Q) = coker(Q ) = VQ ()/ im(Q ),
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 11

and
(1.43) H1 (, Q) = ker(Q ).
The following theorem summarizes the main features of the groups H0 (, Q) and
H1 (, Q).
Theorem 1.14. Let be a graph.
(a) H0 (, Q) ' Q[V()/ ], where is given as in Exercise 1.8. In particu-
lar, dimQ (H0 (, Q)) 1, and one has dimQ (H0 (, Q)) = 1 if, and only if,
is connected.
(b) Let E + () be an orientation
F of , and let i i be a maximal subtree
of i , where = iI i is the decomposition of in its connectedness
components (cf. Exer. 1.8). Then one has
H1 (, Q) ' iI Q[(E + () E(i )) \ E(i )].
`
(1.44)
In particular, if is connected, then one has H1 (, Q) = 0 if, and only if,
is a tree.
Proof. Let xi V(i ) be a fixed vertex in the connectedness component i . Let
: VQ () Q[V()/ ] be given by
(1.45) (v) = [v] , v V(),

where [v] denotes the equivalence class (with respect to ) containing v, and
let 0 : Q[V()/ ] VQ () be given by
(1.46) 0 (V(i )) = xi , i I.
By construction, 0 = idQ[V()/ ] , and = 0. Hence is surjective, and
im() ker().
We also define a Q-linear map 1 : VQ () EQ () which is defined as follows:
For v V(i ) we put
X
(1.47) 1 (v) = [e],
pPxi ,v (i )
etr(p)

where we used the same notations as in Exercise 1.18. Hence

(1.48) ( 1 + 0 )(v) = (v xi ) + xi = v,
i.e., 1 + 0 = idV() .
(a) Let y ker(). Then by (1.48), y = (1 (y)). Hence ker() im(), and
therefore Q[V()/ ] ' VQ ()/ im().
(b) Let Li = E(i ) \ E(i ), i I. For any path p = (ei )1ir in we put
P
(1.49) [p] = 1ir [ei ].
Obviously, if p and q are equivalent, one has [p] = [q].
By Proposition 1.9 and Proposition 1.12, for e E(i ) there exists a unique path
qe Po(e)t(e) in i , i.e., e is contained in E(i ) if, and only if, qe = (e). Let pt (e)
be the unique path in Pxi ,t(e) in i , and let po (e) be the unique path in Pxi ,o(e) in
i . Then pt (e) po (e) is a path in i from o(e) to t(e), and thus, by the previously
mentioned remark, one has
(1.50) [qe ] = [pt (e) po (e)] = [pt (e)] [po (e)] = 1 (([e])).
12 TH. WEIGEL

Moreover, qe = qe . Define 2 : EQ () EQ () by
( S
[e] [qe ] for e iI Li ,
(1.51) 2 ([e]) = S
0 for e iI E(i ).
Let LQ () = ker(), and let : LQ () EQ () denote the canonical injection. As
(2 ([e])) = 0 for all e E(), we may consider 2 as a map 2 : EQ () LQ ().
By construction, one has
(1.52) 2 + 1 = idEQ () ,
and thus for all z LQ () one has 2 (z) = z, 2 is surjective. Let
S
(1.53) Q = spanQ { [e] | e iI Li } EQ ().
+
() E(i )) \ E(i )] for any orientation E + () of .
`
In particular, Q ' iI Q[(E
S
Since qe = e for all e iI E(i ), the map = 1 |Q : Q LQ () is surjective.
Let : EQ () Q be the canonical projection, i.e.,
( S
[e] for e iI Li ,
(1.54) ([e]) = S
0 for e iI E(i ).
By (1.52), one has ker(2 ) im(1 ) ker( ). Since EQ () = ker( ) im( ) and
Q = im( ), this implies that is injective and hence the claim. 
1.12. Trees as topological and metric spaces. The approach described so far is
purely combinatorical and - as we will find out later - is very efficient for studying
group actions on trees. From a geometric point of view one would prefer to define
an edge of a graph to be the set {e, e}. We therefore call such a set a geometric
edge.
To any graph one can associate a topological space || - the geometric
realization of which can be constructed as follows. Choose an orientation
E + () E() of and define the toplogical space
U + () = eE + () [0, 1]e.
F
(1.55)
Let U + () U + () be given as the union of the sets
{ (0e, 0f ) | e, f E + (), o(e) = o(f ) },
{ (0e, 1f ) | e, f E + (), o(e) = t(f ) },
(1.56) { (1e, 0f ) | e, f E + (), t(e) = o(f ) },
{ (1e, 1f ) | e, f E + (), t(e) = t(f ) },
{ (te, te) | t [0, 1], e E + () }.
Then defines an equivalence relation on U + (). One puts || = U + ()/
and endows || with the quotient topology with respect to the canonical projection
: U + () ||. The topological space || is called the geometric realization
of . One checks easily that || does not depend on the choice of the orientation
E + (). Moreover,
(1.57) H0/1 (, Q) ' H0/1 (||, Q).
A point x || is either an endpoint of an interval or there exists a unique e E + ()
and tx (0, 1) such that x = tx e. This can be used to define a metric d : || ||
R+
0 on the geometric realization of a tree . If x, y || are both endpoints one
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 13

puts d(x, y) = dist (x, y). If x is an endpoint, and y = ty e one has to distinguish
two cases. If o(e) is closer to x than t(e) one puts d(x, y) = dist (x, o(e)) + ty ; if
t(e) is closer to x than o(e), one defines d(x, y) = dist (x, t(e)) + (1 ty ). The
case when y is an endpoint and x = tx f is dealt in a similar (symmetric) fashion.
Assume that x = tx .f and y = ty e. If f = e, then d(x, y) = |tx ty |. If e 6= f , then
there exist a {o(f ), t(f )} and b {o(e), t(e)} such that dist (a, b) is minimal.
Then one puts d(x, y) = d(x, a) + d(a, b) + d(b, y). The topology of the metric
space (||, d) does not have to coincide with the topology of || described above.
However, if is locally-finite, then the topology induced by d coincides with the
topology of || described above.
1.13. The boundary of a tree.
Definition 1.10. Let T be a tree. A ray = (ek )kN is an infinite path without
backtracking, i.e., one has ek E(T ), t(ek ) = o(ek+1 ) and ek+1 6= ek for all k 1.
For any non-negative integer m we define the m-shift of by [m] = (fk )kN ,
fk = ek+m . Two rays and are said to be equivalent, if there exist m, n N0
such that [m] = [n]. Let [] denote the equivalence class containing . The
boundary T of the tree T is given by
(1.58) T = { [] | a ray in T }.
Let T be a tree, and let e E(T ). Then T e = (V(T ), E(T ) \ {e, e}) is
a subgraph with two connectedness components; one containing t(e) as a vertex
which we denote by Te , and another which contains o(e) as a vertex and hence
must coincide with Te . We put Oe = Te T . Let e, f E(T ). The following
cases may appear:
(i) f = e and thus Of = Oe ;
(ii) f = e in which case one has Of Oe = and Of Oe = T ;
(iii) f E(Te ) and dist (t(e), o(f )) < dist (t(e), t(f )) in which case one has
Of Oe ;
(iv) f E(Te ) and dist (t(e), o(f )) > dist (t(e), t(f )). In this case one can
express the intersection as follows: Let p = (ei )1ir Pt(e)t(f ) and put
= { o(ei ), t(ei ) | 1 i r }. Then for
S
(1.59) E(e, f ) = ( v stT (v)) \ ({ei , ei | 1 i r } {e, f })
one has
S
(1.60) Oe Of = dE(e,f ) Od ;
(v) f E(Te ) and dist (o(e), t(f )) < dist (o(e), o(f )) in which case one has
Oe Of ;
(vi) f E(Te ) and dist (o(e), t(f )) > dist (o(e), o(f )) in which case one has
Oe Of = .
Hence { Oe | e E(T ) } is the basis of a topology on T making it a totally-
disconnected Hausdorff space. Moreover, if T is locally-finite, T is a compact
topological space.
1.14. Appendix: Zorns lemma. Let X be a set, and let  : X X {t, f } be
a relation on X. Then  is called a partial order if for all x, y, z X
(i) x  y (reflexivity),
(ii) x  y and y  x implies x = y,
14 TH. WEIGEL

(iii) x  y and y  z implies x  z (transitity).

The pair (X, ) is called a partially ordered set (or for short a poset). Let
S X be a subset of the poset (X, ). An element m S is called maximal, if
(1.61) y S : m  y = y = m.
An element z X is said to be an upper bound of S, if
(1.62) y S : y  z.
A subset Y X of the poset (X, ) is called a totally-ordered subset, if for
all x, y Y one has x  y or y  x or both. The Lemma of Zorn states the
following.
Zorns lemma. Let (X, ) be a non-empty partially ordered set with the property
that every totally-ordered subset Y X has an upper bound z X, i.e., y Y:
y  z. Then X has maximal elements.
Zorns lemma is not a mathematical affirmation which requires a proof. Indeed
it is one of the axioms of modern set theory. The axiom of choice is equivalent
to Zorns lemma, and the classical axioms of Zermelo and Franklin together with
the axiom of choice constitute the so-called ZFC-theory.
Today most mathematicians work with the ZFC-theory. There are advantages
and disadvantages: The ZFC-theory resulted in big achievements like the theorem
of Hahn-Banach, the theorem of Tychonoff, the existence of algebraic closures of
fields, etc., but created also a number of paradoxes1 like the existence of ultra-filters
or the Banach-Tarski paradox. It is not known whether the ZFC-theory produces
contradictions or not. However, if there would be a contradiction in ZFC, there
would be already a contradiction in ZF.

1This noun is usually used in this context, but it obviously an abuse of language. A paradox
is a statement which cannot be true, and which cannot be false. But the statement of Banach and
Tarski is definitely correct in the ZFC-theory. A better noun would be counter intuitive true
statements.
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 15

1.15. Exercises to 1.

Subgraphs and homomorphisms of graphs.

Exercise 1.1. Give a proof of Fact 1.1.
Exercise 1.2. Let be a graph, and let and be subgraphs of .
(a) Show that = (V() V()), E() E() is a subgraph of .
(b) Show that = (V() V()), E() E() is a subgraph of provided
V() V() 6= .
(c) Show that if and are proper subgraphs and V() V() 6= , then
is a proper subgraph of .
(d) Give an example of proper subgraphs , of a graph such that is
not a proper subgraph.
Combinatorial graphs.
Exercise 1.3. Show explicitly that the graphs cir1 and cir2 are not combinatorial.
Exercise 1.4. Give an example of a combinatorial graph and a subgraph
which is not a proper subgraph of .
Exercise 1.5. A graph is called loop free, if does not contain subgraphs
isomorphic to cir1 . Show that is loop free if, and only if, im(o, t) (V()) = ,
where (V()) is given as in Example 1.1(b).
Exercise 1.6. Let X be a non-empty set.
(a) Using the definition of a graph (cf. Definition 1.1) show that X given by
(i) V(X ) = X;
(ii) E(X ) = (X X) \ (X);
with , t and o given as in (1.6) defines a combinatorial graph, the com-
plete graph on the set X.
(b) Draw a picture of the complete graphs {1} , {1,2} , {1,2,3} , {1,2,3,4} and
{1,2,3,4,5}
(c) Show that every combinatorial graph is isomorphic to a subgraph of
V() .
Exercise 1.7. Let be a combinatorial graph. Define op by
(i) V(op ) = V(),
(ii) E(op ) = V() V() \ ((V()) (o, t)(E())).
(a) Show that op is a combinatorial graph.
(b) Show that (op )op ' .
(c) A vertex v V() of a combinatorial graph is called perfect, if
{ t(e) | e st (v) } = V() \ {v}.
Show that v V() is perfect if, and only if, v V(op ) is isolated.
Paths.
Exercise 1.8. Let be a graph. We define a relation on V() by
v w Pv,w 6= v, w V().
(a) Show that : V() V() {t, f } is an equivalence relation.
16 TH. WEIGEL

(b) Let Vi , i I, denote the equivalence classes of , and put i = span (Vi ).
Show that i are connected, proper subgraphs of . F
(c) Show that for i, j I, i 6= j, one has i j = , and that = iI i .
The subgraphs i , i I, are called the connectedness components of .
Exercise 1.9. Let be a graph, and let 1 , 2 be connected subgraphs of such
that V(1 ) V(2 ) 6= . Then 1 2 is a connected subgraph of .
Exercise 1.10. Let be a graph.
(a) Show that defines a category cat() the objects of which is the set V(),
for v, w V() one has
(1.63) morcat() (v, w) = Pu,w ,
and for p Pu,v and q Pv,w composition is given by q p = (q p)red .
(b) Show that for all u V(), Pu,u is a group.
(c) Try to figure out how Pu,u is related to Pv,v for u, v V().
Cayley graphs.
Exercise 1.11. Let G be group. Show that (G, G \ {1}) ' G .
Exercise 1.12. Let G = (Z, +). Show that (Z, {1}) ' lin .
Exercise 1.13. Let Cn = Z/nZ be the cyclic group of order n. Show that for
n 3 one has (Cn , {1 + nZ}) ' cirn . What happens for n = 1 and n = 2?
Trees.
Exercise(!!) 1.14. Let k be a non-negative integer, and let and be k-regular
trees. Show that ' .
Exercise(!!) 1.15. Find (and prove) a linear relation beween |V(T )| and |E(T )|
which holds for every finite tree T .
Exercise(!!) 1.16. (This exercise is easier knowing the answer to Exercise 1.15).
Let T be a finite tree, and let V(T ) = { v V() | valT (v) 1 }.
(a) Show that V(T ) 6= .
(b) Show that if |V(T )| 2, then |V(T )| 2.
(c) Let |V(T )| = k 2. Show that T ' link1 if, and only if, |V(T )| = 2.
Maximal subtrees.
Exercise 1.17. Let be a graph, and let SubGr() denote the set of all subgraphs
of . Show that (SubGr(), ) is a non-empty poset (partially ordered set).
Orientations.
Exercise(!) 1.18. Let be a tree and v, w V(). For a path p = (ei )1ir
Pv,w put
(1.64) tr(p) = { ei | 1 i r } E().
(i) Show that | tr(p)| = `(p).
(ii) Show that tr(p) = Ev+ () \ Ew+ ().
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 17

The characteristic map of a graph.

Exercise(!) 1.19. Let be a connected, finite graph. Show that
(1.65) |V()| 12 |E()| + 1,
and equality holds in (1.65) if, and only if, is a tree.
The boundary of a tree.
Exercise(!!!) 1.20. Let k 1. A tree T is called a k-regular rooted tree, if
there exists precisely one vertex v V(T ) with valT (v) = k, and valT (w) = k + 1
for all w V(T ) \ {v}. Show that if T is a 2-regular rooted tree, then one has a
homeomorphism
T ' {1}N ,
where {1}N denotes Cantors discontinuum.
18 TH. WEIGEL

2. Groups acting on Graphs

2.1. Groups acting on graphs.
Definition 2.1. Let be a graph, and let G be a group. One says that G is
acting on the graph (on the left) if
(i) V() carries the structure of a (left) G-set;
(ii) E() carries the structure of a (left) G-set;
(iii) , t and o are morphisms of (left) G-sets.
Examples 2.1. (1) Let G be a group, and let S G be an admissible subset. Then
(2.1) g.x = gx, g.(x, xs) = (gx, gxs),
for g, x G, s S, defines a left action of G on the Cayley graph (G, S).
(2) Let be a graph. Then
(2.2) Aut() = { (, ) Sym(V()) Sym(E()) | (, ) : graph homo. }
is a group carrying canonically a left action on the graph given by
(2.3) (, ).v = (v), (, ).e = (e),
for (, ) Aut(), v V(), e E().
If G acts on a graph , one has homomorphisms of groups
(2.4) V : G Sym(V()), E : G Sym(E()),
given by V (g)(v) = g.v, E (e)(e) = g.e, g G, v V(), e E(). Moreover, the
image of = (V , E ) is contained in Aut() and thus defines a homomorphism
of groups
(2.5) = (V , E ) : G Aut().
If is injective, one calls the action of G on faithful.

2.2. Some group-theoretical constructions.

2.2.1. Free groups.

Definition 2.2. Let X be a set. A group F together with a map iX : X F is
called a free group over X, if for all groups G and for all mappings : X G (of
sets), there exists a unique homomorphism of groups : F G such that = iX ,
i.e., one has

(2.6) X
iX
/F

) 

G
In order to construct a free group F over the set X one starts by defining the
alphabet X = X t X1 , where X1 = { x1 | x X } and defines the monoid
M (X ) of all words in the alphabet X , where multiplication is given by composing
words. The empty word is the unit of the monoid. For = x1 xr M (X )
we denote by
1
(2.7) = x1
r x1 M (X )
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 19

the reversed word. Consider the quotient monoid F with respect to the relations
(2.8) xx1 = x1 x = 1, x X.

and let [ ] : M (X ) F (X ) denote the canonical projection. As [][] = [ ] = 1F ,
F is a group. One checks easily that F with the canonical map iX : X F has the
desired property. From this construction one concludes the following.
Proposition 2.1. Free groups (F (X), iX ) exist for any set X, and are uniquely
determined up to unique isomorphism.
Proof. From the construction mentioned above, one knows that free groups exist.
Hence it suffices to show the uniqueness up to unique isomorphism. Let (F , j) be
another free group over the set X. Then one has a diagram of the type

F ^ io / F (X)
j iX
(2.9) X 5 @
iX j

+
j j iX
F (X) l F
iX

and the homomorphisms iX and j are the unique homomorphisms making the two
middle triangles commute. Extending the diagram one sees that the dotted arrows
must be the respective identities, i.e., iX j = idF (X) and j iX = idF . 

The free monoid M (X ) comes equipped with a length function `: M (X ) N0

= 1 for x X , and
satisfying `(x)
(2.10) 1 2 ) = `(
`( 1 ) + `(
2)
for 1 , 2 M (X ). One defines a length function ` : F N0 on F by
(2.11) `([]) = min{ `() | [] },
[] F , satisfying
(2.12) `([1 ][2 ]) `([1 ]) + `([2 ]),
[1 ], [2 ] F . Let = x1 xr M (X ), xi X . Then is called reduced,
if xi+1 6= x1 i for all i {1, . . . , i 1}. By construction, [] F (X) contains a
reduced word []. Moreover, the only reduced word in [ ] is the empty word
itself. The following properties show that reduced words are unique.
Proposition 2.2. Let X be a set.
(a) Every subword of a reduced word M (X ) is reduced. Moreover, the word
1
= x1 xr M (X ), xi X, is reduced if, and only if, = x1
r x1
is reduced.
(b) Let 1 = x1 xr and 2 = y1 ys be reduced words in M (X ), where
xi , yj X . Then the following are equivalent:
(i) 1 2 is reduced,
(ii) `([1 ]1 [2 ]) = `([1 ]) + `([2 ]),
(iii) x1 6= y1 .
(c) Every element [] F (X) contains a unique reduced word M (X ).
(d) The element M (X ) is reduced if, and only if,
(2.13) `( ) = min{ `() | [ ] }.
20 TH. WEIGEL

Proof. (a) is obvious. (b) first part: The equivalence (i)(iii) is just the definition
of being reduced in combination with (a).
(c) Suppose that [] F is an element containing two reduced words 1 , 2 [].
We may assume that 1 M (X ) is a reduced element of minimal length with
respect to the property: 2 M (X ) reduced: 1 6= 2 , [1 ] = [2 ]. Thus by
the previous remark, [1 ] 6= 1. Let 1 = x1 xr , 2 = y1 ys , xi , yj X .
Then 1 2 [ ]; in particular, 1 2 cannot be reduced. Thus, by the equiva-
lence (i)(iii) in (b), one has x1 = y1 , and therefore [x2 xr ] = [y2 ys ], a
contradiction, and this yields the claim.
From (c) one concludes (d), and this yields also the equivalence (i)=(iii) in (b). 
From the previously mentioned properties one concludes the following.
Proposition 2.3. Let X be a set. Then (F (X), X ) is a tree.
Proof. Let = (F (X), X ), and let g, h F (X). Since F (X) is acting on V()
transitively, and as g 1 .Pg,h = P1,g1 h , it suffices to show that |P1,g | = 1 for all
y F (X). Let
p = ((1, x1 ), (x1 , x1 x2 ), . . . , (x1 . . . xr1 , x1 . . . xr )),
(2.14)
q = ((1, y1 ), (y1 , y1 y2 ), . . . , (y1 . . . ys1 , y1 . . . ys )),
xi , yj X , be two reduced path from 1 to g. Since p and q are reduced the elements
in the monoid 1 = x1 xr , 2 = y1 ys , 1 , 2 M (X ) are also reduced, and
1 , 2 g F (X). Thus 1 = 2 and therefore p = q. 
The concept of free groups allows one to introduce the notion of a group given
by generators and relations. Let X be a set, and let R F (X). Then
(2.15) G = hX | Ri
is the group G = F (X)/NR , where
\
(2.16) NR = N
N /F (X)
RN

is the normal subgroup generated by R.

2.2.2. Free products.

Definition 2.3. Let A and B be groups. A group G together with two group
homomorphisms (iA , iB ), iA : A G, iB : B G, is called a free product of A
and B, if for any group H and for any pair (A , B ), A : A H, B : B H, of
homomorphisms of groups, there exists a unique homomorphism : G H such
that A = iA and B = iB , i.e., one has a commutative diagram

(2.17) A
iA
/Go iB
B

A  ~ B
H
The existence of free products can be proved two ways. For the first one can
start with a free group (F, j) over the set A t B. Put jA = j|A , jB = j|B . The
group F together with the maps jA , jB would have the property that for every
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 21

group H and any pair of homomorphisms A : A H, B : B H, there exists a

unique homomorphism of groups : F H making the diagram (of sets)

(2.18) A
jA
/F o jB
B

A  ~ B
H
commute, but jA , jB are not group homomorphisms. In order to make them group
homomorphism, we have to identify the identity elements jA (1A ) and jB (1B ) with
the element 1F , and further we have to identify jA (a1 )jA (a2 ) and jA (a1 a2 ), and
jB (b1 )jB (b2 ) and jB (b1 b2 ) for all a1 , a2 A, b1 , b2 B. Hence in order to make jA
and jB group homomorphisms we consider the group G = h A t B | R i, where
(2.19)
R = { (1A ), (1B ), (a1 )(a2 )(a1 a2 )1 , (b1 )(b2 )(b1 b2 )1 , | a1 , a2 A, b1 , b2 B }
where we put (a) = jA (a), (b) = jB (b), a A, b B. Then the induced maps
iA : A G, iA (a) = jA (a)NR , a A, and iB : B G, iB (b) = jB (b)NR , b B,
are group homomorphisms. In order to know that our unique homomorphism of
groups : F H factors through the canonical projection : F G, we have to
verify that (NR ) = {1}. For this it suffices to verify that (R) = {1}. From the
commutativity of the diagram (2.18) one concludes that
((1A )) = A (1A ) = 1H ,
((1B )) = B (1B ) = 1H ,
((a1 )(a2 )(a1 a2 )1 ) = ((a1 ))((a2 ))((a1 a2 ))1
(2.20)
= A (a1 )A (a2 )A (a1 a2 )1 = 1H ,
((b1 )(b2 )(b1 b2 )1 ) = ((b1 ))((b2 ))((b1 b2 ))1
= B (b1 )B (b2 )B (b1 b2 )1 = 1H .
Hence there exists : G H such that = . The uniqueness of : F H
implies the uniqueness of . From this one concludes.
`
Proposition 2.4. Let A and B be groups. There exists a free product (A B, iA , iB )
and it is unique up to unique isomorphism.
The alternative description also gives a normal form of elements. We start by
the free monoid M (AtB) and denote the canonical map by ( ) : AtB M (AtB).
1 1
For w = (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br ) let w = (b1 1
r )(ar ) (b1 )(a1 ), where ai A,
bj B. Then we implant the relations (smallest equivalence relation invariant
under right and left multiplication) of the form
(1A ) = (1B ) = ,
(2.21)
(a1 )(a2 ) = (a1 a2 ), (b1 )(b2 ) = (b1 b2 ), a1 , a2 A, b1 , b2 B.
In the quotient monoid G = M (A t B)/ , our relations (2.21) tell us, that the
brackets ( ) are no longer necessary, and that we can remove any elements (1A )
or (1B ) in any word. Moreover, a if [ ] : M (A t B) G denotes the canonical
projection, then one has [w][w] = [ ]. Hence G is a group. From the universality
of the free product one concludes that G ' G . So from now on we indentify these
two groups.
22 TH. WEIGEL

As for free groups one introduces the notion of reduced words, but our reduced
words now will have several different shapes, e.g., the word w = (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br )
M (A t B), r 1, is called reduced if ai A] and bj B ] . The set of reduced
words is defined to be
(2.22) = { } t A,A t A,B t B,A t B,B M (A t B),
where
A,A = { (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br )(ar+1 ) | r 0, ai A] , bj B ] },
B,A = { (b1 )(a1 ) (br )(ar ) | r 1, ai A] , bj B ] },
(2.23)
A,B = { (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br ) | r 1, ai A] , bj B ] },
B,B = { (b1 )(a1 ) (br )(ar )(br+1 ) | r 0, ai A] , bj B ] },
where A] = A \ {1} and B ] = B \ {1}. The following property is shown by an
argument similar to the one used in Proposition 2.2.
`
Proposition 2.5. Let A and B be groups. Any element g G = A B has a
unique representative in .
`
Let A and B be non-trivial groups, and let G = A B be their free product.
For simplicity we assume that iA : A G and iB : B G are given by inclusion.
We define a combinatorial graph by
V() = G/A t G/B,
(2.24)
E() = { (gA, gB), (gB, gA) | g G }.
If g = a1 b1 ar br ar+1 , (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br )(ar+1 ) A,A , one has a path
(2.25)
p = ((B, A), (a1 A, a1 B), (a1 b1 B, a1 b1 A), . . . , (a1 b1 ar br ar+1 A, a1 b1 ar br ar+1 B)
showing that gB and gA are in the same connectedness component as A and B.
A similar argument applies for g [A,B ] t [B,A ] t [B,B ] showing that is
connected. The group G is acting on on the left. Moreover, for h G one has
the following two properties:
(a) (A, hB) E() h A;
(b) (B, hA) E() h B.
From these two properties and the normal form of elements (cf. Prop. 2.5) one
concludes the following.
Proposition ` 2.6. Let A and B groups. Then - as described in (2.24) - is a tree,
and G = A B acts on with two orbits on the set of vertices V() and with one
orbit on the set of geometric edges E()/hi.
Proof. It suffices to show that is a tree. By Fact 1.5 and Proposition 1.9, it
suffices to show that |Pv,v | = 1 for all v V(). Since G has two orbits on V()
with representatives A and B it suffifes to show that |PA,A | = 1 and |PB,B | = 1.
Suppose that q = (e)1jr PA,A is non-trivial path without backtrecking from
A to A. In particular, r = 2m > 0. Moreover, e1 = (A, a1 B) for some a1 A, and
e2 = (a1 B, a1 b1 A) for some b1 B. Since q is without backtrecking, this yields
b1 B ] . Inductively,
e2k+1 = (a1 b1 ak bk A, a1 b1 ak bk ak+1 B),
(2.26)
e2k+2 = (a1 b1 ak bk ak+1 B, a1 b1 ak+1 bk+1 A),
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 23

From e2k+2 6= e2k+1 one concludes that bk+1 B ] , and e2k+1 6= e2k implies that
ak+1 A] . Hence w = (b1 )(a2 ) (am )(bm ) is a reduced word. Thus from
o(q) = t(q) = A one concludes that
(2.27) A = a1 b1 am bm A.
Hence there exists an element a A such that b1 a2 am bm = a contradicting
the uniqueness of the reduced representatives of a.
By a completely analoguous argument one shows that |PB,B | = 1. 
2.2.3. Free products with amalgamation.
Definition 2.4. Let A, B, C be groups and let jA : C A, jB : C B, be two
injective group homomorphisms. A group G together with two homomorphisms
of groups iA : A G, iB : B G, satisfying iA jA = iB jB , is called the
free product with amalgamation of (A, B, C, jA , jB ), if for all groups H and
all homomorphims A : A H, B : B H such that A jA = B jB there
exists a unique homomorphism of groups : G H such that A = iA , and
B = iB , i.e., one has the following commutative diagram
(2.28) C
jA jB

~
A B
iA iB

~
A G B


H
Although a free product with amalgamation depends on the embeddings jA : C
C B, the free product with amalgamation is very often denoted by
A, jB :`
G = A C B.
Let G = h A t B | R i be the group generated by the set A t B subject to the
relations
R = { (1A ), (1B ),
(2.29) (a1 )(a2 )(a1 a2 )1 , (b1 )(b2 )(b1 b2 )1 , (jA (c))(jB (c)1 ) | . . .
a1 , a2 A, b1 , b2 B, c C }.
Then by an argument similar to the one used in 2.2.2 one can show that G to-
gether with the induced maps iA : A G, iB : B G, is a free product with
amalgamation for (A, B, C, jA , jB ) (cf. Exer. 2.20).
As for free products there exists also a construction method using the free monoid
M (A t B). Let ( ) : A t B M (A t B) denote the canonical map, and let
G = M (A t B)/ be the quotient monoid subject to the relations
(1A ) = (1B ) = , (jA (c)) = (jB (c))
(2.30)
(a1 )(a2 ) = (a1 a2 ), (b1 )(b2 ) = (b1 b2 ), a1 , a2 A, b1 , b2 B, c C.
As it is a quotient monoid of the monoid defined in (2.21), G is a group. One can
show easily that G together with the canonical maps iA : A G , iB : B G is
24 TH. WEIGEL

a free product with amalgamation (cf. Exer. 2.22). One can also construct a normal
form of elements. However, in contrast to free products they will depend on certain
coset representatives. Let RA be a system of coset representatives of A/ im(jA ),
and let RB be a system of coset representatives ob B/ im(jB ). In particular, for
r RA and c C there exists a unique element A (c, r) RA and a unique element
A (c, r) C such that
(2.31) jA (c) r = A (c, r) jA (A (c, r)).
In a similar fashion, for s RB and d C there exists a unique element B (d, s)
RB and a unique element B (d, s) C such that
(2.32) jB (d) s = B (d, s) jB (B (d, s)).
]
We may assume further that 1A RA , 1B RB , and put RA = RA \ {1A },
]
RB = RB \ {1B }. The following set M (A t B) form a system of representatives
of the equivalence relation .
(2.33) = C t A,A t A,B t B,A t B,B M (A t B),
where
(2.34)
C = { (jA (c)) | c C }
] ]
A,A = { (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br )(ar+1 )(jA (c)) | r 0, ai RA , bj RB , c C },
] ]
B,A = { (b1 )(a1 ) (br )(ar )(jA (c)) | r 1, ai RA , bj R B , c C },
] ]
A,B = { (a1 )(b1 ) (ar )(br )(jA (c)) | r 1, ai RA , bj R B , c C },
] ]
B,B = { (b1 )(a1 ) (br )(ar )(br+1 )(jA (c)) | r 0, ai RA , bj RB , c C }.
As in the previous subsection one obtains the following.

` let jA : C A, jB : C B, be injective
Proposition 2.7. Let A, B, C be groups,
group homomorphisms, and let G = A C B. Then every elements has a unique
representative in .
From the set of elements of normal form M (A t B) one concludes the
following.
Fact 2.8. Let A, B, C be groups, let jA : C A, jB : C B, be injective group
homomorphisms, and let (G, iA , iB ) be their free product with amalgamation. Then
one has
(2.35) im(iA ) im(iB ) = im(iA jA ) = im(iB jB ).
Let A, B, C be groups, let jA : C A, jB : C B, be injective group homomor-
phisms, and let (G, iA , iB ) be their free product with amalgamation. For simplicity
we assume that iA and iB are given by inclusion. We define a graph by
V() = G/A t G/B,
(2.36)
E() = { (gA, gB), (gB, gA) | g G }.
Then G is acting on , and - as G is generated by the subgroups A and B - is
connected (cf. Exer. 2.19). As in the previous subsection we obtain the following.

` let jA : C A, jB : C B, be injective
Proposition 2.9. Let A, B, C be groups,
group homomorphisms, and let G = A C B. Then the graph given as in (2.36)
is a tree.
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 25

2.2.4. HNN-extensions.
Definition 2.5. Let A be a group, let B, C A be subgroups of A, and let
: B C be an isomorphism of groups. An HNN2-extension HNN (A, t) is a
group G together with
(i) an injective group homomorphism iA : A G, and
(ii) a distinguished element t G,
such that the following holds. For every group H containing a group A , an iso-
morphism : A A , and an element h H such that the diagram

(2.37) B

/C

|B |C
 
(B)
ih
/ (C)

there exists a unique homomorphism of groups : G H with (t) = h such that

the diagram

(2.38) A
iA
/G


H
commutes.
For A and : B C an HNN-extension G = HNN (A, t) can be given by
generators and relations easily by
(2.39) G = h A, t | (1A ), (a1 )(a2 )(a1 , a2 )1 , t(b)t1 ((b)1 ), a1 , a2 A, b B i.
Here we put for simplicity ( ) = iA . As in the previous cases one has the following
property.
Proposition 2.10. Let A be a group, B, C A subgroups of A, and let : B C
be an isomorphism of groups. Then there exists an HNN-extension G = HNN (A, t),
and it is unique up to unique isomorphism.
For HNN-extensions it is somehow difficult to obtain a normal form of elements.
However, there is a result - also known as Brittons lemma - which replaces such a
normal form.
Lemma 2.11 (Brittons lemma). For a group A and an isomorphism of subgroups
: B C, B, C A let G = HNN (A, t). Suppose that
(2.40) w = (a0 )t1 (a1 )t2 tn1 (an1 )tn (an ) = 1 G,
for ak A, j {1}. Then either
(i) n = 0 and a0 = 1; or
(ii) n 1 and there exists k {1, . . . , n 1} such that
() k = 1, k+1 = 1, and ak B;
() k = 1, k+1 = 1, and ak C.

2The abbreviation stands for G. Higman, H. Neumann, B.H. Neumann.

26 TH. WEIGEL

For an HNN-extension G = HNN (A, t), : B C, one defines a combinatorial

graph by
V() = G/A,
(2.41)
E() = { (gA, gtA), (gtA, gA) | g G }.
Here we identified A with its image in G under iA . By definition, G has a left
action on . Moreover, one has the following.
Proposition 2.12. Let G = HNN (A, t), : B C, and let be given as in
(2.41). Then
(a) is a tree; and
(b) G acts transitive on vertices and transitive on geometric edges.
Proof. (b) is straightforward.
(a) Note that (A, gA) is an edge in if, and only if, there exists a A such that
g = at or g = at1 . Any element h G can be represented by a word
(2.42) h = a0 t1 a1 an1 tn an ,
for some elements ai A, and j {1}. Hence one has a path
(2.43)
p = ((A, a0 t1 A)(a0 t1 A, a0 t1 a1 t2 A) (a0 t1 an2 tn1 A, a0 t1 an1 tn A)
with o(p) = A and t(p) = a0 t1 an1 tn A = hA. Hence, by (b), is connected.
In order to show that is a tree, it suffices to show that |PA,A | = 1 (cf. Fact 1.5).
Let
(2.44)
q = ((A, a0 t1 A)(a0 t1 A, a0 t1 a1 t2 A) (a0 t1 an2 tn1 A, a0 t1 an1 tn A)
be a path in PA,A , i.e., there exists an A such that a0 t1 an1 tn an = 1. As
q is without backtracking, one has
(2.45) ai1 ti ai ti+1 A 6= A
for all i = 1, . . . , n 1. Hence the word (a0 )t1 (an1 )tn (an ) does not satisfy
(ii) of Brittons lemma. Hence n = 0, i.e., q = OA . This yields the claim. 
2.3. Quotient graphs. Let be a graph, and let G be a group acting on . Define
G\\ by
V(G\\) = { G.v | v V() },
(2.46)
E(G\\) = { G.e | e E() }.
Then one has maps
: E(G\\) E(G\\),
(2.47) t : E(G\\) V(G\\),
o : E(G\\) V(G\\),
given by
G.e = G.e,
(2.48) t(G.e) = G.t(e),
o(G.e) = G.o(e),
satisfying for all e E()
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 27

(i) G.e = G.e,

(ii) t(G.e) = o(G.e), o(G.e) = t(G.e).
However, G.e 6= G.e is not necessarily satisfied. We say that G is acting without
reversing any edge on if for all g G and for all e E() one has
(2.49) g.e 6= e.
One has the following property.
Fact 2.13. Let be a graph, and G be a group acting on . Then the following
are equivalent.
(i) G\\ is a graph;
(ii) G is acting without reversing any edge.
Thus if G is acting without reversing any edge one has a canonical projection of
graphs
(2.50) G : G\\.
The study of this projection and its related structures will be the subject of the
subsequent subsections.
Examples 2.2. (a) Let X be a set, and let = (F (X), X ) be the Cayley graph of
the free group F (X) over X with respect to X = XtX1 . Then F (X)\\(F (X), X )
is a bouquet of loops, e.g., if X = {x1 , x2 }, then F (X)\\(F (X), X ) is just a
bouquet of two loops
x2 x1
(2.51) F (X)\\(F (X), X ) : > ~`
x1
2 x1
1

(b) Let A, B`be groups, jA : C A, jB : C B, injective group homomorphisms,

and G = A C B. Let be the graph as described in (2.36). Then G\\ ' lin1 is
a straight line of length 1, i.e.,
(2.52) G\\ : u 5
(c) Let A be a group, B, C A subgroups of A, : B C an isomorphism of
groups, and let G = HNN (A, t). Let be the tree given by (2.41) Then G\\ is a
just a loop, i.e.,

(2.53) G\\ : ! }

2.4. Fundamental domains.

Definition 2.6. Let be a tree, let G be a group acting on without reversing
any edge, and let G : G\\ be the canonical projection. A fundamental
domain = (V(), E()) is a pair of subsets V() V(), E() E() with
the following properties.
(i) V() V() is a set of representatives of the G-orbits on V(), i.e., for all
v V() one has |V() G.v| = 1.
(ii) E() E() is a set of representatives of the G-orbits on E(), i.e., for all
e E() one has |E() G.e| = 1.
(iii) E() = E().
28 TH. WEIGEL

(iv) Let E () = { e E() | o(e) V() and t(e) V() }. Then (V(), E ())
is a connected subgraph of (and thus a tree (cf. Fact 1.8)).
(v) For all e E() \ E () one has either o(e) V() or t(e) V().
The main purpose of this subsection is to establish the following property.
Proposition 2.14. Let be a tree, and let G be a group acting on without
reversing any edge. Then there exists a fundamental domain = (V(), E()).
The first step in the proof of Proposition 2.14 is to establish the following lemma.
Lemma 2.15. Let be a tree, and let G be a group acting on without reversing
any edge. Then there exists a subtree with the following properties:
(i) G | = (G,v |V() , G,e |E() ) is injective;
(ii) G () G\\ is a maximal subtree.
Proof. One defines
(2.54) M = { | subtree, G | : G\\ injective }.
Then M is a poset with the property S that for every totally-ordered subset T M
there exists an upper bound T = T M. Hence by Zorns lemma, M has
maximal elements.
Let M be a maximal element, and suppose that G (V()) 6= V(G\\). As
G\\ is connected, there exists a vertex v V(G\\) such that distG\\ (v, G (V()))
is minimal. Then one concludes - as in the proof of Proposition 1.12 - that
distG\\ (v, G (V())) = 1, i.e., there exists an edge e E(G\\) such that o(e)
G (V()) and t(e) = v. Thus there exists an edge f E() such that o(f ) V()
and G.f = e. In particular, G.t(f ) = v. Hence 0 given by V(0 ) = V(X) t {t(f )}
and E(0 ) = E() t {f , f } is a tree (cf. Prop. 1.10), and G |0 : 0 G\\ is
injective contradicting the maximality of . This yields that G (V()) = V(G\\).
Let T G\\ be a maximal subtree of G\\ containing G (). Then V(T ) =
V(G\\) = G,v (V()). Suppose that there exists e E(T ) \ E(G ()). Since
G () is a tree, there exists a reduced path p Po(e),t(e) (G ()). Hence e, p
Po(e),t(e) (T ), a contradiction (cf. Prop. 1.9). Thus T = G (), and this yields the
claim. 
Lemma 2.15 can be used to prove Proposition 2.14 very efficiently.
Proof of Proposition 2.14. We fix an orientation E + (G\\) of G\\, and a subtree
satisfying the conclusion of Lemma 2.15. For e E + (G\\) \ G (E()) there
exists an edge fe E() with o(fe ) V() and G,e (fe ) = e. The reader will verify
easily that
V() = V(),
(2.55)
E() = E() t { fe , fe | e E + (G\\) \ G (E()) },
forms a fundamental domain for the group action of G on . 
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 29

2.5. Exercises to 2.
Groups acting on graphs.
Exercise 2.1. Let be a graph. Verify that the Aut()-action on V() and E()
given by (2.3) defines an Aut()-action on .
Exercise 2.2. Let be a combinatorial graph. Show that the projection on the
first factor pr1 : Aut() Sym(V()) is injective.
Exercise 2.3. Determine the isomorphism type of the group Aut(), where is
the graph described in (1.1).
Exercise(!) 2.4. Construct a finite connected graph , |V()| > 1, with trivial
automorphism group Aut().
Exercise(!) 2.5. Let G be a group which is acting on a combinatorial, connected
graph regularly, i.e., for any v V() one has G.v = V() and stabG (v) = {1}.
Show that there exists an admissible subset S G such that is isomorphic to the
Cayley graph (G, S).
Exercise(!!) 2.6. Let = T2 be the 2-regular rooted tree, i.e., is a tree
satisfying val () = 2 and val (v) = 3 for all v V(). The 2-regular rooted tree
= T2 (k) of level k is given by
Bk () = { v V() | dist (, v) k },
(2.56)
T2 = span (Bk ()).
(a) Compute |V(T2 (k))|, the number of terminal vertices in T2 (k).
(b) Show that the canonical map i : Aut(T2 (k)) Sym(V(T2 (k))) is injec-
tive.
(c) Show that Aut(T2 (k)) ' (Aut(T2 (k 1)) Aut(T2 (k 1))) o C2 , k 1.
(d) Compute | Aut(T2 (k))|.
(e) Using (d) prove the following: Let G be a finite group with subgroups
Gn TGn1 G0 = G, n 1, such that |Gk1 : Gk | = 2, 1 k n,
and gG g Gn = {1}. Then G is a 2-group.
Exercise(!!!) 2.7. (look in [1, Chap. III]) Let be a locally-finite graph. For any
finite set of vertices V(), let Aut() denote the pointwise stabilizer of .
Show that
(2.57) B = { Aut() | V(), || < }
defines a topology on Aut() making it a totally-disconnected, locally-compact
group.
Some group theoretic constructions.
`
Exercise 2.8. Let A and B be groups. Show that the free product (A B, iA , iB )
is unique up to unique isomorphism.
Exercise 2.9. Let G be a group, and let S G be a subset of G. Show that the
map : F (S) G induced by the inclusion : S G is surjective if, and only if,
G = hSi.

` 2.10. Let G be a group, and let A, B G be subgroups of G. Let

Exercise
: A B G be the map induced by the inclusions A : A G, B : B G.
Show that is surjective if, and only if, hA, Bi = G.
30 TH. WEIGEL

`
Exercise 2.11. Show that F ({x, y}) ' Z Z.
Exercise 2.12. Let X be a set with 1 r = |X| < . Give a formula for
(2.58) ak (r) = |{ [] F (X) | `([]) = k }|.
Exercise 2.13. Let G be a group, and let S G, |S| = r such that G = hSi.
Show that
(2.59) |{ g G | s1 , . . . , sk S : g = s1 sk }| ak (r),
where ak (r) N is given as in Exercise 2.12.
`
Exercise 2.14. Show that C2 C2 ' D ' Z o C2 = Aut(lin ), where D
denotes the infinite dihedral group.
Exercise(!!) 2.15. (Ping-pong lemma (F. Klein)) Let A and B be subgroups of
a group G, and let X be a G-set with two non-empty subsets 1 , 2 G such that
(i) G = hA, Bi;
(ii) |A| 2 and |B| 3;
(iii) 1 2 = ;
(iv) A] .1 2 and B ] .2 1 ,
where A] = A \ {1}, B ] = B \ {1}. Show that G ' A B.
`

Exercise
` 2.16. Let A and B be groups, |A|, |B| 2, |A| |B| 5, and let G =
A B be their free product. Let X = G be the regular G-set. Find two subsets
1 , 2 X satisfying the hypothesis of the ping-pong lemma.
Exercise(!!!) 2.17. Let a, b GL2 (R) be given by
   
1 t 1 0
(2.60) a= , b= ,
0 1 t 1
with t R, t 2. Show that F ({x, y}) ' ha, bi GL2 (R).
(Hint: Let a and b act by Moebius transformations on the upper half plane H2 and
apply the Ping-pong lemma.)
Exercise 2.18. Describe the graph given in (2.24) in case that A = {1} or
B = {1}.
Exercise 2.19. Let G be a group, and let A, B G. Let be the graph given by
V() = G/A t G/B,
E() = { (gA, gB), (gB, gA) | g G }.
(a) Show that is connected if, and only if, G = hA, Bi. `
(b) Let C = A B. Show ` that is a tree if, and only if, G ' A C B.
(c) In case that G = A C B describe the kernel of the homomorphisms
: G Aut().
Exercise 2.20. Let A, B, C be groups, and let jA : C A, jB : C B, be injective
group homomorphisms. Show that G given by (2.29) together with the canonical
maps iA : A G, iB : B G, is a free product with amalgamation.
Exercise 2.21. Let A, B be groups, let C = {1} be the trivial group, and let
jA : {1} A and jB : {1}` B be`the canonical injection. Show that one has a
canonical isomorphism A B ' A {1} B.
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 31

Exercise 2.22. Show that the monoid G defined in (2.30) together with the
canonical maps iA : A G , iB : B G , is a free product with amalgamation.
Exercise 2.23. Let G be a group, and let be a combinatorial graph with a left
G-action such that
(i) is connected;
(ii) G acts without reversing any edge, i.e., for all e E() and for all g G
one has g.e 6= e;
(iii) G acts transitively on the set of geometrical edges
E g () = { {e, e} | e E() }.
Show that is isomorphic to the graph = (G|A, B)
V() = G/A t G/B,
E() = { (gA, gB), (gB, gA) | g G },
where for e , A = stabG (o(e)), B = stabG (t(e)).
HNN-extensions.
Exercise 2.24. The Baumslag-Solitar group BS(m, n), m, n 6= 0, is given by
the generators and relations
BS(m, n) = h t, x | txm t1 = xn i.
(a) Show that BS(1, 1) = Z Z.
(b) Try to describe BS(1, 1).
(c) Show that BS(m, n) is an HN N -extension HNN (t, Z) for some .
(d) Describe the associated graph of groups.
Quotient graphs, fundamental domains.
Exercise 2.25. Let be a graph, and let G be a group acting on without
reversing any edge such that G\\ is isomorphic to
B

u 5 l .

,
How many orbits has G on V() and E()?
Exercise 2.26. Let be a tree, and let G be a group acting on without reversing
any edge. Let be a connected subgraph such that G | : G\\ is
injective, and G () G\\ is a maximal subtree of G\\. Show that for e
E(G\\) \ E(G ()) there exists an edge f E() such that
(i) G.f = e, and
(ii) o(f ) V().
32 TH. WEIGEL

3. Graph of groups
3.1. The definiton.
Definition 3.1. Let be a connected graph. A graph of groups A based on
consists of the following data:
(i) a group Av for every vertex v V(),
(ii) a group Ae for every vertex e E() satisfying Ae = Ae ,
(iii) a homomorphism e : Ae At(e) for every edge e E().
Remark 3.1. Let be a tree, and let G be a group acting on without reversing
any edge. Let G : denote the canonical map, where = G\\, and let
= (V(), E()) be a fundamental domain of the action of G on , i.e., the maps
(3.1) v = G,v |V() : V() V(), e = G,e |E() : E() E(),
are bijections. Then
(3.2) Av = stabG (v1 (v)), Ae = stabG (e1 (e)),
assigns to every vertex/edge x of the graph a group Ax which is a subgroup of
G. If e E() satisfies t(e1 (e)) V(), then t(e1 (e)) = v1 (t(e)). In this case
the monomorphism
(3.3) e : Ae At(e)
is just given by inclusion. If e E() with t(e1 (e)) 6 V(), we choose an element
ge G such that ge .t(e1 (e)) = v1 (t(e)) V(). Then e is the composition of
the maps
ig
(3.4) e : Ae stabG (t(e1 (e)))
e
At(e) ,
where the first map is just given by inclusion. This defines a graph of groups (A, )
which depends on the fundamental domain and the choice of elements ge G
for certain edges in E(). Moreover, if is a tree, then = (V(), E()) is a tree
(in particular, a graph), and one does not have to choose any elements.
3.2. The fundamental group of a graph of groups. Let be a connected
graph, and let A be a graph of groups based on . In order to define the funda-
mental group of a graph of groups we start by constructing a group F (A, ).
This group is given by
F (A, ) = h Av , e, v V(), e E() | . . .
(3.5)
ee = ee (c)e1 e (c)1 = 1, e E(), c Ae i
We can extend our definition of a path in in the following way: For v, w V()
a generalized path in (A, ) from v to w is a sequence of elements
(3.6) p = a0 e1 a1 an1 en an ,
where a0 Av , o(e1 ) = v, t(en ) = w, ai At(ei ) , o(ei+1 ) = t(ei ), 1 i
n 1, and we denote by [p] its corresponding element in F (A, ). One defines the
fundamental group of (A, ) with base point v V() by
(3.7) 1 (A, , v) = { [p] | p a generalized path from v to v } F (A, ).
Let T be a maximal subtree of . One can define also a fundamental group
of (A, ) with respect to T by
(3.8) 1 (A, , T ) = F (A, )/h e | e E(T ) iF (A,) ,
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 33

where h e | e E(T ) iF (A,) is the smallest normal subgroup of F (A, ) containing

E(T ). The following property shows that both definition yield isomorphic groups.
Proposition 3.2. Let be a connected graph, and let A be a graph of groups based
on . Let v V(), and let T be a maximal subtree of . Then the canonical
map
(3.9) : 1 (A, , v ) 1 (A, , T )
is an isomorphism.
Proof. In order to prove the proposition we want to construct a homomorphism of
groups : 1 (A, , T ) 1 (A, , v ) such that its composition with yields the
identity on the respective groups.
For v V() we denote by pv Pv v (T ) the unique path from v to v in T .
Then we put
(a) = [pv ]a[pv ] for a Av ,
(3.10)
(e) = [po(e) ][e][pt(e) ] for e E().
Obviously, (a), (e) 1 (A, , v ). By definition, one has the following identi-
ties in 1 (A, , v ):
(e) (e) = 1, for all e E(),
(f ) = 1, for all f E(T ),
(e) (e (c)) = [po(e) ][e][pt(e) ][pt(e) ]e (c)[pt(e) ]
(3.11)
= [po(e) ][e]e (c)[pt(e) ]
(e (c)) (e) = [pt(e) ]e (c)[pt(e) ][po(e) ][e][pt(e) ]
= [po(e) ]e (c)[e][pt(e) ]
for all e E() and c Ae . Hence induces a homomorphism of groups
(3.12) : 1 (A, , T ) 1 (A, , v ).
One verifies easily that = id1 (A,,T ) and = id1 (A,,v ) . 
3.3. Reduced generalized paths. Let be a connected graph, and let A be a
graph of groups based on . There exists an analogue of Brittons lemma for words
in the group F (A, ). Let p = a0 e1 a1 an1 en an be a generalized path in (A, )
from v to w, v, w V(). One says that p is reduced, if either n = 0 and a0 6= 1,
or n 1 and ai 6 im(ei ) for all i {1, . . . , n 1} with ei+1 = ei . In particular, if
(ei )1in is a path without backtracking, the generalized path p is reduced. One
has the following analogue of Brittons lemma.
Lemma 3.3. Let be a connected graph, and let A be a graph of groups based on
. Let p = a0 e1 a1 an1 en an be a reduced generalized path in (A, ) from v to
w, v, w V(). Then [p] 6= 1 F (A, ).
The proof of Lemma 3.3 is quite technical, but not really new. It reduces the
general case to the case where either ' lin1 or ' cir1 . The interest reader
might wish to consult [2, p. 45ff, Thm. 11]. As an immediate consequence one
obtains the following fact.
Corollary 3.4. Let be a connected graph, let A be a graph of groups based on
, and let v V(). Then the canonical map iv : Av 1 (A, , v) is injective.
34 TH. WEIGEL

From Proposition 3.2 one obtains also the following.

Corollary 3.5. Let be a connected graph, let A be a graph of groups based on ,
let T be a maximal subtree of , and let v V(). Then the canonical map
i0v : Av 1 (A, , T ) is injective.
From now on we will identify the Av with its canonical images in 1 (A, , v) and
1 (A, , T ), respectively. Another consequence of Lemma 3.3 is the following.
Corollary 3.6. Let be a connected graph, let A be a graph of groups based on
, let T be a maximal subtree of , and let e E(). Then
(3.13) At(e) e1 Ao(e) e = im(e ).
3.4. The tree associated to a graph of groups. Let be a connected graph,
and let A be a graph of groups based on . We also fix a maximal subtree T
of , and an orientation E + () of . Furthermore, we put G = 1 (A, , T ) and
(
0 if e E + (),
(3.14) s(e) =
1 if e 6 E + ().

In particular,
(3.15) s(e) = 1 s(e)
for all e E(). By |e| we denote the edge satisfying {|e|} = {e, e} E + (). The
main purpose is to construct the following data from (A, , T , E + ()):
(i) a graph = (A, , T , E + ()),
(ii) an action of G on such that G is not reversing any edge in ,
(iii) a projection of graphs : which induces an isomorphism G\\ ' ,
(iv) sections v : V() V(), e : E() E().
For e E() we put Be = im(e ) At(e) and
F
V() = vV() G/Av [v],
(3.16) F
E() = eE() G/B|e| [e].

Thus, by definition, on has sections v : V() V(), e : E() E(), given by

(3.17) v (v) = Av [v], e (e) = B|e| [e],

for v V(), e E(). The sets V() and E() carry a natural left G-action. We
define
gB|e| [e] = gB|e| [e],
(3.18) o(gB|e| [e]) = ges(e) Ao(e) [o(e)],
t(gB|e| [e]) = ge1s(e) At(e) [t(e)].
One checks easily that

gB|e| [e] = gB|e| [e],

(3.19)
gB|e| [e] 6= gB|e| [e],
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 35

and, by (3.15),

o(gB|e| [e]) = o(gB|e| [e])

= ges(e) Ao(e) [o(e)]
(3.20)
= ge1s(e) At(e) [t(e)]
= t(gB|e| [e]).

Hence is a graph, and G has a left action on . The mapping = (v , e ) :

(3.21) v (gAv [v]) = v, e (gB|e| [e]) = e,

is a homomorphism of graph which induces an isomorphism G\\ ' . Note further

that for all e E(T ) one has

(3.22) o(B|e| [e]) = Ao(e) [o(e)], t(B|e| [e]) = At(e) [t(e)].

If e E + () \ E(T ) one has

(3.23) o(B|e| [e]) = Ao(e) [o(e)], t(B|e| [e]) = eAt(e) [t(e)]

The following fact will be useful for our purpose:

Fact 3.7. With the notations as above one has es(e)1 Be e1s(e) = B|e| .

Proof. Note that by Corollary 3.6 one has

B|e| = stabG (es(e) Ao(e) [o(e)]) stabG (e1s(e) At(e) [t(e)])

= es(e) Ao(e) es(e) e1s(e) At(e) es(e)1
(3.24)
= e1s(e) (e1 Ao(e) e At(e) )es(e)1
= e1s(e) Be es(e)1

This yields the claim. 

One has the following theorem.

Theorem 3.8. Let be a connected graph, let A be a graph of groups based on

, let T be a maximal subtree of , and let E + () be an orientation of . Then
= (A, , T , E + ()) given as in (3.16) and (3.18) is a tree.

Proof. Let be the smallest subgraph of containing B|e| [e], e E(). By

(3.22) and (3.23), is connected. Moreover, = G.. Hence it suffices to show
that there exists a generating system S G of G such that s is connected for
all s S S 1 . Then - by induction on n - the subgraph

(3.25) s1 s1 s2 s1 s2 sn

is connected
S s1 , . . . , sn S. It suffices to prove this claim for s S. Choosing
for all S
S = vV() Av eE + () {e} one verifies the claim using (3.23).
In order to show that the connected graph is a tree, it suffices to show that it
does not contain non-trivial reduced paths in Pv,v for all v V() (cf. Fact 1.5).
36 TH. WEIGEL

Suppose that p = ((g1 B|e1 | [e1 ]) (gn B|en | [en ])), n 1, is such a path. Put vi =
t(ei ), i.e., v = vn . Then one has
(3.26)
s(e )
t(gn B|en | [en ]) = gn e1s(e
n
n)
Avn [vn ] = g1 e1 1 Avn [vn ] = o(g1 B|e1 | [e1 ]),
1s(e1 ) s(e2 )
t(g1 B|e1 | [e1 ]) = g1 e1 Av1 [v1 ] = g2 e2 Av1 [v1 ] = o(g2 B|e2 | [e2 ]),
...
1s(e )
t(gn1 B|en1 | [en1 ]) = gn1 en1 n1 Avn1 [vn1 ] = gn ens(en ) Avn1 [vn1 ] = o(gn B|en | [en ]).
s(ei )
In particular, putting qi = gi ei , there exists elements ai Avi such that
qn en an = q1
q1 e1 a1 = q2
(3.27)
...
qn1 en1 an1 = qn .
In particular,
(3.28) en an = qn1 q1 , e1 a1 = q11 q2 , e2 a2 = q21 q3 , . . . en1 an1 = qn1
1
qn .
Hence multiplying all these elements together yields
(3.29) e1 a1 e2 a2 e3 a3 en an = 1.
Thus, by Lemma 3.3, q = e1 a1 e2 a2 e3 a3 en an is not reduced. Hence there exists
i {1, . . . , n 1} such that ei+1 = ei and ai im(ei ) = Bei , i.e., there exists
b Aei such that ai = ei (b) and
(3.30) ei ai e1
i = ei (b) At(ei ) = Ao(ei ) = Avi1 .
Here we put v0 = vn = v. From this one concludes using qi+1 = qi ei ai that
s(e )
gi+1 B|ei+1 | [ei+1 ] = qi+1 ei+1i+1 B|ei | [ei ]
s(ei )
= qi ei ai ei B|ei | [ei ]
(3.31) 1s(ei ) s(e )1
= gi ei ai ei i B|ei | [ei ]
= gi B|ei | [ei ]
= gi B|ei | [ei ]
The last equality follows from Fact 3.7. Thus p is not reduced, a contradiction, and
this yields the claim. 

3.5. The structure theorem. In this subsection we collect all the results of the
previous subsection. Let G be a group which is acting on a tree without reversing
any edge. Then we have seen in subsection 2.3 that one has a quotient graph
(3.32) = G\\
and a surjective homomorphism of graphs
(3.33) G = (G,v , G,e ) : .
From these data we constructed a fundamental domain
(3.34) = (V(), E()) (V(), E()).
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 37

In particular, putting = (V(), E ()) we obtained that

(3.35) T = G ( )
is a maximal subtree of . By definition,
(3.36) v = G,v |V() and e = G,e |E()
+
are bijections. Choose an orientation E () E() such that
(3.37) t(e1 (e)) 6 V().
for all e E + () \ E(T ), and choose elements ge G, e E + () \ E(T ) such that
ge .t(e1 (e)) V(). Since is a fundamental domain, this implies that
(3.38) ge .t(e1 (e)) = v1 (t(e)).
From these data we defined a graph of groups A on by putting
(i) Av = stabG (v1 ) for v V(),
(ii) Ae = Ae = stabG (e1 (e)) for e E(),
(iii) e : Ae At(e) is given by inlcusion if e E(T ) (E() \ E + ()), and
ig
(iv) e : stabG (e1 (e)) stabG (t(e1 (e)) e
At(e) if e E + () \ E(T ),
where the first map is given by inclusion, and the second is (left) conjugation
by ge .
For e E(T ) E + () put ge = 1 G. So by definition, for all e E + () one has
a commutative diagram
(3.39) Ae
e e

| "
Ao(e)
_ At(e)
_

 ige 
G /G
By (3.39), the assignment
: E + () t
F
(3.40) vV() Av G
given by
(3.41) (a) = a, a Av , (e) = ge1 , e E + (),
satisfies the relation
(3.42) (e) (e (a)) (e)1 = (e (a))
for all a Ae and hence defines a group homomorphism
(3.43) : 1 (A, , T ) G.
From now on we think that e = e1 . For e E + () one has
t(e1 (e)) = (e).v1 (t(e)),
(3.44)
o(e1 (e)) = v1 (o(e)).
For e E() \ E + () one obtains
t(e1 (e)) = o(e1 (e)) = v1 (o(e)) = v1 (t(e)),
(3.45)
o(e1 (e)) = t(e1 (e)) = (e).v1 (t(e)) = (e)1 .v1 (o(e)).
38 TH. WEIGEL

Thus with the notation as in (3.14) one obtains

e1 (e) = e1 (e),
(3.46) t(e1 (e)) = (e)1s(e) .v1 (t(e)),
o(e1 (e)) = (e)s(e) .v1 (o(e)),
for all e E(). This shows that the mapping = (v , e ) : given by
v (gAv [v]) = (g).v1 (v),
(3.47)
e (gB|e| [e]) = (g).e1 (e),
is a homomorphism of graphs which commutes with the G-action on and ,
respectively (cf (3.18)), i.e., for all g G, w V(), f E() one has
v (g.w) = (g).v (w),
(3.48)
e (g.f ) = (g).e (f ).
One has the following structure theorem.
Theorem 3.9. With the notations as above, is an isomorphism of groups, and
is an isomorphism of graphs.
Proof. Let u V(), v = v1 (u) V() and w = Av [v]. By construction, the map
(3.49) |Av : stabG (w) stabG (v)
is an isomorphism, and the induced map in the commutative diagram of graphs

(3.50)

/

G G
 
G\\ / .

is an isomorphism (cf. 3.4). Hence (G).v = G.v, and, by (3.49), is surjective.

Thus, as
F
V() = vV() G.v,
(3.51) F
E() = eE() G.e,
is surjective. One has canonical bijections u and u
F
(3.52) est (u) Au / im(e )

v e |st (
/ st (v).
(w)

st (w)

Hence e |st (w) is a bijection for all w V() (or in geometrical terms : is
a fibration), and, therefore, : is injective (cf. Fact 1.11). This shows that
is an isomorphism. Let N = ker(). Then N Aw = {1} for all w V() (cf.
(3.49)). On the other hand, for n N one has
(3.53) v (n.w) = (n)v (w) = v (w).
(cf. (3.48)). Hence the injectivity of v implies that n.w = w, i.e., n N Aw =
{1}. Thus is injective, and the theorem is proved. 
 GROUPS ACTING ON TREES 39

3.6. Exercises to 3.
Graph of groups, fundamental groups.
Exercise 3.1. Let X be a finite set, let G = F (X) be the free group over the set
X, and let = (F (X), X ).
(a) Describe the quotient graph = G\\.
(b) Describe the graph of groups A associated to the G-action on .
(c) Show that 1 (A, , T ) ' F (X).
Exercise 3.2. With the notation as in the proof of Proposition 3.2.
(a) Show that = id1 (A,,T ) .
(b) Show that = id1 (A,,v ) .
Exercise 3.3. Let G = Aut(T2 (k)) be the automorphism group of the 2-regular
rooted tree of level k (cf. Exer. 2.6).
(a) Describe the quotient graph = G\\T2 (k).
(b) Describe the graph of groups A associated to the G-action on T2 (k).
(c) Compare G with 1 (A, , T ).
Exercise 3.4. Let Tn,m be the (n, m)-regular 2-colored tree, 1 n, m < , i.e.,
the set of vertices is a disjoint union V(Tn,m ) = V(Tn,m )blue t V(Tn,m )red , any
blue vertex is adjacent only to red vertices, any red vertex is adjacent only to blue
vertices, valTn,m (v) = n for any blue vertex, and valTn,m (w) = m for any red vertex.
Let G = Aut(Tn,m ) denote the color preserving automorphisms of Tn,m .
(a) Determine the isomorphism type of Aut(T1,1 ), Aut(T1,2 ) and Aut(T2,2 ) ex-
plicitly.
(b) Describe the quotient graph = G\\Tn,m .
(c) Describe the graph of groups A associated to the G-action on Tn,m .
(d) Compare G with 1 (A, , T ).
The structure theorem.
Exercise(!) 3.5. Let be a tree, and let G be a group acting on such that
(i) G is acting without reversing any edge,
(ii) G is acting transitively on the set of vertices V(),
(iii) G is acting transitively on the set of geometric edges
E g () = { {e, e} | e E() }.
(a) Describe the quotient graph G\\.
(b) Determine a fundamental domain for the action of G on .
(c) Describe a graph of groups one can associate to the action of G on using the
fundamental domain of (b).
(d) Show that G is isomorphic to an HN N -extension HNN (A, t).
Exercise(!!) 3.6 (Stallings theorem). Let G be a group acting on a tree without
reversing any edge such that stabG (v) = {1} for all v V(). Show that G is
isomorphic to a free group.
40 TH. WEIGEL

References
[1] N. Bourbaki, General topology. Chapters 14, Elements of Mathematics (Berlin), Springer-
Verlag, Berlin, 1998, Translated from the French, Reprint of the 1989 English translation.
[2] J-P. Serre, Trees, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1980.

Th. Weigel, Universita di Milano-Bicocca, U5-3067, Via R.Cozzi, 53, 20125 Milano,
Italy
E-mail address: thomas.weigel@unimib.it