Texas A&M University, Department of Mathematics, 216 Milner Hall, 28th of September 2005, 3:00-3:50

Groups and Dynamics Seminar


Forest diagrams for Thompson's group F

James Belk of Texas A&M University

This talk will introduce forest diagrams for Thompson's group F.  Forest diagrams have the same relationship to the action of F on the real line that tree diagrams have to the action on the unit interval.  Using forest diagrams, I will give a conceptually simple length formula for elements of F, and discuss applications to amenability.  No previous knowledge of F will be assumed.