Liza Frenkel is visiting the department, and she wants me to write an algorithm to compute double coset representation normal forms for free products with amalgamation.

Here are some notes I typed up in write maths, see maths as she and Andrew talked. I’m just putting them up here so I don’t lose them.

Suppose:
$F_{1}$, $F_{2}$ free groups (finitely generated by $X$ and $Y$, respectively)
$H_1 \leq F_1$, $H_2 \leq F_2$
$\exists$ an isomorphism $\phi: H_1 \rightarrow H_2$
i.e. we have a finite generating set (in fact a basis) $\{h_1, \dots, h_n \}$ for $H_{1}$ (and$\{h_1′, \dots, h_n’\}$ for $H_{2}$) and generating sets $X,Y$ for $F_{1}$ and $F_{2}$

Consider a group generated by $z_1, \dots, z_m$, with
$z_1 = h_1(x_1, \dots, x_n)=h_1′(y_1,\dots,y_r), \dots, z_m = h_m(x_1,\dots,x_n) = h_m'(y_1,\dots,y_r)$
$G = F_1 \underset{H_1=H_2}{\ast} F_2$ has presentation $\langle X,Y | h_i = h_i’, i=1 \dots m\rangle$
Choose a set $S \subseteq F$ such that $F_1 = \displaystyle{\bigcup_{s \in S} H_1sH_1}$
(we are assuming $S$ is infinite)
every element $w$ of $F_{1}$ is equal to $w = h_{1} sh_{2}$, for unique $s \in S$,
$h_1,h_2 \in H_1$
can do the same for $F_2 = \displaystyle{\bigcup_{t \in T}} H_2tH_2$

Let $g \in G$.
A word $w$ representing $g$ is in normal form if $w = h_{i_1}(z)p_1h_{i_2}(z)p_2 \dots h_{i_k}(z)p_kh_{i_{k+1}}(z)$, with $p_i \in S$, $i = 1 \dots k$.

Suppose $g = g_1g_2 \dots g_k$. Rewrite using double coset representatives
$g = h_1(X)s_1h_2(Y)t_2h_3(X) \dots$

$g$ is in reduced form if $g = g_1 \dots g_k$ and
$k=1 \Rightarrow$ $g \in F_1$ or $g \in F_2$
$k \gt 1 \Rightarrow g_i \in F_1 \backslash H_1$ or $g_i \in F_2 \backslash H_2$ and $g_{i}$, $g_{i+1}$ belong to different factors

Let $\Gamma_{H_1}$ be a folded subgroup graph of $H_{1}$. Take two copies.

For some word $w = h_{1} sh_{2}$, the question is how to find $s$.

Algorithm:
Read all possible loops round first graph, to get $h_{1}$.
Keep reading letters round the graph until there is no edge corresponding to the current letter. Call this $s_{1}$.
Start at the other end, reading loops to get $h_{2}$, and then maximal $s_{2}$ partway round a loop.
Then either there are no letters left to look at, and $s = s_{1} s_{2}$, or some bit $f_{0}$ in the middle, and $s = s_{1} f_{0} s_{2}$.

We want $h_1,h_2,s$ to all have maximal length.

Example

i) \begin{align} g &= x_1^3x_2^2y_1y_2 \\ &= (x_1^2)(x_1x_2)(x_2^{-1})^{-1} \cdot (y_1)(y_2^{-1})^{-1}\end{align}

## Membership problem

\begin{align} G &= F_1 \underset{H_1=H_2}{\ast}F_2 \\ H_3 &= \langle c_1, \dots, c_l \rangle \leqslant G\end{align}
Can write the $c_{i}$ in normal form.
Question: Given $w \in G$ in normal form, is $w \in H_3$?

Constructing a folded graph which makes use of the normal form is tricky.