Combinatorial Group Theory (Contemporary Mathematics)

The AMS Special Session on Combinatorial Group Theory---Infinite Groups, held at the University of Maryland in April 1988, was designed to draw together researchers in various areas of infinite group theory, especially combinatorial group theory, to share methods and results. The session reflected the vitality and interests in infinite group theory, with eighteen speakers presenting lectures covering a wide range of group-theoretic topics, from purely logical questions to geometric methods. The heightened interest in classical combinatorial group theory was reflected in the sheer volume of work presented during the session.

This book consists of eighteen papers presented during the session. Comprising a mix of pure research and exposition, the papers should be sufficiently understandable to the nonspecialist to convey a sense of the direction of this field. However, the volume will be of special interest to researchers in infinite group theory and combinatorial group theory, as well as to those interested in low-dimensional (especially three-manifold) topology.