Automorphisms of Free Groups

Abstract

This chapter discusses the automorphisms of free groups. Every group is the collection of symmetries of some object, namely, its Cayley graph. A symmetry of a group is called an automorphism; it is merely an isomorphism of the group to itself. The collection of all of the automorphisms is also a group too, known as the automorphism group and denoted by Aut (G). The chapter considers basic examples of groups to illustrate what an automorphism is, with a focus on the automorphisms of the symmetric group on three elements and of the free abelian group. It also examines the dynamics of an automorphism of a free group and concludes with a description of train tracks, a topological model for the free group, and the Perron–Frobenius theorem. Exercises and research projects are included.