Direct decompositions of groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the unit interval

Abstract

We study subgroups of the group [Formula: see text] of piecewise linear orientation-preserving homeomorphisms of the unit interval [Formula: see text] that are differentiable everywhere except at finitely many real numbers, under the operation of composition. We provide a criterion for any two subgroups of [Formula: see text] which are direct products of finitely many indecomposable non-commutative groups to be non-isomorphic. As its application, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for any two subgroups of the R. Thompson group [Formula: see text] that are stabilizers of finite sets of numbers in the interval [Formula: see text] to be isomorphic, thus solving a problem by G. Golan and M. Sapir. We also show that if two stabilizers are isomorphic, then they are conjugate inside a certain group [Formula: see text].