Explicit generators for the stabilizers of rational points in Thompson’s group $F$

Abstract

We construct explicit finite generating sets for the stabilizers in Thompson’s group $F$ of rational points of a unit interval or the Cantor set. Our technique is based on the Reidemeister-Schreier procedure in the context of Schreier graphs of such stabilizers in $F$. It is well known that the stabilizers of dyadic rational points are isomorphic to $F\times F$ and can thus be generated by 4 explicit elements. We show that the stabilizer of every non-dyadic rational point $b\in (0,1)$ is generated by 5 elements that are explicitly calculated as words in generators $x_0,x_1$ of $F$ that depend on the binary expansion of $b$. We also provide an alternative simple proof that the stabilizers of all rational points are finitely presented.