The profinite rigidity conjecture for automorphic orbits of free-group words

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Let FkF_k be the free group of rank kk, let F^k\widehat{F}_k be its profinite completion, and let w,w′∈Fkw,w'\in F_k. An automorphism of F^k\widehat{F}_k acts on the embedded elements w,w′w,w'.

Profinite rigidity conjecture for word automorphic orbits. If there exists f^∈Aut⁡(F^k)\widehat{f}\in\operatorname{Aut}(\widehat{F}_k) such that

f^(w)=w′,\widehat{f}(w)=w',

then there exists f∈Aut⁡(Fk)f\in\operatorname{Aut}(F_k) with

f(w)=w′.f(w)=w'.

This is an equivalent formulation of the long-standing conjecture that two words inducing the same measure on every finite group must lie in the same Aut⁡(Fk)\operatorname{Aut}(F_k)-orbit. The source presents the claim as a conjecture and gives no resolution.

References

Primary source

Dario Ascari and Jonathan Fruchter, “Virtual homological torsion in graphs of free groups with cyclic edge groups”, arXiv:2505.20960 (2025).

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