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An extension of a finitely presented group by a finite group is finitely presented

Proved
Chou.isFinitelyPresented_of_isFinitelyPresented_of_finite_quotient

by dbenbenn · Sep 19, 2026 · Mathlib 0df444a (Lean v4.33.1)

amenable-groupselementary-amenable-groupsgroup-growthgroup-theory

If NNN is a normal subgroup of GGG such that NNN is finitely presented and the quotient G/NG/NG/N is finite, then GGG is finitely presented.

Preamble
import Mathlib
Formal statement
namespace Chou

/-- p. 400, as Chou states it: an extension of a finitely presented group by a finite group is
finitely presented. -/
theorem isFinitelyPresented_of_isFinitelyPresented_of_finite_quotient {G : Type*} [Group G] (N : Subgroup G) [N.Normal]
    [Group.IsFinitelyPresented N] [Finite (G ⧸ N)] : Group.IsFinitelyPresented G := by
  sorry

end Chou
Source
Chou, C., Elementary amenable groups, Illinois Journal of Mathematics 24 (1980) 396–407, https://doi.org/10.1215/ijm/1256047608, p. 400 (proof of Lemma 3.1)
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What the Lean code literally says, in plain math · claude-opus-5

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The file contains a single declaration. What follows is a rendering of what it literally asserts.

Preliminary: what "finitely presented" unfolds to

The statement is built from one non-elementary notion, applied twice. For a group HHH, the assertion "HHH is finitely presented" unfolds, with nothing left abbreviated, to:

There exist a natural number nnn and a group homomorphism

φ:Fn⟶H\varphi : F_n \longrightarrow Hφ:Fn​⟶H

from the free group FnF_nFn​ on the nnn-element index set {0,1,…,n−1}\{0, 1, \dots, n-1\}{0,1,…,n−1} into HHH, such that

  1. φ\varphiφ is surjective, and
  2. there exists a subset S⊆FnS \subseteq F_nS⊆Fn​ such that SSS is finite and
⟨⟨S⟩⟩  =  ker⁡φ,\langle\langle S \rangle\rangle \;=\; \ker \varphi ,⟨⟨S⟩⟩=kerφ,

an equality of subgroups of FnF_nFn​ (each contains the other).

Here two further items are themselves unfolded as follows.

  • ker⁡φ\ker\varphikerφ is the subgroup {w∈Fn:φ(w)=1}\{w \in F_n : \varphi(w) = 1\}{w∈Fn​:φ(w)=1} of FnF_nFn​.

  • ⟨⟨S⟩⟩\langle\langle S \rangle\rangle⟨⟨S⟩⟩, the normal closure of SSS, is the subgroup of FnF_nFn​ generated by the set of all conjugates of all elements of SSS; that is, the subgroup generated by

⋃a∈S{ b∈Fn:b=c a c−1 for some c∈Fn }.\bigcup_{a \in S} \{\, b \in F_n : b = c\,a\,c^{-1} \text{ for some } c \in F_n \,\} .a∈S⋃​{b∈Fn​:b=cac−1 for some c∈Fn​}.

It is the smallest subgroup of FnF_nFn​ that contains SSS and is closed under conjugation. Note that it is the normal closure that must equal ker⁡φ\ker\varphikerφ on the nose, not merely the ordinary subgroup generated by SSS, and not merely a subgroup contained in or containing ker⁡φ\ker\varphikerφ.

So "finitely presented" means: HHH admits a presentation with finitely many generators and finitely many relations — the generators being nnn in number and indexed by {0,…,n−1}\{0,\dots,n-1\}{0,…,n−1}, and the relators being the finitely many elements of SSS, whose normal closure is required to be exactly the set of words that die in HHH.

Two degenerate readings are included by the quantifiers. The case n=0n = 0n=0 is permitted: F0F_0F0​ is the trivial group, and surjectivity of φ\varphiφ then forces HHH to be trivial. The case S=∅S = \emptysetS=∅ is permitted: the normal closure of the empty set is the trivial subgroup, so this case says φ\varphiφ is an isomorphism and HHH is free of rank nnn. Neither nnn nor SSS is claimed to be unique or minimal, and no bound on either is asserted.

The declaration

Fix

  • a type GGG, living in an arbitrary universe (the universe is a free parameter of the statement, not fixed to any particular one);
  • a group structure on GGG;
  • a subgroup NNN of GGG.

Assume:

(H1) NNN is normal in GGG, i.e. for every x∈Nx \in Nx∈N and every g∈Gg \in Gg∈G one has g x g−1∈Ng\,x\,g^{-1} \in Ngxg−1∈N.

(H2) NNN, regarded as a group in its own right, is finitely presented. The group in question is the one carried by the set {x∈G:x∈N}\{x \in G : x \in N\}{x∈G:x∈N}, with the multiplication, identity and inverse inherited from GGG. "Finitely presented" means precisely what is unfolded above, with HHH taken to be this group: there are n∈Nn \in \mathbb{N}n∈N and a surjective homomorphism Fn↠NF_n \twoheadrightarrow NFn​↠N whose kernel is the normal closure — taken inside FnF_nFn​ — of some finite subset of FnF_nFn​.

(H3) The quotient G/NG/NG/N is a finite type. The object G/NG/NG/N is the set of equivalence classes of the relation on GGG given by

x∼y  ⟺  x−1y∈N,x \sim y \iff x^{-1}y \in N,x∼y⟺x−1y∈N,

i.e. the set of left cosets gNgNgN. (Under (H1) left and right cosets coincide, but the relation as written is the left-coset relation.) Finiteness of this type means: there is a natural number mmm and a bijection between G/NG/NG/N and {0,1,…,m−1}\{0,1,\dots,m-1\}{0,1,…,m−1}. Equivalently, NNN has finite index in GGG. No bound on that index is fixed, and m=0m = 0m=0 is formally allowed by the definition of finiteness but cannot occur, since G/NG/NG/N always contains the class of the identity.

Conclusion. GGG is finitely presented — again in exactly the unfolded sense above, with HHH taken to be GGG: there exist n′∈Nn' \in \mathbb{N}n′∈N, a surjective homomorphism ψ:Fn′↠G\psi : F_{n'} \twoheadrightarrow Gψ:Fn′​↠G, and a finite subset S′⊆Fn′S' \subseteq F_{n'}S′⊆Fn′​ whose normal closure inside Fn′F_{n'}Fn′​ equals ker⁡ψ\ker\psikerψ exactly.

Remarks on scope and edge cases

The number of generators n′n'n′ and the relator set S′S'S′ asserted for GGG are bare existential claims. Nothing relates them to the corresponding data for NNN: no formula, no bound in terms of the index of NNN or of the presentation of NNN, and no statement that a presentation of GGG can be computed from one of NNN.

The subgroup NNN is an explicit parameter of the statement; the type GGG, its group structure, and the three hypotheses (H1)–(H3) are all supplied implicitly, (H1)–(H3) by instance resolution. This affects only how the statement is invoked, not what it asserts.

The hypotheses are jointly satisfiable, so the statement is not vacuous. For instance, GGG any finite group with NNN trivial satisfies all three; or N=GN = GN=G with GGG any finitely presented group, in which case G/NG/NG/N is a one-element set. The extreme cases are all inside the statement's scope:

  • NNN the trivial subgroup: (H2) holds automatically, and (H3) says GGG itself is finite.
  • N=GN = GN=G: (H3) holds automatically, and the statement degenerates to an implication from GGG finitely presented to GGG finitely presented.
  • GGG trivial: everything holds.

The statement is a one-directional implication. It does not assert the converse (that a finitely presented group has finitely presented finite-index normal subgroups), nor any equivalence.

Human review
  • Endorsed by Shuze Chen · Sep 19, 2026

  • Endorsed by dbenbenn · Sep 19, 2026

    Confirmed by the mission captain (proposal self-audit).

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