Large Groups of Deficiency One

Abstract

We prove that if a group possesses a deficiency 1 presentation where one of the relators is a commutator then it is the integers times the integers, is large, or is as far as possible from being residually finite. Then we use this to show that a mapping torus of an endomorphism of a finitely generated free group is large if it contains the integers times the integers as a subgroup of infinite index, as well as showing that such a group is large if it contains a Baumslag-Solitar group of infinite index and has a finite index subgroup with first Betti number at least 2. We give applications to free by cyclic groups, 1 relator groups and residually finite groups.