Geometry of pseudocharacters

Abstract

If G is a group, a pseudocharacter f: G-->R is a function which is "almost" a homomorphism. If G admits a nontrivial pseudocharacter f, we define the space of ends of G relative to f and show that if the space of ends is complicated enough, then G contains a nonabelian free group. We also construct a quasi-action by G on a tree whose space of ends contains the space of ends of G relative to f. This construction gives rise to examples of "exotic" quasi-actions on trees.