Scl in free products

Abstract

We study stable commutator length (scl) in free products via surface maps into a wedge of spaces. We prove that scl is piecewise rational linear if it vanishes on each factor of the free product, generalizing a theorem of Danny Calegari. We further prove that the property of isometric embedding with respect to scl is preserved under taking free products. The method of proof gives a way to compute scl in free products which lets us generalize and derive in a new way several well-known formulas. Finally we show independently and in a new approach that scl in free products of cyclic groups behaves in a piecewise quasirational way when the word is fixed but the orders of factors vary, previously proved by Timothy Susse, settling a conjecture of Alden Walker.