The infinite dimensional geometry of conjugation invariant generating sets

Abstract: We consider a number of examples of groups together with an infinite conjugation invariant generating set, including: the free group with the generating set of all separable elements; surface groups with the generating set of all non-filling curves; mapping class groups and outer automorphism groups of free groups with the generating sets of all reducible elements; and groups with suitable actions on Gromov hyperbolic spaces with a generating set of elliptic elements. In these Cayley graphs we show that there are quasi-isometrically embedded copies of $\mathbb{Z}^m$ for all $m \geq 1$. A corollary is that these Cayley graphs have infinite asymptotic dimension. By additionally building a new subsurface projection analogue for the free splitting graph, valued in the above Cayley graph of the free group, we are able to recover Sabalka-Savchuk's result that the edge-splitting graph of the free group has quasi-isometrically embedded copies of $\mathbb{Z}^m$ for all $m \geq 1$. Our analysis for Cayley graphs builds on a construction of Brandenbursky-Gal-K\c{e}dra-Marcinkowski using quasi-morphisms. We observe in particular that the Cayley graph of a closed surface group with the generating set of all simple closed curves is not hyperbolic, answering a question of Margalit-Putman.