Generalized torsion and decomposition of 3--manifolds

A nontrivial element in a group is a generalized torsion element if some nonempty finite product of its conjugates is the identity. We prove that any generalized torsion element in a free product of torsion-free groups is conjugate to a generalized torsion element in some factor group. This implies that the fundamental group of a compact orientable 3-manifold M has a generalized torsion element if and only if the fundamental group of some prime factor of M has a generalized torsion element. On the other hand, we demonstrate that there are infinitely many toroidal 3-manifolds whose fundamental group has a generalized torsion element, while the fundamental group of each decomposing piece has no such elements. Additionally, in the course of the proof of the first result, we give an upper bound for the stable commutator length of generalized torsion elements.