A self-contained account of why Thompson's group $F$ is of type $\textrm{F}_\infty$

Matthew C. B. Zaremsky

Published 2019-12-24Version 1

In 1984 Brown and Geoghegan proved that Thompson's group $F$ is of type $\textrm{F}_\infty$, making it the first example of an infinite dimensional torsion-free group of type $\textrm{F}_\infty$. Over the decades a different, shorter proof has emerged, which is more streamlined and generalizable to other groups. It is difficult, however, to isolate this proof in the literature just for $F$ itself, with no complicated generalizations considered and no additional properties proved. The goal of this expository note then is to present the "modern" proof that $F$ is of type $\textrm{F}_\infty$, and nothing else.