Graph automaton groups

Abstract

In this paper we define a way to get a bounded invertible automaton starting from a finite graph. It turns out that the corresponding automaton group is regular weakly branch over its commutator subgroup, contains a free semigroup on two elements and is amenable of exponential growth. We also highlight a connection between our construction and the right-angled Artin groups. We then study the Schreier graphs associated with the self-similar action of these automaton groups on the regular rooted tree. We explicitly determine their diameter and their automorphism group in the case where the initial graph is a path. Moreover, we show that the case of cycles gives rise to Schreier graphs whose automorphism group is isomorphic to the dihedral group. It is remarkable that our construction recovers some classical examples of automaton groups like the Adding machine and the Tangled odometer.