Strong accessibility for hyperbolic groups

Abstract

We use an accessibility result of Delzant and Potyagailo to prove Swarup's Strong Accessibility Conjecture for Gromov hyperbolic groups with no 2-torsion. It follows that, if M is an irreducible, orientable, compact 3-manifold with hyperbolic fundamental group, then any hierarchy in which M is decomposed alternately along compressing disks and essential annuli is finite.