On the Genus of Infinite Groups

We associate to each finite presentation of a group G a compact CWcomplex that is a 3-manifold in the complement of a point, and whose fundamental group is isomorphic to G. We use this complex to define a notion of genus for G and give examples, and also define a notion of ‘closed group’. A group has genus 0 if and only if it is the fundamental group of a compact orientable 3-manifold.