Trivial Massey Product

in Bounded Cohomology
Domenico Marasco

Abstract
We show that in the bounded cohomology of non-abelian free groups the Massey
arXiv:2209.00560v1 [math.GR] 1 Sep 2022

triple product is always trivial when the second factor is represented by the coboundary
of a decomposable quasi-morphism.
We also show that in the bounded cohomology of a negatively curved compact
Riemannian manifold the Massey triple product is always trivial when the second
factor is represented by an exact differential form.

1 Introduction
Bounded cohomology of groups has found various applications in different areas of mathe-
matics, but computing it is a hard task, even in one of the most classic and studied cases:
non-abelian free groups. Fix n ě 2 and denote by F “ Fn the non-abelian free group of
rank n. Interestingly, the bounded cohomology of F with trivial real coefficients Hkb pF ; Rq
is infinite dimensional when k “ 2 and k “ 3, while we still do not have any example of a
non-trivial class for k ě 4. All classes in H2b pF ; Rq can be represented as the coboundaries
of quasi-morphisms, see Section 2.3. There are various recent results investigating whether
it is possible to construct a non-trivial bounded cocycle of degree k ě 4 as the cup prod-
uct of non-trivial quasi-morphisms; see [BM18], [Heu20], [Fou20] and [AB22]. All these
results seem to suggest that Y : H2b pF ; Rq ˆ Hkb pF ; Rq Ñ Hbk`2 pF ; Rq could be trivial. In
particular, in [AB22] the authors generalize the results of the previous papers by showing
that for every ∆-decomposable quasi-morphism ϕ and for every α P Hkb pF ; Rq, for k ě 1,

rδ 1 ϕs Y α “ 0 P Hk`2
b pF ; Rq.

A decomposition ∆ provides a way to decompose each element of F into finite subwords

belonging to a fixed set of pieces. Furthermore, one requires ∆ to behave well with respect
to geodesic triangles in the Cayley graph, so that every bounded real function on the pieces
induces a quasi-morphism on the free group. Quasi-morphisms constructed this way are
called ∆-decomposable. These concepts were first introduced by Heuer in [Heu20] and are
defined precisely in Section 2.3. It is important to note that the Brooks quasi-morphisms
on non-selfoverlapping words and the Rolli quasi-morphisms are decomposable (Example
3.8 and Example 3.9 in [Heu20]).

In this paper we answer a question that naturally arises after the above results. In
fact, when the cup product vanishes it is possible to define a three terms cohomology
operation: the triple Massey product. More precisely, we can construct the product of
three cohomology classes whenever the cup product of the first with the second and the
cup product of the second with the third vanish (see Section 2.2 for the definition of
Massey product). This means that in the context of the bounded cohomology of a free

1
group it is possible to define the Massey product of three classes when the second term
is represented by the coboundary of a ∆-decomposable quasi-morphism. The following is
the main result of the paper:
Theorem 1. Let ϕ be a ∆-decomposable quasi-morphism, let α1 P Hkb 1 pF ; Rq and α2 P
Hkb 2 pF ; Rq, k1 , k2 ě 1. Then the Massey triple product xα1 , rδϕs, α2 y in Hkb 1 `k2 `1 pF ; Rq is
trivial.
This shows once more that finding a non-trivial class in Hkb pF ; Rq, for k ě 4, is chal-
lenging.

The Massey product has a connection with the LS-category. We list some results
that point to a question connecting the Massey product in bounded cohomology and the
ameanable category of a space.
The LS-category of a space X is a homotopy invariant denoted by catLS pXq and defined
as the minimum number of (possibly disconnected) open subsets tUi uiPI necessary to cover
X so that each inclusion Ui ãÑ X is null-homotopic, for every i P I. The cup lenght of
a space cuppXq is the maximum number k of singular cohomology classes α1 . . . , αk of
positive degree such that α1 Y ¨ ¨ ¨ Y αk ‰ 0. It is a classic result that the cup length
bounds from below the LS-category ([Cor+03], Proposition 1.5):

cuppXq ` 1 ď catLS pXq.

Therefore, a space X with catLS pXq ď 2 must have trivial cup product, which means that
the Massey product is defined for any triple of elements in H‚ pX; Rq. Interestingly, we
can say even more: Corollary 4.6 of [Rud99] shows that

catLS pXq ď 2 ùñ xα1 , α2 , α3 y is trivial for every α1 , α2 , α3 P H‚ pX; Rq.

There is a generalization of the LS-category in the context of bounded cohomology. For a

space X, its amenable category, denoted by catAm pXq, is defined as the minimum number
of open subsets tUi uiPI that cover X such that the map induced by the inclusion Ui ãÑ X
on the fundamental group π1 pUi , xq Ñ π1 pX, xq has amenable image, for every x P Ui and
for every i P I. In the context of bounded cohomology it is possible to define the bounded
cup length cupb pXq of a space X exactly like its classic counter part. In Remark 3.17 of
[CLM20] the authors ask whether the following holds:

cupb pXq ` 1 ď catAm pXq?

In particular, the fundamental group of a wedge of n circles is F and catAm p S 1 q “ 2,

Ž
which means that a positive answer to the question above would show that Y : H‚b pF ; Rq ˆ
H‚b pF ; Rq Ñ H‚b pF ; Rq is always trivial in positive degrees. Given Theorem 1 and the
connection between Massey product and LS-category it is natural to ask if the following
could also hold:

catAm pXq ď 2 ùñ xα1 , α2 , α3 y is trivial for every α1 , α2 , α3 P H‚b pX; Rq?

We finally observe that Theorem 1 admits an analogous version in the context of

bounded classes defined by differential forms. Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold
with negative sectional curvatures and with (possibly empty) convex boundary. For every
exact 2-form ξ “ dϕ P EΩ2 pM q there is a bounded cocycle cξ defined by integrating ξ
over the straightening of simplices. These cocycles represent exact bounded cohomology
classes rcξ s P EH2b pM q. In [Mar22] it is shown that the cup product of rcξ s with any

2
other bounded cohomology class α P Hkb pM ; Rq is trivial, for k ě 1. This means that we
can define the triple Massey product whenever the second term can be represented by a
cocycle defined by an exact form. We will show the following:
Theorem 2. Let ξ P EΩ2 pM q be an exact 2-form. Let α1 P Hkb 1 pM ; Rq and α2 P
Hkb 2 pM ; Rq, k1 , k2 ě 1. Then the Massey triple product xα1 , rcξ s, α2 y in Hbk1 `k2 `1 pM ; Rq
is trivial.

Acknowledgements
I thank Marco Moraschini who has suggested the topic of this paper. I also thank Pietro
Capovilla for useful discussions about the amenable category.

2 Preliminaries
2.1 Bounded Cohomology of Groups
Let G be a group, for every k P N we set Ck pG; Rq “ tϕ : Gk Ñ; Ru. The coboundary maps
δ k : Ck pG; Rq Ñ Ck`1 pG; Rq are defined as follows:
δ k ϕpg1 , . . . , gk`1 q “ ϕpg2 , . . . , gk`1 q
k
ÿ
` p´1qi ϕpg1 , . . . , gi gi`1 , . . . , gk`1 q
i“1
` p´1qk`1 ϕpg1 , . . . , gk q.
The cochain complex pC‚ pG; Rq, δ ‚ q is the inhomogeneous resolution of G with coefficients
in R and its cohomology, denoted by H‚ pG; Rq, is the standard cohomology of G with
coefficients in R. From now on we will omit the coefficients from the notation since we are
only going to use trivial real coefficients.
We put the sup norm on Ck pGq and denote by Ckb pGq the subspace of cochains with
bounded norm. Since the coboundary of a bounded cochain is also bounded, pC‚b pGq, δ ‚ q
is a cochain complex and its homology H‚b pGq is called the bounded cohomology of G. The
map induced on cohomology by the inclusion C‚b pGq Ă C‚ pGq is usually called the com-
parison map ckb : Hkb pGq Ñ Hk pGq. The kernel of ckb is called the exact bounded cohomology
of G and it is denoted by EHkb pGq.

2.2 Massey Triple Product

In this section we give the definition of the Massey triple product, a cohomology operation
first defined by Massey in [UM15]. The classical context for this operation is singular co-
homology, but the usual definition can be harmlessly transferred to the context of bounded
cohomology.

Let α P Hkb pGq, α1 P Hkb 1 pGq and α2 P Hkb 2 pGq. The Massey triple product of α1 , α,
α2 , denoted by xα1 , α, α2 y, can be defined whenever α1 Y α “ 0 “ α Y α2 . In general the
output of this operation is not a single element, but a set of elements in Hkb 1 `k`k2 ´1 pGq
constructed as follows. Pick a representative for each class rω1 s “ α1 , rωs “ α, rω2 s “ α2
and choose β1 P Ckb 1 `k´1 pGq and β2 P Ckb 2 `k´1 pGq so that δβ1 “ ω1 Y ω and δβ2 “ ω Y ω2 .
The following class is in the Massey triple product:
p´1qk rp´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 s P xα1 , α, α2 y Ă Hbk1 `k`k2 ´1 pGq.

3
Observe that p´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 is a cocycle, in fact

δpp´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 q “ ω1 Y δβ2 ´ δβ1 Y ω2 “ 0.

If we choose different primitives for the cup products we could end up with a different
element in the Massey product. In fact, let βi1 “ βi ` γi , with γi P Ckb i `k´1 pGq a cocycle
(observe that all the possible primitives for ω Y ωi are obtained this way). Computing the
product with these primitives we get:

rp´1qk1 ω1 Y β21 ´ β11 Y ω2 s “ rp´1qk1 ω1 Y pβ2 ` γ2 q ´ pβ1 ` γ1 q Y ω2 s

“ rp´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 s ` rω1 s Y p´1qk1 rγ2 s ´ rγ1 s Y rω2 s.

Since γ1 and γ2 are generic cocycles and the result only depends on their classes, we can
more compactly describe the Massey triple product of α1 , α and α2 as the set

xα1 , α, α2 y “ p´1qk rp´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 s ` α1 Y Hk`k

b
2 ´1
pGq ` Hkb 1 `k´1 pGq Y α2 .

It is easy to check that the set xα1 , α, α2 y does not depend on the choice of the represen-
tatives for α1 , α and α2 .
This product is said to be trivial when 0 P xα1 , α, α2 y. Observe that when the cup
product is trivial the Massey product is a well defined operation, in fact in this case
α1 Y Hk`k
b
2 ´1
pGq “ 0 “ Hkb 1 `k´1 pGq Y α2 for every α1 and every α2 .

2.3 Quasi-morphisms and free groups

A quasi-morphism is a function f : G Ñ R that fails to be a homomorphism of groups by
some bounded amount. More precisely, f is a quasi-morphism if there is a constant D ě 0
such that for every g1 , g2 P G,

|f pg1 q| ` |f pg2 q| ´ |f pg1 g2 q| ă D.

We denote by QpGq the set of quasi-morphisms of a group G. Clearly, homomorphisms

of groups HompG; Rq and bounded functions C1b pGq are quasi-morphisms, but functions
that are the sum of a homomorphism and a bounded function are usually called trivial
quasi-morphisms. The study of the second exact bounded cohomology of G is tied to the
study of non-trivial quasi-morphisms. In fact, the coboundary of a quasi-morphism f is
a bounded 2-cocycle δf P C2b pGq and it comes directly from the definitions that the map
f ÞÑ rδf s induces an isomorphism:

QpGq
– EH2b pGq.
C1b pGq ‘ HompG; Rq

Let F “ Fn be the non-abelian free group with n-generators, for n ě 2. Since H2 pF q “

0, the comparison map c2b : H2b pF q Ñ H2 pF q is the zero map and

QpF q
H2b pF q – EH2b pF q – .
C1b pF q ‘ HompF ; Rq

This means that in order to compute the second bounded cohomology of F it is enough
to study its quasi-morphisms.

4
2.4 Decompositions
In this section we quickly overview decompositions of a non-abelian free group F and
decomposable quasi-morphisms. For more details we refer to Section 3 of [Heu20], where
Heuer first introduced these concepts.

Let P Ă F be a symmetric subset with 1 R P, we will call its elements pieces. We

denote by P ˚ the set of finite sequences of pieces, including the empty sequence. A
decomposition of F into the pieces P is a map ∆ : F Ñ P ˚ that sends every g P F to a
finite sequence ∆pgq “ pg p1q , . . . , g pmq q with g pjq P P so that the following properties are
satisfied:
(i) g “ g p1q . . . g pmq as a reduced word.
(ii) ∆pg ´1 q “ ppg pmq q´1 , . . . , pg p1q q´1 q.
(iii) ∆pg piq . . . g pjq q “ pg piq , . . . , g pjq q for every 1 ď i ď j ď m.
(iv) Lastly, for every g, h P F the number of pieces of the thick part of the geodesic
triangle p1, g, ghq is uniformly bounded. More precisely, for every g, h P F there are
c1 , c2 , c3 , r1 , r2 , r3 P F so that
‚ ∆pgq “ ∆pc´1
1 q∆pr1 q∆pc2 q
‚ ∆phq “ ∆pc´1
2 q∆pr2 q∆pc3 q
‚ ∆ppghq q “ ∆pc´1
´1
3 q∆pr3 q∆pc1 q

where we take the ci so that ∆pci q is of maximal length. Now, there must be a
constant R ą 0 such that the lenght of ∆pri q is smaller than R.

Figure 1: Decomposition of the geodesic triangle p1, g, ghq.

Let ∆ be a decomposition with pieces P. For g P G with ∆pgq “ pg p1q , . . . , g pmq q, we

denote by |∆pgq| “ m, the length of the decomposition of g. For any bounded alternating
real function on the pieces λ P `8
alt pPq, we define ϕλ,∆ : F Ñ R so that for every g P F
|∆pgq|
ÿ
ϕλ,∆ pgq “ λpg pjq q.
j“1

Any function constructed as above is called a ∆-decomposable quasi-morphism. Indeed,

using property (iv) of decompositions it is straightforward to show that ϕλ,∆ is a quasi-
morphism, see Proposition 3.6 of [Heu20].
In Example 3.8 and Example 3.9 of [Heu20] the author shows that the Brooks quasi-
morphisms on non-selfoverlapping words and the Rolli quasi-morphisms are decomposable.

5
2.5 Aligned Cochain Complex
In this section we define the inhomogeneous version of the aligned cochain complex, which
is another resolution that computes the bounded cohomology of F . The homogeneous
version was first introduced in [BM19]. We will use the inhomogenous version of this res-
olution to simplify computations that involve decompositions, as it was done in [AB22].

For every k ě 0 define

! ˇ )
B k “ pg1 , . . . , gk q P F k ˇ gi gi`1 is a reduced word, gi ‰ 1 .
ˇ

Define Ak pF q “ tϕ : B k Ñ Ru and equip it with the usual inhomogeneous coboundary

maps. We call pA‚ pF q, δ ‚ q the inhomogeneous aligned cochain complex. Denote by A‚b pF q
the subcomplex of bounded cochains with respect to the sup norm. Furthermore, denote
by A‚b,alt pF q the subcomplex of alternating cochains, i.e. of the cochains ϕ P Akb pF q such
that
ϕpg1 , . . . , gk q “ p´1qrk{2s ϕpgk´1 , . . . , g1´1 q
for every pg1 , . . . , gk q P B k . There is a chain map alt : Akb pF q Ñ Akb,alt pF q defined as

1
altpϕqpg1 , . . . , gk q “ pϕpg1 , . . . , gk q ` p´1qrk{2s ϕpgk´1 , . . . , g1´1 q.
2
The map above is the inhomogenous version of the usual alternating operator, which is
well known to induce isomorphism on cohomology (see e.g. Theorem 1.4.2 in [FM18],
Theorem 9.1 of [Eil44], or Theorems 6.9 and 6.10 of [ES15]). Furthermore, it is shown in
Proposition 8 of [BM18] that the composition of the restriction r : Ckb pF q Ñ Akb pF q with
alt
alt ˝ r : Ckb pF q Ñ Akb,alt pF q
induces an isomophism between H‚b pF q and H‚ pAkb,alt pF qq. This implies that the restriction
r : Ckb pF q Ñ Akb pF q also induces an isomorphism on cohomology.

3 Proof of Theorem 1
Let ϕ be a ∆-decomposable quasi-morphism, let α1 P Hkb 1 pF q, let α2 P Hkb 2 pF q and let
ωi P Akb i pF q be the restriction of a representative for αi . In [AB22] the authors show that
rδϕs Y αi “ 0 P Hkb i `2 pF q by finding an explicit primitive βi P Abki `1 pF q for δϕ Y ωi P
Abki `2 pF q. In what follows we will find a bounded primitive in Akb 1 `k2 pF q for the cocycle

p´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 P Akb 1 `k2 `1 pF q.

This will be enough to show that xα1 , rδϕs, α2 y is trivial because as we have seen in Section
2.5, the restriction r : C‚b pF q Ñ A‚b pF q induces an isomorphism on the cohomology of the
cochain complexes.
We write out the explicit formulas given in [AB22] for the bounded primitives β1 P
Ab pF q and β2 P Akb 2 `1 pF q of the cup products ω1 Y δϕ “ δβ1 and δϕ Y ω2 “ δβ2 :
k1 `1

β1 “ p´1qk1 ω1 Y ϕ ´ δη1

β2 “ ϕ Y ω2 ` δη2 ,

6
for suitably chosen η1 P Ak1 pF q and η2 P Ak2 pF q. In order to define ηi P Aki pF q we first
need to introduce the following notation. For any g P F , if ∆pgq “ pg p1q , . . . , g pN q q is
its decomposition, then we denote by zjă pgq and zją pgq the product of the first pj ´ 1q,
respectively the last pN ´ jq, pieces of the decomposition:

zjă pgq “ g p1q g p2q . . . g pj´1q

zją pgq “ g pj`1q g pj`2q . . . g pN q .

Finally we define, for every pg1 , . . . , gk1 q P B k1 ,

|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
η1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 q “ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q
j“1

and, for every ph1 , . . . , hk2 q P B k2 ,

|∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
η2 ph1 , . . . , hk2 q “ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q.
j“1

Our goal is to find a bounded primitive for

p´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 “ p´1qk1 ω1 Y pϕ Y ω2 ` δη2 q ´ pp´1qk1 ω1 Y ϕ ´ δη1 q Y ω2

“ p´1qk1 ω1 Y δη2 ` δη1 Y ω2 P Abk1 `k2 `1 pF q.

Observe that the (not necessarily bounded) cochain ω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y ω2 P Ak1 `k2 pF q is a

primitive. In order to find a bounded primitive we will define a cochain η P Ak1 `k2 ´1 pF q
such that ω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y ω2 ´ p´1qk1 δη is bounded. Observe that this cochain is also a
primitive, in fact

δpω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y ω2 ´ p´1qk1 δηq “ δpω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y ω2 q.

Before defining η we use the cocycle condition for ω1 and ω2 to expand ω1 Y η2 and
η1 Y ω2 , evaluated in pg1 , . . . , gk1 , h1 , . . . , hk2 q P B k1 `k2 . In fact δω1 “ 0 implies that for
every 1 ď j ď |∆ph1 q|,

ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 q “ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 zjă ph1 qq

kÿ
1 ´1

` p´1qk1 p´1qi ω1 pg1 , . . . , gi gi`1 , . . . , gk1 , zjă ph1 qq

i“1
k1
´ p´1q ω1 pg2 , . . . , gk1 , zjă ph1 qq.

Similarly, δω2 “ 0 implies that for every 1 ď j ď |∆pgk1 q|,

ω2 ph1 , . . . , hk2 q “ ω2 pzją pgk1 qh1 , . . . , hk2 q

kÿ
2 ´1

´ p´1qi ω2 pzją pgk1 q, h1 , . . . , hi hi`1 , . . . , hk2 q

i“1
´ p´1qk2 ω2 pzją pgk1 q, h1 , . . . , hk2 ´1 q.

7
We use the first relation to expand pω1 Y η2 qpg1 , . . . , hk2 q:

pω1 Y η2 qpg1 , . . . , hk2 q

“ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 q ¨ η2 ph1 , . . . , hk2 q
|∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
“ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 q ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
|∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
“ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 zjă ph1 qq ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
|∆ph
ÿ1 q| kÿ
1 ´1
pjq
` p´1qk1 p´1qi ω1 pg1 , . . . , gi gi`1 , . . . , gk1 , zjă ph1 qq ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1 i“1
|∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
´ p´1qk1 ω1 pg2 , . . . , gk1 , zjă ph1 qq ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q.
j“1

In the same way, we use the second relation to expand pη1 Y ω2 qpg1 , . . . , hk2 q:

pη1 Y ω2 qpg1 , . . . , hk2 q

“η1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 q ¨ ω2 ph1 , . . . , hk2 q
|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
“ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ ω2 ph1 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
“ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ ω2 pzją pgk1 qh1 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
|∆pgk1 q| kÿ
2 ´1
ÿ pjq
´ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ p´1qi ω2 pzją pgk1 q, h1 , . . . , hi hi`1 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1 i“1
|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
´ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ p´1qk2 ω2 pzją pgk1 q, h1 , . . . , hk2 ´1 q.
j“1

Finally, we define
|∆peq|
ÿ
ηpg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , e, h2 , . . . , hk2 q “ ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă peqq¨ϕpepjq q¨ω2 pzją peq, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1

8
and write out δηpg1 , . . . , gk1 , h1 , . . . , hk2 q:

|∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
ω1 pg2 , . . . , gk1 , zjă ph1 qq ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
kÿ
1 ´1 |∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
` p´1qi ω1 pg1 , . . . , gi gi`1 , . . . , gk1 , zjă ph1 qq ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
i“1 j“1
|∆pgk1 h1 q|
ÿ
`p´1qk1 ω1 pg1 , . . . , zjă pgk1 h1 qq ¨ ϕppgk1 h1 qpjq q ¨ ω2 pzją pgk1 h1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
kÿ
2 ´1
|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
k1 `i
` p´1q ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ ω2 pzją pgk1 q, h1 , . . . , hi hi`1 , . . . , hk2 q
i“1 j“1
|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
`p´1qk1 `k2 ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ ω2 pzją pgk1 q, h1 , . . . , hk2 ´1 q.
j“1

Now most of the summands of pω1 Yη2 `η1 Yω2 ´p´1qk1 δηqpg1 , . . . , gk1 , h1 , . . . , hk2 q cancel
out and we are left with
|∆pgk1 q|
ÿ pjq
ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 ´1 , zjă pgk1 qq ¨ ϕpgk1 q ¨ ω2 pzją pgk1 qh1 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
|∆ph
ÿ1 q| pjq
` ω1 pg1 , . . . , gk1 zjă ph1 qq ¨ ϕph1 q ¨ ω2 pzją ph1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q
j“1
|∆pgk1 h1 q|
ÿ
´ ω1 pg1 , . . . , zjă pgk1 h1 qq ¨ ϕppgk1 h1 qpjq q ¨ ω2 pzją pgk1 h1 q, h2 , . . . , hk2 q.
j“1

Each of the three sums above corresponds to a side of the geodesic triangle p1, gk1 , gk1 h1 q.
Using property (iv) of decompositions for gk1 and h1 we are given the elements c1 , c2 , c3 ,
r1 , r2 , r3 P F . Since pg1 , . . . , gk1 , h1 , . . . , hk2 q is in B k1 `k2 , gk1 h1 is a reduced word and c2
is the neutral element. Furthermore, for j ď |∆pc1 q|, we have zjă pgk1 q “ zjă pgk1 h1 q and
zją pgk1 qh1 “ zją pgk1 h1 q, hence the first |∆pc1 q| terms of the first sum cancel with the first
|∆pc1 q| terms of the third sum. A similar observation can be done with the last |∆pc3 q|
terms of the second sum and the last |∆pc3 q| terms of the third sum. Therefore, only the
summands corresponding to ∆pr1 q, ∆pr2 q, ∆pr3 q survive, which means that there are at
most 3R terms left. Each of these terms is bounded because ω1 and ω2 are bounded and
ϕ is bounded on the pieces of the ∆-decomposition.

9
Figure 2: Cancellation of the first |∆pc1 q| terms (above) and of the last |∆pc3 q| terms
(below).

4 Proof of Theorem 2
Let M be a negatively curved orientable compact Riemannian manifold with (possibly
empty) convex boundary. The universal covering M Ă is continuously uniquely geodesic
and thus for every px0 , . . . , xk q P M k`1
Ă , by repeatedly coning on the xi one can define
the straight k-simplex rx0 , . . . , xk s P Sk pM
Ăq as constructed in Section 8.4 of [Fri17]. The
fundamental group π1 pM q “ Γ acts on the universal covering M Ă via deck transformations
and this defines in turn an action of Γ on Cb pM ‚ ĂqΓ the subcomplex
Ăq. We denote by C‚ pM
b
of Γ-invariant cochains. The covering map p : M Ă Ñ M induces an isometric isomorphism
–
‚
of normed complexes Cb pM q Ý Ñ Cb pM q . Similarly, Γ acts on Ωk pM
‚ Ă Γ Ăq, and we denote by
k Γ
Ω pM q the space of Γ-invariant k-forms of M . By pulling-back via the covering projection
Ă Ă
–
we get the identification Ωk pM q Ý Ñ Ωk pM ĂqΓ .
Notation. We will define cochains only on straight simplices with the understanding that
they can be extended to every simplex s P Sk pM Ăq by precomposing with the straightening
operator s ÞÑ rspe0 q, . . . , spek qs, where e0 , . . . , ek are the vertices of the standard simplex
∆k (see e.g. Section 8.7 of [Fri17]).
ĂqΓ , we define a cochain cψ P Ck pM
For any ψ P Ωk pM ĂqΓ by setting for every px0 , . . . , xk q P
Ăk`1 ,
M ż
cψ psq “ ψ.
rx0 ,...,xk s

Let α1 P Hkb 1 pM q and α2 P Hkb 2 pM q. It is shown in Section 2.3 of [Mar22] that there are
representatives ωi P Ckb i pM
ĂqΓ for αi that depend smoothly on the vertices of simplices.

10
More precisely, there are bounded smooth functions fωi : M Ăki `1 Ñ R such that for every
px0 , . . . , xk q P M k`1
Ă ,
ωi prx0 , . . . , xki sq “ fωi px0 , . . . , xk q.
Let ξ “ dϕ P Ω2 pM q be an exact 2-form. It is proved in [Mar22] that rcξ s Y αi “ 0 P
Hbki `2 pM q and thus xα1 , rcξ s, α2 y is well defined. The bounded primitives β1 P Ckb 1 `1 pM
ĂqΓ
and β2 P Ckb 2 `1 pM
ĂqΓ of the cup products ω1 Y δϕ “ δβ1 and δϕ Y ω2 “ δβ2 are given by

β1 “ p´1qk1 ω1 Y cϕ ´ δη1
β2 “ cϕ Y ω2 ` δη2 ,
where η1 P Ck1 pF q and η2 P Ck2 pF q are defined as follows:
ż
η1 prx0 , . . . , xk1 sq “ fω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ
rxk1 ´1 ,xk1 s
ż
η2 prx0 , . . . , xk2 sq “ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, x1 , . . . , xk2 q.
rx0 ,x1 s

Exactly like in the case of the free groups we can now use these primitives to write out
the following representative of an element in xα1 , rcdϕ s, α2 y:
p´1qk1 ω1 Y β2 ´ β1 Y ω2 “ p´1qk1 ω1 Y pcϕ Y ω2 ` δη2 q ´ pp´1qk1 ω1 Y cϕ ´ δη1 q Y ω2
“ p´1qk1 ω1 Y δη2 ` δη1 Y ω2 .

The cochain ω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y ω2 P Ck1 `k2 pM ĂqΓ is a primitive for the cocycle above, but
it is not necessarily bounded. In order to find a bounded primitive we proceed as we
did in the last section. We define as follows an element η P Ck1 `k2 ´1 pM ĂqΓ such that
ω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y ω2 ´ p´1qk1 δη is bounded:
ż
ηprx0 , . . . , xk1 `k2 ´1 sq “ fω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 ´1 q.
rxk1 ´1 ,xk1 s

In fact, after some computations (we will skip some details here since they are completely
analogous -and easier- to the computations done in the previous section) we get that
pfω1 Y η2 ` η1 Y fω2 ´ p´1qk1 δηqprx0 , . . . , xk1 `k2 sq
ż
“ fω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 `1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 q
rxk1 ´1 ,xk1 s
ż
` fω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 `1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 q
rxk1 ,xk1 `1 s
ż
´ fω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 `1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 q
rxk1 ´1 ,xk1 `1 s
ż
“ fω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 `1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 q
Brxk1 ´1 ,xk1 ,xk1 `1 s
ż
“ dpfω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 `1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 qq.
rxk1 ´1 ,xk1 ,xk1 `1 s

The integration domain is now rxk1 ´1 , xk1 , xk1 `1 s, which is a straight triangle with bounded
area. Therefore, to conclude the proof it is enough to check that the differential form
dpfω1 px0 , . . . , xk1 ´1 , ´q ¨ ϕ ¨ fω2 p´, xk1 `1 , . . . , xk1 `k2 qq assumes uniformly bounded values
over orthonormal frames. This is straightforward to see by using that M is compact and
using the bounds on dfωi stated in Lemma 1 of [Mar22].

11
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