Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 April 2009
Let the group H have presentation where m ≥ 3, pi ≥ 2 and (pi, pj) = 1 if i ≠ j. We show that H is a one-relator group precisely if H can be obtained from a suitable group 〈a, b; ap = bp〉 by repeated applications of a (two-stage) procedure consisting of applying central Nielsen transformations followed by adjoining a root of a generator. We conjecture that any one-relator group G with non-trivial centre and G/G′ not free abelian of rank two can be obtained in the same way from a suitable group 〈a, b; ap = bp〉.