Relative Ends, l² Invariants and Property (T)

We establish a splitting theorem for one-ended groups H<G such that \tilde{e}(G;H)> 2 and the almost malnormal closure of H is a proper subgroup of G. This yields splitting theorems for groups G with non-trivial first l^2 Betti number (\beta^2_1(G)). We verify the Kropholler Conjecture for pairs H < G satisfying \beta^2_1(G) > \beta^2_1(H). We also prove that every n-dimensional Poincare duality (PD^n) group containing a PD^(n-1) group H with property (T) splits over a subgroup commensurable with H.