The congruence subgroup property for $Aut F_2$: A group-theoretic proof of Asadas theorem

The goal of this paper is to give a group-theoretic proof of the congruence subgroup property for $Aut(F_2)$, the group of automorphisms of a free group on two generators. This result was first proved by Asada using techniques from anabelian geometry, and our proof is, to a large extent, a translation of Asadas proof into group-theoretic language. This translation enables us to simplify many parts of Asadas original argument and prove a quantitative version of the congruence subgroup property for $Aut(F_2)$.