A Remark on the Structure of N-Engel Groups

We observe that there exists a positive integer c(n) such that for every locally nilpotent n-Engel group G we have that G/Z _c(n)(G) is of n-bounded exponent. This strengthens a result of Burns and Medvedev.     

On Residually Finite Groups with Engel-like Conditions

Let m, n be positive integers. Suppose that G is a residually finite group in which for every element x ∈ G there exists a positive integer q = q(x) ≤ m such that x^q is left n-Engel. We show that G is locally virtually nilpotent. Further, let w be a multilinear commutator and G a residually finite group in which for every product of at most 896 w-values x there exists a positive integer q = q(x) dividing m such that x^q is left n-Engel. Then w(G) is locally virtually nilpotent.     

Semilocal rings with <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Engel multiplicative group

An associative ring R with unit element is called semilocal if R modulo its Jacobson radical is an artinian ring. It is proved that the multiplicative group R* of a semilocal ring R generated by R* satisfies an n-Engel condition for some positive integer n if and only if R is m-Engel as a Lie ring for some positive integer m depending only on n.Received: 21 January 2003     

On Certain Weak Engel-Type Conditions in Groups

Let w(x, y) be a word in two variables and 𝔚 the variety determined by w. In this paper we raise the following question: if for every pair of elements a, b in a group G there exists g ∈ G such that w(a ^g , b) = 1, under what conditions does the group G belong to 𝔚? In particular, we consider the n-Engel word w(x, y) = [x, _n y]. We show that in this case the property is satisfied when the group G is metabelian. If n = 2, then we extend this result to the class of all solvable groups.     

Engel groups III

Let F denote a free group. An n-Engel word of F is an iterated commutator of the form [A, nB], where (A,B) is a pair of elements of F, which we here assume to generate a non-cyclic subgroup of F. This is the second of a series of three papers that examine some of the properties of a group defined by a suitable set of relators of the form [A _i , nB _i ], i = 1, 2, ...,m (where n is fixed). In the present paper, the techniques of [1] are generalised in a way that permits the application of the conclusions of [1] concerning the nature of the consequences of a single Engel relator to the case of a finite number of n-Engel relators, subject only to some mild hypotheses on the lengths of the relators and the value of n.     

On locally graded groups with an Engel condition on infinite subsets

A group G is said to be in E_k^*E_k^* (k a positive integer), if every infinite subset of G contains a pair of elements that generate a k-Engel group.¶It is shown that a finitely generated locally graded group G in E_k^*E_k^* is a finite-by- (k-Engel) group, in particular a finite extension of a k-Engel group.     

The lie n-engel property in group rings

Let FGbe the group ring of a group Gover a field Fwhose characteristic is p≠ 2 Let ? denote the involution on FGwhich sends each group element to its inverse. Let (FG)⁺and (FG)^–denote, respectively, the sets of symmetric and skew elements with respect to ?.The conditions under which the group ring is Lie n-Engel for some nare known.We show that if either (FG)⁺or (FG)^–- is Lie n-Engel, and Gis devoid of 2-elements, then FGis Lie m-Engel for some m. Furthermore, we completely classify the remaining groups for which (FG)⁺is Lie n-Engel.     

Semilocal rings with Engel conditions

The relation between the Engel structure of a semilocal ring and that of its multiplicative group is investigated. Suppose that every local ring whose multiplicative group satisfies an m-Engel condition for some positive integer m is an f (m)-Engel ring for some function f . It is proved that under this condition a corresponding statement holds for every semilocal ring which is generated by its multiplicative group. Received: 20 September 2005     

Power closure and the Engel condition

A Liep-algebraL is calledn-power closed if, in every section ofL, any sum ofp ⁱ⁺ⁿ th powers is ap ⁱ th power (i>0). It is easy to see that ifL isp ⁿ -Engel then it isn-power closed. We establish a partial converse to this statement: ifL is residually nilpotent andn-power closed for somen≥0 thenL is (3p ^{n +2} +1)-Engel ifp>2 and (3 · 2 ⁿ⁺³+1)-Engel ifp=2. In particular, thenL is locally nilpotent by a theorem of Zel’manov. We deduce that a finitely generated pro-p group is a Lie group over thep-adic field if and only if its associated Liep-algebra isn-power closed for somen. We also deduce that any associative algebraR generated by nilpotent elements satisfies an identity of the form (x+y) ^{p n} =x ^{p n} +y ^{p n} for somen≥1 if and only ifR satisfies the Engel condition. This project was supported by the CNR in Italy and NSF-EPSCoR in Alabama during the first author’s stay at the Università di Palermo.     

Some Properties of Bell Groups

For any integer n ≠ 0,1, a group G is said to be “n-Bell” if it satisfies the identity [x ⁿ ,y] = [x,y ⁿ ]. It is known that if G is an n-Bell group, then the factor group G/Z ₂(G) has finite exponent dividing 12n ⁵(n ? 1)⁵. In this article we show that this bound can be improved. Moreover, we prove that every n-Bell group is n-nilpotent; consequently, using results of Baer on finite n-nilpotent groups, we give the structure of locally finite n-Bell groups. Finally, we are concerned with locally graded n-Bell groups for special values of n.     

Lie properties of symmetric elements in group rings

Let ¹ be an involution of a group G extended linearly to the group algebra KG. We prove that if G contains no 2-elements and K is a field of characteristic $p\ne 2$, then the 1-symmetric elements of KG are Lie nilpotent (Lie n-Engel) if and only if KG is Lie nilpotent (Lie n-Engel).     

Normal relatively convex subgroups of solvable orderable groups

Orderable solvable groups in which every relatively convex subgroup is normal are studied. If such a class is subgroup closed than it is precisely the class of solvable orderable groups which are locally of finite (Mal’tsev) rank. A criterion for an orderable metabelian group to have every relatively convex subgroup normal is given. Examples of an orderable solvable group G of length three with periodic G/G′ and of an orderable solvable group of length four with only one proper normal relatively convex subgroup are constructed. To the memory of N. Ya. Medvedev Supported by RFBR (project No. 03-01-00320). Translated from Algebra i Logika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 291–308, May–June, 2009.     

Characterization of 3-Rewritable Finite Nilpotent Groups

Let n be an integer greater than 1. A group G is said to be “ n-rewritable” whenever for every n elements x ₁,…,x _n of G, there exist distinct permutations τ, σ on the set {1,2,…, n} such that x _τ(1) ··· x _τ(n) = x _{σ (1)} ··· x _{σ (n)}. In this article, we complete the classification of 3-rewritable finite nilpotent groups and prove that a finite nilpotent group G is 3-rewritable if and only if G has an abelian subgroup of index 2 or the derived subgroup has order < 6.     

Group Rings Whose Symmetric Units Generate an n-Engel Group

Let F be an infinite field of characteristic different from 2 and G a torsion group. Write 𝒰⁺(FG) for the set of units in the group ring FG that are symmetric with respect to the classical involution induced from the map g ? g ^?1, for all g ∈ G. We classify the groups such that ?𝒰⁺(FG)? is n-Engel.     

Lie properties of symmetric elements in group rings II

Let F be a field of characteristic different from 2, and G a group with involution ∗. Write (FG)⁺ for the set of elements in the group ring FG that are symmetric with respect to the induced involution. Recently, Giambruno, Polcino Milies and Sehgal showed that if G has no 2-elements, and (FG)⁺ is Lie nilpotent (resp. Lie n-Engel), then FG is Lie nilpotent (resp. Lie m-Engel, for some m). Here, we classify the groups containing 2-elements such that (FG)⁺ is Lie nilpotent or Lie n-Engel.     

Krull Dimension and Deviation in Certain Parafree Groups

Hanna Neumann asked whether it was possible for two non-isomorphic residually nilpotent finitely generated (fg) groups, one of them free, to share the lower central sequence. Baumslag answered the question in the affirmative and thus gave rise to parafree groups. A group G is termed parafree of rank n if it is residually nilpotent and shares the same lower central sequence with a free group of rank n. The deviation of a fg parafree group G of rank n is the difference μ(G) ? n, where μ(G) is the minimum possible number of generators of G.

Let G be fg; then Hom(G, SL ₂?) inherits the structure of an algebraic variety, denoted by R(G). If G is an n generated parafree group, then the deviation of G is 0 iff Dim(R(G)) = 3n. It is known that for n ≥ 2 there exist infinitely many parafree groups of rank n and deviation 1 with non-isomorphic representation varieties of dimension 3n. In this paper it is shown that given integers n ≥ 2 and k ≥ 1, there exists infinitely many parafree groups of rank n and deviation k with non-isomorphic representation varieties of dimension different from 3n; in particular, there exist infinitely many parafree groups G of rank n with Dim(R(G)) > q, where q ≥ 3n is an arbitrary integer.     

On Artinian rings satisfying the Engel condition

Let R be an Artinian ring, not necessarily with a unit, and let R ^o be the group of all invertible elements of R with respect to the operation a o b = a + b + ab. We prove that the group R ^o is a nilpotent group if and only if it is an Engel group and the quotient ring of the ring R by its Jacobson radical is commutative. In particular, R ^o is nilpotent if it is a weakly nilpotent group or an n-Engel group for some positive integer n. We also establish that the ring R is strictly Lie-nilpotent if and only if it is an Engel ring and the quotient ring of the ring R by its Jacobson radical is commutative. __________ Translated from Ukrains’kyi Matematychnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 58, No. 9, pp. 1264–1270, September, 2006.     

Groups with a Maximal Irredundant 6-Cover

ABSTRACT

A cover for a group G is a collection of proper subgroups whose union is the whole group G. A cover is irredundant if no proper sub-collection is also a cover, and is called maximal if all its members are maximal subgroups. For an integer n > 2, a cover with n members is called an n-cover. Also, we denote σ (G) = n if G has an n-cover and does not have any m-cover for each integer m < n. In this article, we completely characterize groups with a maximal irredundant 6-cover with core-free intersection. As an application of this result, we characterize the groups G with σ (G) = 6. The intersection of an irredundant n-cover is known to have index bounded by a function of n, though in general the precise bound is not known. We also prove that the exact bound is 36 when n is 6.