Lévai and Pyber proposed the following as a conjecture:
Let $G$ be a profinite group such that the set of solutions of the equation $x^n=1$ has positive Haar measure. Then $G$ has an open subgroup $H$ and an element $t$ such that all elements of the coset $tH$ have order dividing $n$ (see Problem 14.53 of [The Kourovka Notebook, No. 19, 2019]). \\ We define a constant $c_n$ for all finite groups and prove that the latter conjecture is equivalent with a conjecture saying $c_n<1$. Using the latter equivalence we observe that correctness of Lévai and Pyber conjecture implies the existence of the universal upper bound $\frac{1}{1-c_n}$ on the index of generalized Hughes-Thompson subgroup $H_n$ of finite groups whenever it is non-trivial. It is known that the latter is widely open even for all primes $n=p\geq 5$. For odd $n$ we also prove that Lévai and Pyber conjecture is equivalent to show that $c_n$ is less than $1$ whenever $c_n$ is only computed on finite solvable groups. \\ The validity of the conjecture has been proved in [Arch. Math. (Basel) 75 (2000) 1-7] for $n=2$. Here we confirm the conjecture for $n=3$.
For a positive integer r we prove that if G is a profinite group in which the centralizer of every nontrivial element has rank at most r, then G is either a pro-p group or a group of finite rank. Further, if G is not virtually a pro-p group, then G is virtually of rank at most r+1.
In this paper we investigate the following general problem. Let $G$ be a group and let $i(G)$ be a property of $G$. Is there an integer $d$ such that $G$ contains a $d$-generated subgroup $H$ with $i(H)=i(G)$? Here we consider the case where $G$ is a profinite group and $H$ is a closed subgroup, extending earlier work of Lucchini and others on finite groups. For example, we prove that $d=3$ if $i(G)$ is the prime graph of $G$, which is best possible, and we show that $d=2$ if $i(G)$ is the exponent of a finitely generated prosupersolvable group $G$.
It is proved that a profinite group $G$ has fewer than $2^{\aleph_0}$ conjugacy classes of $p$-elements for an odd prime $p$ if and only if its $p$-Sylow subgroups are finite. (Here, by a $p$-element one understands an element that either has $p$-power order or topologically generates a group isomorphic to ${\mathbb Z}_p$.) A weaker result is proved for $p=2$.
The structure of finite and locally finite groups in which every element has prime power order (CP-groups) is well known. In this paper we note that the combination of our earlier results with the available information on the structure of finite CP-groups yields a detailed description of profinite groups with that property. Then we deal with two generalizations of profinite CP-groups. Theorem 1.2. A profinite group G is virtually pro-p for some prime p if and only if for each nontrivial x in G there is a prime p (depending on x) such that the centralizer of x is virtually pro-p. Theorem 1.3. L…
Given a finite group $G$ and an element $g\in G$, we may compare the expected number $e(G)$ of elements needed to generate $G$ and the expected number $e(G,g)$ of elements of $G$ needed to generate $G$ together with $g.$ We address the following question: how large can the difference $e(G)-e(G,g)$ be?
We consider profinite groups in which all commutators are contained in a union of finitely many procyclic subgroups. It is shown that if G is a profinite group in which all commutators are covered by m procyclic subgroups, then G possesses a finite characteristic subgroup M contained in G' such that the order of M is m-bounded and G'/M is procyclic. If G is a pro-p group such that all commutators in G are covered by m procyclic subgroups, then G' is either finite of m-bounded order or procyclic.
A group $G$ is said to have restricted centralizers if for each $g$ in $G$ the centralizer $C_G(g)$ either is finite or has finite index in $G$. Shalev showed that a profinite group with restricted centralizers is virtually abelian. Given a set of primes $π$, we take interest in profinite groups with restricted centralizers of $π$-elements. It is shown that such a profinite group has an open subgroup of the form $P\times Q$, where $P$ is an abelian pro-$π$ subgroup and $Q$ is a pro-$π'$ subgroup. This significantly strengthens a result from our earlier paper.
The article deals with profinite groups in which centralizers are virtually procyclic. Suppose that G is a profinite group such that the centralizer of every nontrivial element is virtually torsion-free while the centralizer of every element of infinite order is virtually procyclic. We show that G is either virtually pro-p for some prime p or virtually torsion-free procyclic. The same conclusion holds for profinite groups in which the centralizer of every nontrivial element is virtually procyclic; moreover, if G is not pro-p, then G has finite rank.
Recently there has been a lot of research and progress in profinite groups. We survey some of the new results and discuss open problems. A central theme is decompositions of finite groups into bounded products of subsets of various kinds which give rise to algebraic properties of topological groups.
An element $g$ of a group $G$ is said to be right Engel if for every $x\in G$ there is a number $n=n(g,x)$ such that $[g,{}_{n}x]=1$. We prove that if a profinite group $G$ admits a coprime automorphism $φ$ of prime order such that every fixed point of $φ$ is a right Engel element, then $G$ is locally nilpotent.
The main result of this paper is the following theorem. Let q be a prime, A an elementary abelian group of order q^3. Suppose that A acts as a coprime group of automorphisms on a profinite group G in such a manner that C_G(a)' is periodic for each nontrivial element a in A. Then G' is locally finite.
An Engel sink of an element $g$ of a group $G$ is a set ${\mathscr E}(g)$ such that for every $x\in G$ all sufficiently long commutators $[...[[x,g],g],\dots ,g]$ belong to ${\mathscr E}(g)$. (Thus, $g$ is an Engel element precisely when we can choose ${\mathscr E}(g)=\{ 1\}$.) It is proved that if a profinite group $G$ admits an elementary abelian group of automorphisms $A$ of coprime order $q^2$ for a prime $q$ such that for each $a\in A\setminus\{1\}$ every element of the centralizer $C_G(a)$ has a countable (or finite) Engel sink, then $G$ has a finite normal subgroup $N$ such that $G/N$ i…
For a family of group words $w$ we show that if $G$ is a profinite group in which all $w$-values are contained in a union of finitely many subgroups with a prescribed property, then $w(G)$ has the same property as well. In particular, we show this in the case where the subgroups are periodic or of finite rank. If $G$ contains finitely many subgroups $G_1,G_2,...,G_s$ of finite exponent $e$ whose union contains all $γ_k$-values in $G$, it is shown that $γ_k(G)$ has finite $(e,k,s)$-bounded exponent. If $G$ contains finitely many subgroups $G_1,G_2,...,G_s$ of finite rank $r$ whose union contain…
Let $q$ be a prime and $A$ an elementary abelian $q$-group acting as a coprime group of automorphisms on a profinite group $G$. We show that if $A$ is of order $q^2$ and some power of each element in $C_G(a)$ is Engel in $G$ for any $a\in A^{\#}$, then $G$ is locally virtually nilpotent. Assuming that $A$ is of order $q^3$ we prove that if some power of each element in $C_G(a)$ is Engel in $C_G(a)$ for any $a\in A^{\#}$, then $G$ is locally virtually nilpotent. Some analogues consequences of quantitative nature for finite groups are also obtained.
A right Engel sink of an element $g$ of a group $G$ is a set ${\mathscr R}(g)$ such that for every $x\in G$ all sufficiently long commutators $[...[[g,x],x],\dots ,x]$ belong to ${\mathscr R}(g)$. (Thus, $g$ is a right Engel element precisely when we can choose ${\mathscr R}(g)=\{ 1\}$.) We prove that if a profinite group $G$ admits a coprime automorphism $φ$ of prime order such that every fixed point of $φ$ has a finite right Engel sink, then $G$ has an open locally nilpotent subgroup. A left Engel sink of an element $g$ of a group $G$ is a set ${\mathscr E}(g)$ such that for every $x\in G$ a…
Let $G$ be 2-generated group. The generating graph $Γ(G)$ of $G$ is the graph whose vertices are the elements of $G$ and where two vertices $g$ and $h$ are adjacent if $G = \langle g, h \rangle.$ This definition can be extended to a 2-generated profinite group $G,$ considering in this case topological generation. We prove that the set $V(G)$ of non-isolated vertices of $Γ(G)$ is closed in $G$ and that, if $G$ is prosoluble, then the graph $Δ(G)$ obtained from $Γ(G)$ by removing its isolated vertices is connected with diameter at most 3. However we construct an example of a 2-generated profinit…
We prove every regular element of a free profinite monoid generates a prime ideal; in particular the minimal ideal is prime. The latter result was first proved by Almeida and Volkov using techniques from symbolic dynamics; our proof is elementary.
The main result of the paper is the following theorem. Let $q$ be a prime and $A$ an elementary abelian group of order $q^3$. Suppose that $A$ acts coprimely on a profinite group $G$ and assume that $C_G(a)$ is locally nilpotent for each $a\in A^{\#}$. Then the group $G$ is locally nilpotent.
Let $q$ be a prime, $n$ a positive integer and $A$ an elementary abelian group of order $q^r$ with $r\geq2$ acting on a finite $q'$-group $G$. The following results are proved. We show that if all elements in $γ_{r-1}(C_G(a))$ are $n$-Engel in $G$ for any $a\in A^\#$, then $γ_{r-1}(G)$ is $k$-Engel for some $\{n,q,r\}$-bounded number $k$, and if, for some integer $d$ such that $2^d\leq r-1$, all elements in the $d$th derived group of $C_G(a)$ are $n$-Engel in $G$ for any $a\in A^\#$, then the $d$th derived group $G^{(d)}$ is $k$-Engel for some $\{n,q,r\}$-bounded number $k$. Assuming $r\geq 3$…
Let $G$ be a profinite group in which for every element $x\in G$ there exists a natural number $q=q(x)$ such that $x^q$ is Engel. We show that $G$ is locally virtually nilpotent. Further, let $p$ be a prime and $G$ a finitely generated profinite group in which for every $γ_k$-value $x\in G$ there exists a natural $p$-power $q=q(x)$ such that $x^q$ is Engel. We show that $γ_k(G)$ is locally virtually nilpotent.
Magnus proved that, given two elements $x$ and $y$ of a finitely generated free group $F$ with equal normal closures $\langle x\rangle^F=\langle y\rangle^F$, then $x$ is conjugated either to $y$ or $y^{-1}$. More recently, this property, called the Magnus property, has been generalized to oriented surface groups. In this paper, we consider an analogue property for profinite surface groups. While Magnus property, in general, does not hold in the profinite setting, it does hold in some restricted form. In particular, for ${\mathscr S}$ a class of finite groups, we prove that, if $x$ and $y$ are …
We give new and improved results on the freeness of subgroups of free profinite groups: A subgroup containing the normal closure of a finite word in the elements of a basis is free; Every infinite index subgroup of a finitely generated nonabelian free profinite group is contained in an infinitely generated free profinite subgroup. These results are combined with the twisted wreath product approach of Haran, an observation on the action of compact groups, and a rank counting argument to prove a conjecture of Bary-Soroker, Fehm, and Wiese, thus providing a quite general sufficient condition for …
Let $g$ be an element of a group $G$. For a positive integer $n$, let $E_n(g)$ be the subgroup generated by all commutators $[...[[x,g],g],\dots ,g]$ over $x\in G$, where $g$ is repeated $n$ times. We prove that if $G$ is a profinite group such that for every $g\in G$ there is $n=n(g)$ such that $E_n(g)$ is finite, then $G$ has a finite normal subgroup $N$ such that $G/N$ is locally nilpotent. The proof uses the Wilson--Zelmanov theorem saying that Engel profinite groups are locally nilpotent. In the case of a finite group $G$, we prove that if, for some $n$, $|E_n(g)|\leq m$ for all $g\in G$,…
In this paper we derive necessary and sufficient homological and cohomological conditions for profinite groups and modules to be of type $\operatorname{FP}_n$ over a profinite ring $R$, analogous to the Bieri-Eckmann criteria for abstract groups. We use these to prove that the class of groups of type $\operatorname{FP}_n$ is closed under extensions, quotients by subgroups of type $\operatorname{FP}_n$, proper amalgamated free products and proper $\operatorname{HNN}$-extensions, for each $n$. We show, as a consequence of this, that elementary amenable profinite groups of finite rank are of type…
We prove that in every finitely generated profinite group, every subgroup of finite index is open; this implies that the topology on such groups is determined by the algebraic structure. This is deduced from the main result about finite groups: let $w$ be a `locally finite' group word and $d\in\mathbb{N}$. Then there exists $f=f(w,d)$ such that in every $d$-generator finite group $G$, every element of the verbal subgroup $w(G)$ is equal to a product of $f$ $w$-values. An analogous theorem is proved for commutators; this implies that in every finitely generated profinite group, each term of the…
A group $G$ is said to have restricted centralizers if for each $g \in G$ the centralizer $C_G(g)$ either is finite or has finite index in $G$. Shalev showed that a profinite group with restricted centralizers is virtually abelian. We take interest in profinite groups with restricted centralizers of uniform commutators, that is, elements of the form $[x_1,\dots,x_k]$, where $π(x_1)=π(x_2)=\dots=π(x_k)$. Here $π(x)$ denotes the set of prime divisors of the order of $x\in G$. It is shown that such a group necessarily has an open nilpotent subgroup. We use this result to deduce that $γ_k(G)$ is f…
For profinite branch groups, we first demonstrate the equivalence of the Bergman property, uncountable cofinality, Cayley boundedness, the countable index property, and the condition that every non-trivial normal subgroup is open; compact groups enjoying the last condition are called strongly just infinite. For strongly just infinite profinite branch groups with mild additional assumptions, we verify the invariant automatic continuity property and the locally compact automatic continuity property. Examples are then presented, including the profinite completion of the first Grigorchuk group. As…
A profinite group is called small if it has only finitely many open subgroups of index n for each positive integer n. We show that every Frattini cover of a small profinite group is small. A profinite group is called strongly complete if every subgroup of finite index is open. We show that two profinite groups that are elementarily equivalent, in the first-order language of groups, are isomorphic if one of them is strongly complete, extending a result of Moshe Jarden and Alexander Lubotzky which treats the case of finitely generated profinite groups.
We provide elementary proofs of the Nielsen-Schreier Theorem and the Kurosh Subgroup Theorem via wreath products. Our proofs are diagrammatic in nature and work simultaneously in the abstract and profinite categories. A new proof that open subgroups of quasifree profinite groups are quasifree is also given.
Given a polynomial of degree d over a number field, the image of the associated arboreal representation of the absolute Galois group of the field is a profinite group acting on the d-ary tree. Boston and Jones conjectured that for a quadratic polynomial, the image of such a representation contains a dense set of settled elements. Here an element is settled if it exhibits a certain pattern of growth of cycles at finite levels of the tree. In this paper, we prove the conjecture of Boston and Jones generically in the case when the quadratic polynomial has a strictly pre-periodic post-critical orb…
Let R be any ring (with 1), Γa group and RΓthe corresponding group ring. Let H be a subgroup of Γof finite index. Let M be an RΓ-module, whose restriction to RH is projective. Moore's conjecture: Assume for every nontrivial element x in Γ, at least one of the following two conditions holds: M1) the subgroup generated by x intersects H non-trivially (in particular this holds if Γis torsion free). M2) ord(x) is finite and invertible in R. Then M is projective as an RΓ-module. More generally, the conjecture has been formulated for crossed products R*Γand even for strongly graded rings R(Γ). We pr…
We prove two results. (1) There is an absolute constant $D$ such that for any finite quasisimple group $S$, given 2D arbitrary automorphisms of $S$, every element of $S$ is equal to a product of $D$ `twisted commutators' defined by the given automorphisms. (2) Given a natural number $q$, there exist $C=C(q)$ and $M=M(q)$ such that: if $S$ is a finite quasisimple group with $| S/\mathrm{Z}(S)| >C$, $β_{j}$ $ (j=1,...,M)$ are any automorphisms of $S$, and $q_{j}$ $ (j=1,...,M)$ are any divisors of $q$, then there exist inner automorphisms $α_{j}$ of $S$ such that $S=\prod_{1}^{M}[S,(α_{j}β_{j})^…
Let $G$ be a group. An element $g \in G$ is called a test element of $G$ if for every endomorphism $φ:G \to G$, $φ(g)=g$ implies that $φ$ is an automorphism. We prove that for a finitely generated profinite group $G$, $g \in G$ is a test element of $G$ if and only if it is not contained in a proper retract of $G$. Using this result we prove that an endomorphism of a free pro-$p$ group of finite rank which preserves an automorphic orbit of a non-trivial element must be an automorphism. We give numerous explicit examples of test elements in free pro-$p$ groups and Demushkin groups. By relating t…
A coprime commutator in a profinite group $G$ is an element of the form $[x,y]$, where $x$ and $y$ have coprime order and an anti-coprime commutator is a commutator $[x,y]$ such that the orders of $x$ and $y$ are divisible by the same primes. In the present paper we establish that a profinite group $G$ is finite-by-pronilpotent if the cardinality of the set of coprime commutators in $G$ is less than $2^{\aleph_0}$. Moreover, a profinite group $G$ has finite commutator subgroup $G'$ if the cardinality of the set of anti-coprime commutators in $G$ is less than $2^{\aleph_0}$.
This article is concerned with the representation growth of profinite groups over finite fields. We investigate the structure of groups with uniformly bounded exponential representation growth (UBERG). Using crown-based powers we obtain some necessary and some sufficient conditions for groups to have UBERG. As an application we prove that the class of UBERG groups is closed under split extensions but fails to be closed under extensions in general. On the other hand, we show that the closely related probabilistic finiteness property $PFP_1$ is closed under extensions. In addition, we prove that…
We complete the study of finite and profinite groups admitting an action by an elementary abelian group under which the centralizers of automorphisms consist of Engel elements. In particular, we prove the following theorems. Let $q$ be a prime and $A$ an elementary abelian $q$-group of order at least $q^2$ acting coprimely on a profinite group $G$. Assume that all elements in $C_{G}(a)$ are Engel in $G$ for each $a\in A^{\#}$. Then $G$ is locally nilpotent (Theorem B2). Let $q$ be a prime, $n$ a positive integer and $A$ an elementary abelian group of order $q^3$ acting coprimely on a finite gr…
Lévai and Pyber proposed the following as a conjecture: Let $G$ be a profinite group such that the set of solutions of the equation $x^n=1$ has positive Haar measure. Then $G$ has an open subgroup $H$ and an element $t$ such that all elements of the coset $tH$ have order dividing $n$ (see Problem 14.53 of [The Kourovka Notebook, No. 19, 2019]). The validity of the conjecture has been proved in [Arch. Math. (Basel) 75 (2000) 1-7] for $n=2$. Here we study the conjecture for compact groups $G$ which are not necessarily profinite and $n=3$; we show that in the latter case the group $G$ contains an…
Let $Γ$ be a non-elementary Kleinian group and $H<Γ$ a finitely generated, proper subgroup. We prove that if $Γ$ has finite co-volume, then the profinite completions of $H$ and $Γ$ are not isomorphic. If $H$ has finite index in $Γ$, then there is a finite group onto which $H$ maps but $Γ$ does not. These results streamline the existing proofs that there exist full-sized groups that are profinitely rigid in the absolute sense. They build on a circleof ideas that can be used to distinguish among the profinite completions of subgroups of finite index in other contexts, e.g. limit groups. We const…
We study fibers of word maps in finite, profinite, and residually finite groups. Our main result is that, for any word w in the free group on d generators, there exists $ε> 0$ such that if G is a residually finite group with infinitely many non-isomorphic non-abelian upper composition factors, then all fibers of the word map $w\colon G^d \to G$ have Hausdorff dimension at most $d-ε$. We conclude that the profinite completion of a group G as above satisfies no probabilistic identity. It is therefore randomly free; namely, for any d > 0, the probability that d randomly chosen elements freely gen…
Profinite groups with a cyclotomic $p$-orientation are introduced and studied. The special interest in this class of groups arises from the fact that any absolute Galois group $G_{K}$ of a field $K$ is indeed a profinite group with a cyclotomic $p$-orientation $θ_{K,p}\colon G_{K}\to\mathbb{Z}_p^\times$ which is even Bloch-Kato. The same is true for its maximal pro-$p$ quotient $G_{K}(p)$ provided the field $K$ contains a primitive $p^{th}$-root of unity. The class of cyclotomically $p$-oriented profinite groups (resp. pro-$p$ groups) which are Bloch-Kato is closed with respect to inverse limi…
