Related papers: On profinite groups with positive rank gradient

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…

We investigate some properties of the $p$-elements of a profinite group $G$. We prove that if $p$ is odd and the probability that a randomly chosen element of $G$ is a $p$-element is positive, then $G$ contains an open prosolvable subgroup.…

We initiate the study of profinite groups of non-negative deficiency. The principal focus of the paper is to show that the existence of a finitely generated normal subgroup of infinite index in a profinite group $G$ of non-negative…

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…

We discuss whether finiteness properties of a profinite group $G$ can be deduced from the probabilistic zeta function $P_G(s)$. In particular we prove that if $P_G(s)$ is rational and all but finitely many nonabelian composition factors of…

Suppose $R$ is a profinite ring. We construct a large class of profinite groups $\widehat{{\scriptstyle\bf L}'{\scriptstyle\bf H}_R}\mathfrak{F}$, including all soluble profinite groups and profinite groups of finite cohomological dimension…

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…

We show that given a finitely generated LERF group $G$ with positive rank gradient, and finitely generated subgroups $A,B \leq G$ of infinite index, one can find a finite index subgroup $B_0$ of $B$ such that $[G : \langle A \cup B_0…

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…

Let $S$ be either a free group or the fundamental group of a closed hyperbolic surface. We show that if $G$ is a finitely generated residually-$p$ group with the same pro-$p$ completion as $S$, then two-generated subgroups of $G$ are free.…

If G is a finitely generated powerful pro-p group satisfying a certain law v=1, and if G can be generated by a normal subset T of finite width which satisfies a positive law, we prove that G is nilpotent. Furthermore, the nilpotency class…

Examples are given of profinite groups that are not strongly complete, and have other `bad' properties, yet have only finitely many open subgroups of each finite index. It is shown that a profinite group with the latter property must be…

The article deals with profinite groups in which the centralizers are abelian (CA-groups), that is, with profinite commutativity-transitive groups. It is shown that such groups are virtually pronilpotent. More precisely, let G be a…

Assume $G$ is a solvable group whose elementary abelian sections are all finite. Suppose, further, that $p$ is a prime such that $G$ fails to contain any subgroups isomorphic to $C_{p^\infty}$. We show that if $G$ is nilpotent, then the…

A group $G$ is said to have restricted centralizers if for every $x\in G$ the centralizer $C_G(x)$ either is finite or has finite index in $G$. Shalev showed that a profinite group with restricted centralizers is virtually abelian. Here we…

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…

We investigate the ability of a free pro-$\CC$ group of infinite rank to abstractly solve abstract embedding problems, and conclude that for some varieties $\CC$, the profinite completion of any order, of a free pro-$\CC$ group of infinite…

Let $\mathfrak C$ be a class of finite groups which is closed for subgroups, quotients and direct products. Given a profinite group $G$ and an element $x\in G$, we denote by $P_{\mathfrak{C}}(x,G)$ the probability that $x$ and a randomly…

We discuss whether finiteness properties of a profinite group $G$ can be deduced from the coefficients of the probabilistic zeta function $P_G(s)$. In particular we prove that if $P_G(s)$ is rational and all but finitely many non abelian…

The rank rk(G) of a profinite group G is the supremum of d(H), where H ranges over all closed subgroups of G and d(H) denotes the minimal cardinality of a topological generating set for H. A compact topological group G admits the structure…