We provide an upper bound for the order of a nilpotent injector of a finite solvable group with Fitting subgroup of order n. We also show that the same bound is an upper bound for the number of conjugacy classes, provided that the k(G V)-conjecture holds for solvable G all primes dividing n.

Let G be a finite group that acts on a finite group V, and let p be a prime that does not divide the order of V. Then the p-parts of the orbit sizes are the same in the actions of G on the sets of conjugacy classes and irreducible characters of V. This result is derived as a consequence of some general theory relating orbits and chains of p-subgroups of a group.

Let S be a subset of a group G such that S−1 = S. Denote by gr (S) the subgroup of G generated by S, and by ls(g) the length of an element g ∈ gr(S) relative to the set S. Suppose that V is a finite subset of a free group F of countable rank such that the verbal subgroup V (F) is a proper subgroup of F. For an arbitrary group G, denote by (G) the set of values in G of all the words from the set V. In the present paper, for amalgamated products G = A *HB such that A ≠ H and the number of double cosets of B by H is at least three, the infiniteness of the set {ls(g) | g ∈ gr(S)}, where S = (G) ∪ (G)−1, is estabilished.

We investigate a locally full HNN extension of an inverse semigroup. A normal form theorem is obtained and applied to the word problem. We construct a tree and show that a maximal subgroup of a locally full HNN extension acts on the tree without inversion. Bass-Serre theory is employed to obtain a group presentation of the maximal subgroup as a fundamental group of a certain graph of groups associated with the D-structure of the original semigroup.

We show that if G is a finitely generated profinite group such that [x1, x2, …, xk] is Engel for any x1, x2, …, xk ∈ G, then γ(G) is locally nilpotent, and if [x1, x2, …, xk] has finite order for any x1, x2, …, xk ∈ G then, under some additional assumptions, γk(G) is locally finite.

A group G is locally graded if every finitely generated nontrivial subgroup of G has a nontrivial finite image. Let N (2, k)* denote the class of groups in which every infinite subset contains a pair of elements that generate a nilpotent subgroup of class at most k. We show that if G is a finitely generated locally graded N (2, k)*-group, then there is a positive integer c depending only on k such that G/Zc (G) is finite.

We provide a wedge decomposition of the homotopy type of the p-subgroup complex in the case of a finite solvable group G. In particular, this includes a new proof of the result of Quillen which says that this complex is contractible if and only if there is a non-trivial normal p-subgroup in G. We also provide reduction formulas for the G-module structure of the homology groups. Our results are obtained with diagram-methods by gluing the p-subgroup complex of G along the p-subgroup complex of = G/N for a normal p′-subgroup of G.

In this paper a necessary and sufficient condition will be given for groups to be ν-isologic, with respect to a given variety of groups ν. Its is also shown that every ν-isologism family of a group contains a ν-Hopfian group. Finally we show that if G is in the variety ν, then every ν-covering group of G is a Hopfian group.

The main result indicates that every finitely generated, residually finite, torsion-free, cohopfian group having on free Abelian subgroup of rank two is hyperhopfian. The argument relies on earlier work and ideas of Hirshon. As a corollary, fundamental groups of all closed hyperbolic manifolds are hyperhopfian.

Let K be an arbitrary field of characteristic 2, F a free group of countably infinite rank. We construct a finitely generated fully invariant subgroup U in F such that the relatively free group F/U satisfies the maximal condition on fully invariant subgroups but the group algebra K (F/U) does not satisfy the maximal condition on fully invariant ideals. This solves a problem posed by Plotkin and Vovsi. Using the developed techniques we also construct the first example of a non-finitely based (nilpotent of class 2)-by-(nilpotent of class 2) variety whose Abelian-by-(nilpotent of class at most 2) groups form a hereditarily finitely based subvariety.

An example is given of a finitely generated group G for which G ≅ G*cG, where C is infinite cyclic.

In previous work [2] calculations of subquadratic second order Dehn functions for various groups were carried out. In this paper we obtain estimates for upper and lower bounds of second order Dehn functions of HNN-extensions, and use these to exhibit an infinite number of different superquadratic second order Dehn functions. At the end of the paper several open questions concerning second order Dehn functions of groups are discussed.

The wreath product W = A ≀ T, where A ≠ 1, is of type F P2 if and only if T is finite and A is of type F P2.

This paper is concerned with the question of whether n-Engel groups are locally nilpotent. Although this seems unlikely in general, it is shown here that it is the case for the groups in a large class C including all residually soluble and residually finite groups (in fact all groups considered in traditional textbooks on group theory). This follows from the main result that there exist integers c(n), e(n) depending only on n, such that every finitely generated n-Engel group in the class C is both finite-of-exponent-e(n)–by–nilpotent-of-class≤c(n) and nilpotent-of-class≤c(n)–by–finite-of-exponent-e(n). Crucial in the proof is the fact that a finitely generated Engel group has finitely generated commutator subgroup.

A long time ago Ju. E. Vapne ([2], [3]) and, independently, the author ([4], [5]) classified those standard and complete wreath products that have faithful representations of finite degree over (commutative) fields. See [6] pages 37 40 & 150–154 for an account of this. Recently, in connection with finitary linear groups, I needed a more general wreath product. Somewhat to my surprise neither the classification nor the proof for these generalized wreath products was a straightforward translation from the standard case. The situation is intrinsically more complex and it seems worthwhile recording it separately.

In a paper published in this journal [1], J. T. Buckely, J. C. Lennox, B. H. Neumann and the authors considered the class of CF-groups, that G such that |H: CoreG (H)| is finite for all subgroups H. It is shown that locally finite CF-groups are abelian-by-finite and BCF, that is, there is an integer n such that |H: CoreG(H)| ≤ n for all subgroups H. The present paper studies these properties in the class of locally graded groups, the main result being that locally graded BCF-groups are abelian-by-finite. Whether locally graded CF-groups are BFC remains an open question. In this direction, the following problems is posed. Does there exist a finitely generated infinite periodic residually finite group in which all subgroups are finite or of finite index? Such groups are locally graded and CF but not BCF.

A group variety defined by one semigroup law in two variables is constructed and it is proved that its free group is not a periodic extension of a locally soluble group.

Wielandt [4] has shown that a common subnormal subgroup of two permutable subgroups of finite group is subnormal in their product. When G is infinite it seems unlikely that Wielandt's theorem will still be true, but an example illustrating this appears to be difficult, even if G is an FC-group (that is groups in which each element has only finitely many conjugates; see [2]). However, if we replace subnormality by ascendancy we have the following.

We study the residual finiteness of free products with amalgamations and HNN-extensions of finitely generated nilpotent groups. We give a characterization in terms of certain conditions satisfied by the associated subgroups. In particular the residual finiteness of these groups implies the possibility of extending the isomorphism of the associated subgroups to an isomorphism of their isolated closures in suitable overgroups of the factors (or the base group in case of HNN-extensions).

Groups in which every infinite set of subgroups contains a pair that permute were studied by M. Curzio, J. Lennox, A. Rhemtulla and J. Wiegold. The question whether periodic groups in this class were locally finite was left open. Here we show that if the generators of such a group G are periodic then G is locally finite. This enables us to get the following characterisation. A finitely generated group G is centre-by-finite if and only if every infinite set of subgroups of G contains a pair that permute.