The Derived Series of a p-Group

Author: Hobby, Charles Ray

Year: 1960

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisors: Taussky-Todd, Olga; Zassenhaus, Hans

Committee Member: Unknown, Unknown

Option: Mathematics

DOI: 10.7907/QY7G-Q706

Abstract

NOTE: Text or symbols not renderable in plain ASCII are indicated by [...]. Abstract is included in .pdf document.

Olga Taussky (see W. Magnus, Math. Ann. vol. 111 (1935)) posed the problem of determining whether there is an infinite chain of p-groups G1, G2,..., such that G1 is abelian, [...], and [...] where [...] is the nth derived group of [...]. N. Ito (Nagoya Math. J., vol. 1, (1950)) constructed such a chain for p > 2 and G1 of type (p,p,p). It is shown (by an explicit construction) that if p > 2 there is a chain of the required kind for G1 any non-cyclic abelian p-group. If p = 2 there is a chain of the required kind if G1 contains a subgroup of type [...], of type [...], of type [...], or of type (2,2,2,2,2). As a consequence, for p > 2 it is impossible to estimate the length of the derived series of a non-abelian p-group G from the type of [...]. This gives a negative answer (for p > 2) to a question posed by O. Taussky (Research Problem 9, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. vol. 64 (1958) pp. 124).

Files