On the Hirsch-Plotkin radical of stability groups. (Q2254135)

Let \(V\) be a vector space (potentially infinite-dimensional) over some field and \(L\) a series (meaning a complete series containing \(\{0\}\) and \(V\)) of subspaces of \(V\). Let \(S\) denote the full stability group of \(L\) in \(\text{GL}(V)\). Denote by \(F(L)\) the set of elements of \(S\) that stabilize some finite subseries of \(L\). Then always \(F(L)\) is a subgroup of the Fitting subgroup \(\text{Fitt}(S)\) of \(S\). Now \textit{C. Casolo} and \textit{O. Puglisi} [in their paper J. Algebra 370, 133-151 (2012; Zbl 1279.20067)] prove that frequently the Hirsch-Plotkin radical \(\text{HP}(S)\) of \(S\) is equal to \(F(L)\) and consequently so are various other canonical subgroups of \(S\) such as \(\text{Fitt}(S)\). For example, they show this happens if \(L\) is an ascending series or if \(V\) has countable dimension or if \(V\) has a certain special type of basis. These authors ask whether this is always the case. In the paper under review, the author constructs a counterexample showing that \(\text{HP}(S)\) is not always equal to \(F(L)\). However, he also proves that \(\text{Fitt}(S)\) is always equal to \(F(L)\).