The extension of results due to Gorchakov and Tomkinson from FC-groups to CC-groups (Q1125898)

One of the main problems in the theory of FC-groups has been concerned with the question of when a periodic residually finite FC-group \(G\) can be embedded in a direct product of finite groups i.e. \(G\in SDF\). Perhaps the most important result in this direction is that due to Gorchakov: If the periodic FC-group \(G\) is contained in the cartesian product of isomorphic finite groups, then \(G\in SDF\). Using this result, the reviewer characterized the periodic residually finite FC-groups as the subgroups of centrally restricted products of finite groups. The centrally restricted product \(Zr G_i\) consists of those elements of \(\prod G_i\) having only finitely many noncentral components and having finite order. Here the authors aim to extend these results to the class of CC-groups, that is groups in which \(G/C_G(x^G)\) is Chernikov for each \(x\in G\). The difficult part of this is to prove an appropriate version of Gorchakov's Theorem. The arguments used require an apparently strengthened form of the residually Chernikov condition. A \(c\)-system of \(G\) is a system of normal subgroups \(N_i\) with \(G/N_i\) Chernikov, \(\bigcap N_i=1\) and, for each finite set \(X\subseteq G\), \(\{X^G\cap N_i:i\in I\}\) is a countable set. No examples seem to be known of residually Chernikov CC-groups which do not have a \(c\)-system and it is shown here that, for any CC-group \(G\), \(G/Z(G)\) always has a \(c\)-system. Theorem: Let \(\{N_i:i\in I\}\) be a \(c\)-system of the CC-group \(G\) such that \(G/N_i\cong G/N_j\), for all \(i,j\in I\). Then \(G\) can be embedded in a cartesian product of Chernikov groups so that each element has countable support. By a similar argument to that in the FC-case the authors are then able to characterize residually Chernikov CC-groups with a \(c\)-system as subgroups of a centrally restricted product of Chernikov groups. One difference from the FC-case here is that the arguments also give results for nonperiodic groups. (Also submitted to MR).