Extraspecial p-groups (Q1117224)

P. Hall, C. R. Kulatilaka and M. I. Kargapolov have shown that each infinite locally finite group contains an infinite abelian subgroup. There are, however, infinite periodic groups in which all abelian subgroups are finite (e.g. free Burnside groups). Using the Continuum Hypothesis, A. Ehrenfeucht and V. Faber have constructed an uncountale locally finite group in which all abelian subgroups are countable. This group is an extraspecial p-group. A natural question, posed by \textit{M. J. Tomkinson} in his book on FC-groups [FC-groups (1984; Zbl 0547.20031), p. 54] is, whether for each infinite cardinal \(\lambda\) there are extraspecial p-groups of cardinality \(\lambda^+\) in which each abelian subgroup has power \(\leq \lambda\). This question is partially answered in the present paper: If \(\kappa\) is the successor of a regular cardinal then (in ZFC, hence without the Continuum Hypothesis) there are \(2^{\kappa}\) pairwise non-isomorphic extraspecial p-groups of power \(\kappa\) which do not have equipotent abelian subgroups. The proof is based on a highly interesting new combinatorial theorem. Its proof is rather difficult to read (there is a mistake in the definition of the structure \({\mathcal H}).\) There are two final results which show that the theorem cannot be extended to all cardinals without adding some extra set theoretic axioms. Theorem 7 states that for any group G of power \(\kappa\), where \(\kappa\) is weakly compact, which is nilpotent of class 2 such that the commutator subgroup \(G'\) is periodic of power \(<\kappa\) has an equipotent abelian subgroup. This theorem is true even without the assumption that \(G'\) is periodic.