Some properties of direct products (Q1104414)

A group M is said to be cancellable (in direct products) if \(M\times A\cong M\times B\) always implies \(A\cong B\). Prompted by various examples showing non-cancellability of various sorts of groups (in particular of the infinite cyclic group J), the author was earlier led to the weaker condition of ``J-replaceability'': M is J-replaceable if \(M\times A\cong M\times B\) always implies \(J\times A\cong J\times B\). The present paper gives several (further) sets of conditions sufficient for J- replaceability; e.g. (i) the conditions that M/M' be finitely generated, the centre of M contain no direct products of infinitely many cyclics, and that M satisfies a further condition related to its direct decomposability as a product of infinitely many subgroups; and (ii) the conditions that M be finitely generated and residually soluble.