Lattice homomorphisms of non-periodic groups (Q1174732)

If \(G\) is a group, the set \(l(G)\) of all subgroups of \(G\), ordered by inclusion, is a complete lattice. If \({\mathcal L}\) is any complete lattice, a map \(\sigma: l(G)\to{\mathcal L}\) is called a complete lattice homomorphism if \[ \left(\bigcap_{X\in \Omega}X\right)^ \sigma = \bigwedge_{X\in \Omega} X^ \sigma\hbox{ and } \langle X\mid X\in\Omega\rangle^ \sigma = \bigvee_{X\in \Omega} X^ \sigma \] for each non-empty set \(\Omega\) of subgroups of \(G\). If \(G\) and \(\bar G\) are groups, a bijective lattice homomorphism \(l(G)\to l(\bar G)\) is called a projectivity of \(G\) into \(\bar G\). The projectivity \(\sigma\) of \(G\) into \(\bar G\) is said to be index-preserving if \(| H:K| = | H^ \sigma : K^ \sigma|\) whenever \(H\) and \(K\) are subgroups of \(G\) such that \(K\leq H\) and \(| H : K| < \infty\). If \(H\) is a subgroup of a group \(G\), \([G/H]\) denotes the set of all subgroups of \(G\) containing \(H\). The set \([G/H]\) is called non-periodic if there exists \(x\in G\) such that the index \(| H: H\cap \langle x\rangle|\) is infinite. A Dedekind subgroup \(H\) of a group \(G\) is \(D\)-embedded in \(G\) if for each \(x\in G\) and for each subgroup \(K\) of \(G\) such that \(H\leq K\leq \langle H,x\rangle\), the index \(|\langle H,x\rangle: K|\) is finite if and only if the set \([\langle H,x\rangle/K]\) is finite. The main result proved in this article is the following: Let \(G\) and \(\bar G\neq 1\) be groups, and let \({\mathcal L}\) be a complete lattice. Assume that \(\bar G\) contains a \(D\)-embedded subgroup \(\bar H\) having an ascending series with locally finite or abelian factors, and \(\bar H\) has Hirsch length \(h(\bar H)\geq 3\), or \(h(\bar H)=2\) and in this case either \(\bar H\) is a modular group or \([\bar G/\bar H]\) is non-periodic. Then every complete lattice epimorphism \(l(G)\to l(\bar G)\) is an index-preserving projectivity, and every complete lattice homomorphism \(l(\bar G)\to {\mathcal L}\) either is injective or maps every subgroup of \(\bar G\) to the same image. The authors also construct a metabelian group \(G\) of Hirsch length 2 admitting a non-injective complete lattice homomorphism \(\sigma: l(G)\to l(G)\) such that there are subgroups of \(G\) having distinct images under \(\sigma\).