Multiple transitivity in abelian groups (Q1337818)

An abelian \(p\)-group \(G\) is called transitive (fully transitive) if for any two elements \(x\), \(y\) with \(\text{ht}(p^i x)=\text{ht}(p^i y)\) \((\text{ht}(p^i x) \leq \text{ht} (p^i y))\) for \(i=1,2,\dots,\) there is an automorphism (endomorphism) of \(G\) mapping \(x\) to \(y\). For example, separable \(p\)-groups and countable \(p\)-groups are both transitive and fully transitive. This paper investigates \(p\)-groups that satisfy a more restrictive ``multiple transitivity'' -- larger sets of elements can be mapped one to the other. Specifically, a reduced \(p\)-group is called \(k\)-transitive if whenever \(\{x_1, \dots, x_k\}\) and \(\{y_1, \dots, y_k\}\) are subsets of \(G\) such that (i) \(\text{ht}(p^i x_j)=\text{ht}(p^i y_j)\) for \(1 \leq i\) and \(1 \leq j \leq k\); and (ii) if \(i \neq j\), then \(\text{ht}(rx_i)=\text{ht}(sx_j)\) if and only if \(rx_i=sx_j=0\), then there is an automorphism of \(G\) mapping \(x_j\) to \(y_j\) for all \(j \leq k\). The definition of fully \(k\)-transitive is obtained by replacing ``='' by ``\(\leq\)'' in (i) and replacing ``automorphism'' by ``endomorphism''. Condition (ii) implies that \(\langle x_1,\dots, x_k\rangle=\langle x_1 \rangle \oplus \cdots \oplus \langle x_k\rangle\) and is motivated by the observation that if \(x_j \in \langle x_i\rangle\) and \(y_j \notin \langle y_i \rangle\), then no endomorphism of \(G\) will map \(x_i\) to \(y_i\) and \(x_j\) to \(y_j\). The author shows that both totally projective and separable \(p\)-groups are \(k\)-transitive and fully \(k\)-transitive for each positive integer \(k\). On the other hand (Theorem 3.7), there is a proper class of \(p\)- groups which are both transitive and fully transitive but which fail to be either 2-transitive or fully 2-transitive. Examples show that for each \(k\) there are \(k\)-transitive \(p\)-groups that are not fully \(k\)- transitive; and fully \(k\)-transitive \(p\)-groups that are not \(k\)- transitive. A final result examines the closure properties of these groups under direct sums and summands.