Left 3-Engel elements in groups. (Q1428093)

The author proves some properties for the set of left 3-Engel elements in a group. This set \(L_3(G)\) consists of the elements \(x\) in a group \(G\) satisfying the commutator law \([g,x,x,x]=1\) for all \(g\in G\). Equivalently, \(x\in L_3(G)\) if and only if every pair of conjugates \(x^h,x^g\) of \(x\) always generates a nilpotent group of class at most 2. The main results are the following: Theorem 1.1: Let \(G\) be a group and \(p\) a prime. Let \(x\in L_3(G)\) have order \(p^n\), for some \(n>1\). Then the normal closure \(N\) of \(x^p\) is soluble of derived length at most \(n-1\) and \(x^p\in B(G)\), where \(B(G)\) is the Baer-radical of \(G\). Theorem 1.2: For any \(a,b\in L_3(G)\), the group generated by \(a\) and \(b\) is nilpotent of class at most 4.