On deficient products in infinite groups (Q1904085)

The authors generalize the notion of a deficient squares group [see, for example, \textit{M. Herzog} and \textit{C. M. Scoppola}, Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 27, No. 1, 65-70 (1995; Zbl 0827.20045)]\ to what they call deficient product groups by defining the group property \(DP(n,k)\) to mean that the union of all products of pairs of distinct \(n\)-sets taken from a collection of \(k\) such \(n\)-sets has strictly fewer than \((k^2-k)n^2\) elements. Typical theorems are [slightly paraphrased]: Theorem 1: An infinite group has the property \(DP(n,2)\) for some integer \(n\) if, and only if, it is abelian. Theorem 3: An infinite group has the property \(DP(n,k)\) for some integers \(n\) and \(k\geq 2\) if, and only if, its centre has finite index. There are also generalizations of these results to the case when the \(k\) sets of elements that are multiplied in distinct pairs are of not necessarily the same size. \{When this paper was submitted in 1993, the paper by Herzog and Scoppola quoted above existed only in preprint form\}.