Gaps in probabilities of satisfying some commutator-like identities (Q2190044)

Let \(w\in F_d\) be a word belonging to a free group of rank \(d\) and let \(G\) be a group. For a fixed \(g\in G\), let \(\mathbb P_{w=g}(G)\) be the probability that \(w(g_1,\dots,g_d)=g\) in \(G\), where \(g_1,\dots,g_t\) are chosen independently according to the uniform probability distribution on \(G.\) The main result of this interesting paper is the following. Let \(w\) be either the 2-Engel word \([X_1,X_2,X_3]\) or the metabelian word \([[X_1,X_2],[X_3,X_4]].\) Then there exists a constant \(\delta < 1\) such that whenever \(w\) is not an identity in a finite group \(G\), then the probability \(\mathbb P_{w=1}(G)\) is at most \(\delta.\) A crucial step in the proof is the following result of independent interest. If \(w\) is the 2-Engel word or the metabelian word, then \(w\) is multiplicity bounded, i.e. whenever \(G\) is a finite group such that \(\mathbb P_{w=g}(G)>\rho\) for some \(g \in G,\) then the multiplicity of a nonabelian simple group \(S\) as a composition factor of \(G\) can be bounded above by a function of only \(\rho\) and \(S.\)