The upper central series of the maximal normal \(p\)-subgroup of a group of automorphisms (Q2240145)

Let \(p\) be a prime and \(G\) an abelian bounded \(p\)-group such that \(G\cong \bigoplus_{i=1}^{s}G_i\) where each \(G_i\) is a direct sum of \(r_i\) cyclic groups, each of order \(p^{n_i}\), \(n_1 < \ldots < n_s\), and the \(r_i\) are non-zero cardinal numbers. Let \(\Gamma\) be the maximal normal \(p\)-subgroup of \(\mathrm{Aut}(G)\) The main result: let \(r_s > 1\) and let \(n\) be the nilpotency class of \(\Gamma\). Then \(n=n_s-1\) if \(n_i > n_{i-1}+1\) for \(2\leq i\leq s\) and \(n=2n_{s-1}\) if \(n_s=n_{s-1}+1\).