Profinite groups in which the probabilistic zeta function coincides with the subgroup zeta function. (Q2253055)

The authors introduce and investigate the concept of \(\zeta\)-reversibility for finitely generated profinite groups. To define this notion we first recall the definitions of two formal Dirichlet series associated to a finitely generated profinite group \(G\). Let \(b_n(G)\) denote the number of open subgroups of \(G\) of index \(n\) (this is finite as \(G\) is finitely generated), then the subgroup zeta function is defined to be \(\zeta_G(s)=\sum_{n\in\mathbb N}b_n(G)/n^s\) where \(s\) is a complex variable. The second Dirichlet series is given by \(p_G(s)=\sum_{n\in\mathbb N}a_n(G)/n^s\) where \(a_n(G)=\sum_{|G:H|=n}\mu(H,G)\) and the Möbius function \(\mu(-,G)\) is defined recursively by \(\mu(G,G)=1\) and \(\sum_{H\leq K\leq_oG}\mu(K,G)=0\) for any proper open subgroup \(H\) of \(G\). Then, \(G\) is said to be \(\zeta\)-reversible if the formal identity \(p_G(s)\zeta_G(s)=1\) holds. Equivalently, as the probabilistic zeta function is the formal inverse of \(p_G(s)\), the finitely generated profinite group \(G\) is \(\zeta\)-reversible if the probabilistic zeta function of \(G\) coincides with its subgroup zeta function. The authors note that the condition \(p_H(s)=p_G(s)\) for all open subgroups \(H\) of \(G\) ensures that \(G\) is \(\zeta\)-reversible, they use this condition to give examples of \(\zeta\)-reversible groups. They also conjecture that the reverse implication is true. For the case of finitely generated pro-\(p\) groups this conjecture becomes the following: a finitely generated pro-\(p\) group \(G\) is \(\zeta\)-reversible if and only if \(d(H)=d(G)\) for all open subgroups \(H\) of \(G\) (where \(d(G)\) denotes the minimal number of generators of \(G\)). The authors prove this conjecture when \(G\) is a powerful pro-\(p\) group. Finally the authors focus on prosolvable groups. In particular they prove that if \(G\) is prosolvable of rank 2 then it is indeed true that being \(\zeta\)-reversible is equivalent to the condition that \(p_H(s)=p_G(s)\) for all open subgroups \(H\) of \(G\).