Large normal subgroup growth and large characteristic subgroup growth (Q2285735)

The fastest normal subgroup growth type of a finitely generated group \(\Gamma\) is \(n^{\log n}\). Very little is known about groups with this type of growth. In particular, the following is a long standing problem: Let \(\Gamma\) be a group, \(\Delta\) a subgroup of finite index of \(\Gamma\) and suppose that \(\Delta\) has normal subgroup growth type \(n^{\log n}\). Does \(\Gamma\) have normal subgroup growth type \(n^{\log n}\)? In the paper under review, the authors give a positive answer in some cases, generalizing results of \textit{T. W. Müller} and the second author [Arch. Math. 84, No. 4, 289--291 (2005; Zbl 1073.20017)]. In Theorem 3, they prove that if \(G\) is a profinite group and \(H\) is an open subgroup which is a generalized Golod-Shafarevich pro-\(p\) group, then \(G\) has normal subgroup growth type \(n^{\log n}\). Theorem 2, which is too technical to be fully stated here, provides a sufficient condition for a finitely generated group to have the maximal normal subgroup growth type \(n^{\log n}\) in terms of properties of a filtration of a finite index subgroup. A nice consequence of Theorem 2 is Corollary 1: A virtually non-abelian free group with trivial center and finite outer automorphism group has characteristic subgroup growth type \(n^{\log n}\).