On finite \(p\)-groups whose central automorphisms are all \(n\)th class-preserving (Q2304383)

Classification of finite $p$-groups whose central automorphisms have property $\mathcal{P}$ has been studied for several choices of $\mathcal{P}$. A well-known work in this area is due to \textit{M. J. Curran} and \textit{D. J. McCaughan} [Commun. Algebra 29, No. 5, 2081--2087 (2001; Zbl 0991.20019)] who classified finite $p$-groups whose central automorphisms are all inner. An automorphism $\alpha$ of a group $G$ is said to be central if $\alpha$ commutes with every inner automorphism of $G$, or equivalently, if $x^{-1}\alpha(x)$ lies in the center of $G$, for all $x \in G$. The set of central automorphisms of $G$ is denoted by $Autcent(G)$. Also, an automorphism $\alpha$ of $G$ is called $n$th class-preserving if for every $x\in G$, there exists an element $g_x\in \gamma_n(G)$ such that $\alpha(x)=g^{-1}_x x g_x$, where $\gamma_n(G)$ denotes the $n$th term of the lower central series of $G$. The set of $n$th class-preserving automorphisms of $G$ is denoted by $Aut^n_c(G)$. In this paper, the author generalizes a result of \textit{M. K. Yadav} [Commun. Algebra 41, No. 12, 4576--4592 (2013; Zbl 1291.20023)], and classifies finite $p$-groups of class $n+1$ in which $Aut^n_c(G)=Autcent(G)$.