A finiteness condition on centralizers in locally finite groups (Q2360557)

In many ways, the authors' main result is the following, see Corollary 2.8. Let \(G\) be a locally finite group. Then {\parindent=0.5cm \begin{itemize}\item[i)] \(C_6(x)\) is finite for every \(x\) in \(G\) with \(\langle x\rangle\) not normal in \(G\) if and only if \item[ii)] there is an integer \(n\) (depending only on \(G\)) such that \(|C_G(x)|\leq n\) for every \(x\) in \(G\) with \(\langle x\rangle\) not normal in \(G\). \end{itemize}} This is accomplished by completely describing all infinite locally finite groups satisfying i) above. It turns out that they are either infinite periodic Dedekind groups or of the form \(\langle g,D\rangle\), where \(D\) is a (not arbitrary) infinite periodic Dedekind group and \(g\) normalizes \(D\) and induces a power automorphism on \(D\). The authors also show that a periodic group \(G\) is locally finite if there is an integer \(n\) such that \((C_G(x):\langle x\rangle)\leq n\) for all \(x\) in \(G\) with \(\langle x\rangle\) not normal in \(G\) (note that this condition is stronger than i) above but weaker that ii) above) and if every nontrivial finitely generated subgroup of \(G\) has a non-trivial finite image. Hence, the authors' analysis of such locally finite groups applies to these groups, too.