On hypercentral groups. (Q2464681)

It is a classical result due, in separate papers, to Chernikov and Baumslag [see, for example, \textit{D. J. S. Robinson}, Finiteness conditions and generalized soluble groups, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1972; Zbl 0243.20032 and Zbl 0243.20033)] that if \(G\) is a hypercentral group and \(G/G'\) is divisible then \(G\) is itself divisible. More recently \textit{L. Heng, Z. Duan} and \textit{G. Chen} [Commun. Algebra 34, No. 5, 1803-1810 (2006; Zbl 1105.20030)] proved that if \(G\) is a hypercentral \(p\)-group, for some prime \(p\), then \(G\) is divisible-by-finite if and only if \(G/G^p\) is finite. In the paper under review the author takes up this theme, first by generalizing the above-mentioned result and second by extending the work of Chernikov and Baumslag. In particular, the author proves: Let \(G\) be a hypercentral group. Then \(G\) is divisible-by-finite if and only if \(G/G'\) is divisible-by-finite. Furthermore, in the case when \(G\) is torsion-free and \(G/G'\) is divisible-by-finite, then \(G\) is divisible. The author also obtains a ``\(\pi\)-version'' of this result, where \(\pi\) is a set of primes. He also proves that if \(G\) is hypercentral and \(G/G'\) is actually finite then \(G\) is a periodic divisible-by-finite group of central height less than \(\omega2\) but not \(\omega\).