Engel values in residually finite groups. (Q2471814)

The author, [in Q. J. Math. 51, No. 4, 523-528 (2000; Zbl 0981.20026)], considered the following generalization of the Restricted Burnside Problem. Let \(q\) be a positive integer and \(w\) a word. Assume that \(G\) is a residually finite group such that any \(w\)-value in \(G\) has order dividing \(q\). Does it follow that the verbal subgroup \(w(G)\) is locally finite? In the paper under review the following theorem is proved. It is an evidence showing that the answer to the problem above might be positive. Let \(n\) be a positive integer and \(q\) a power of a prime \(p\). There exists a number \(m=m(n,q)\) depending only on \(n\) and \(q\) such that if \(G\) is any residually finite group satisfying the identity \(([x_1,{ _ny_1}][x_m,{_ny_m}])^q\equiv 1\), then the verbal subgroup of \(G\) corresponding to the \(n\)-th Engel word is locally finite.