The Engel elements in generalized FC-groups. (Q491471)

A survey of the interrelations of right and left Engel elements, of Hirsch-Plotkin radical and hypercenter of a group, is given by \textit{D. J. S. Robinson}, [Finiteness conditions and generalized soluble groups. Part 2. Ergebnisse der Mathematik und ihrer Grenzgebiete. Band 63. Berlin: Springer-Verlag (1972; Zbl 0243.20033)]: In the general case containment (not equality) is clear, whether the sets of elements are subgroups is equally unknown for the general case. For Noetherian groups, however, equality is given by Baer. The authors test the possibility of equality for the class of groups mentioned in the title. The construction of this class is as follows: Finite groups are \(\text{FC}^0\)-groups, FC-groups are \(\text{FC}^1\)-groups, if \(x\in G\) and \(G\) is an \(\text{FC}^{n+1}\)-group, then \(G/C_G(x^G)\) is an \(\text{FC}^n\)-group; an \(\text{FC}^*\)-group is an \(\text{FC}^n\)-group for some \(n\). The authors show: If \(G\) is an \(\text{FC}^n\)-group, then set of left Engel elements coincides with the product of all nilpotent normal subgroups \(F(G)\), while the set of right Engel elements coincides with the hypercenter of \(G\) which equals \(Z_{\omega+n-1}\). (This is part of Theorem 2.4, which gives also relations about cyclic subnormal subgroups). Special results for finite-by-nilpotent groups and groups with restrictions on their Sylow subgroups and torsion-free nilpotent factors are given.