<i>FC</i>-Groups whose central factor group can be embedded in a direct product of finite groups (Q4947082)

A group \(G\) is called an FC-group if it has finite conjugacy classes of elements, or equivalently, if the factor group \(G/C_G(\langle x\rangle^G)\) is finite for each element \(x\) of \(G\). An open question in the theory of FC-groups asks whether for such a group \(G\) the condition that the commutator subgroup \(G'\) belongs to \(\mathbf{SD}{\mathfrak F}\) implies that also the factor group \(G/Z(G)\) lies in \(\mathbf{SD}{\mathfrak F}\). Here \(\mathbf{SD}{\mathfrak F}\) denotes the class of all groups that can be embedded into a direct product of finite groups. In this article the authors obtain a reduction result for this problem. They also prove that the above question has a positive answer in some special cases, in particular when the Sylow \(p\)-subgroups of \(G'\) are countable for every prime number \(p\in\pi(Z(G)\cap G')\). In the last part of the paper, using a recent argument by \textit{B. A. F. Wehrfritz} [J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 55, No. 2, 297-308 (1997; Zbl 0876.20031)], it is proved that if \(G\) is a CC-group and the factor group \(G/Z(G)\) is periodic, then \(G/Z(G)\) can be embedded into a direct product of Chernikov groups. Recall here that \(G\) is called a CC-group if \(G/C_G(\langle x\rangle^G)\) is a Chernikov group for each element \(x\) of \(G\).