The pro-norm of a profinite group (Q6103909)

The norm of a finite group it the intersection of the normalizers of its subgroups. It was introduced by Reinhold Baer in 1935 and since then, it has been the subject of many investigations and the core of many useful results in abstract group theory. The main aim of this paper is to introduce the analogous concept of pro-norm for a profinite group and to investigate its relation to the norm. In analogy with Baer's norm, the authors define the pro-norm \(N_c(G)\) of a profinite group \(G\) as the intersection of all normalizers of the closed subgroups of \(G\). We mention some of the several interesting results proved in the paper: if \(|G|\), as a supernatural number, is divisible by only finitely many primes, then \([N_c(G),G]\) is periodic; if \(N_c(G)\) is torsion-free, then \(N_c(G) = Z(G);\) if \(G\) contains a non-periodic \(2\)-Sylow subgroup, then \(N_c(G)\) is abelian. Moreover the following conditions are equivalent: \(G/N_c(G)\) is finite, \(G/Z(G)\) is finite, \(G^\prime\) is finite, \(G\) has finitely many normalizers of closed subgroups. A preliminary step in the study of the pro-norm is to investigate profinite groups whose closed proper subgroups are normal or abelian. In this direction, the authors prove for example that an infinite profinite group whose closed proper subgroups are abelian is metahamiltonian. A norm that is strictly connected to Baer's norm is the metanorm of a group G, i.e., the intersection of all normalizers of non-abelian subgroups of G. The authors study the analogous concept of pro-metanorm for a profinite group.