Finitely generated metabelian groups arising from integer polynomials (Q6122752)

Let \(\langle x \rangle\) be an infinite cyclic group, \(R=\mathbb{Z}\langle x \rangle\) its integral group ring, \(f\) a non-constant, non-unit element of \(R\). Let \((f)\) be the principal ideal of \(R\) generated by \(f\) and \(A_{f}=R/(f)\). Then \(A_{f}\) is a finitely generated commutative ring with identity. Without loss of generality, one can suppose that \(f\) is a polynomial in \(x\) and \(f(0) \not =0\). Let \(T=\langle t \rangle\) be another infinite cyclic group. Multiplication by \(x\) yields a group automorphism of \(R\) and hence of \(A_{f}\). Thus one can form the semidirect product \(G_{f}=T \ltimes A_{f}\) of \(A_{f}\) and \(T\). The content \(c(f)\) of a non-zero polynomial \(f\) is the greatest common divisor of its coefficients and \(f\) is primitive if \(c(f)=1\). A homocyclic group of type \(\mathbb{Z}_{c}\) is a direct sum of cyclic groups of order \(c\). The main result proved in the paper under review is (Theorem 1): Let \(f=a_{0}+a_{1}x+\ldots+a_{n}x^{n} \in \mathbb{Z}[x]\) with \(a_{n} \not =0\). Let \(c=c(f)\) and write \(f=ch\) with \(h \in \mathbb{Z}[x]\) primitive. Then the following hold: (i) \(G_{f}\) is a finitely generated metabelian group; (ii) the elements of finite order in \(G_{f}\) form a subgroup \(S\) such that \(S\leq A_{f}\), \(S\triangleleft G_{f}\) and \(G_{f}/S\) is torsion-free; (iii) if \(S\not =0\), then \(S=(h)/(f) \simeq \mathbb{Z}_{c}[x]\), so \(S\) is a homocyclic group of type \(\mathbb{Z}_{c}\) with infinite rank; (iv) \(A_{f}/S\simeq A_{h}\) and \(G_{f}/S\simeq G_{h}\), moreover, \(A_{h}\) is torsion-free abelian of rank \(n\); (v) \(G_{f}/S\) is a torsion-free \(\pi\)-minimax group, where \(\pi\) is the set of primes dividing \(a_{0}a_{n}\). As an immediate consequence the author deduces that if \(f \in \mathbb{Z}[x]\) is non-constant with \(f(0) \not =0\), then \(G_{f}\) is torsion-free if and only if \(f\) is primitive. Let \(f\) be as in Theorem 5 with \(a_{0}a_{n} \not =0\). The author also proves that (i) \(G_{f}\) is polycyclic if and only if \(a_{0}a_{n}=\pm 1\); (ii) \(G_{f}\) is nilpotent (of class \(n\)) if and only if \(f=\pm (x-1)^{n}\); (iii) \(G_{f}\) is supersoluble if and only \(f=\pm (x-1)^{r}(x+1)^{n-r}\), where \(0 \leq r \leq n\). In the rest of the paper, among other things, the author characterizes the Fitting and the Frattini subgroups of \(G_{f}\). Furthermore he discusses the finite presentation of \(G_{f}\) and its residual properties.