Free \(\mathbb{Q}\)-groups are residually torsion-free nilpotent (Q6596071)

A group \(G\) is called a \(\mathbb{Q}\)-group if for any \(n\in \mathbb{N}\) and \(g \in G\) there exists exactly one \(h \in G\) satisfying \(h^{n}=g\). These groups were introduced by \textit{G. Baumslag} [Acta Math. 104, 217--303 (1960; Zbl 0178.34901)]. He observed that \(\mathbb{Q}\)-groups may be viewed as universal algebras, and as such they constitute a variety. In particular, the free algebras (in that variety) are called free \(\mathbb{Q}\)-groups.\N\NThe main result in the article under review is Theorem 1.1: A free \(\mathbb{Q}\)-group is residually torsion-free nilpotent. This affirmatively answers a question posed by \textit{G. Baumslag} [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 18, 25--30 (1965; Zbl 0136.01204)].\N\NThe key point in the proof of Theorem 1.1 is to show that any finitely generated subgroup of a free \(\mathbb{Q}\)-group can be embedded into a finitely generated free pro-\(p\) group for some prime \(p\). Theorem 1.1 is actually an application of the more technical Theorem 5.1, the proof of which uses the theory of mod-\(p\; L^{2}\)-Betti numbers.\N\NAnother interesting result of this paper is given by Theorem 1.4: The \(\mathbb{Q}\)-completion of a limit group is residually torsion-free nilpotent.