The modular commutator via the Gumm terms (Q690106)

The following important properties of the modular commutator: 1) \([\alpha,\beta]= [\beta,\alpha]\), 2) \([\alpha,\beta]\leq \gamma \to \alpha\) centralizes \(\beta\) modulo \(\gamma\), 3) \([\bigvee(\alpha_ i\mid i\in I),\beta]= \bigvee ([\alpha_ i,\beta]\mid i\in I\), are deduced from the Mal'tsev-type characterization of congruence modularity due to \textit{H.-P. Gumm} [Arch. Math. 36, 569-576 (1981; Zbl 0465.08005)]; see also the paper by the author, \textit{W. Taylor} and \textit{S. T. Tschantz} [Algebra Univers. 20, 115-122 (1985; Zbl 0563.08007)], where the Gumm characterization was reproved without use of the commutator theory. Since the Gumm terms are in a sense a composition of the Mal'tsev term characterizing congruence permutability and the Jónsson terms characterizing congruence distributivity, the proof easily follows from the proofs in the permutable and distributive cases.