A criterion for metanilpotency of a finite group (Q721706)

Given an integer \(k\geq 1\), the word \(\gamma_k=\gamma_k(x_1,\ldots, x_k)\) is defined inductively by the formulae \(\gamma_1=x_1\) and \(\gamma_k=[\gamma_{k-1}, x_k]\) for \(k\geq 2\). Of course, the subgroup of a group \(G\) generated by all values of the word \(\gamma_k\) in \(G\), which are called \(\gamma_k\)-commutators, is the familiar \(k\)th term of the lower central series of \(G\), \(\gamma_k(G)\). The main result of this paper claims the following: Theorem. If \(G\) is a finite group, then \(\gamma_k(G)\) is nilpotent if and only if \(| ab |=| a| | b|\) for any \(\gamma_k\)-commutators \(a,b\in G\) of coprime orders. Here, the symbol \(| x| \) stands for the order of the element \(x\in G\). This result was inspired by a previous characterisation for the nilpotency of a finite group in terms of orders of products of elements discovered by \textit{B. Baumslag} and \textit{J. Wiegold} [``A sufficient condition for nilpotency in a finite group'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1411.2877}] in 2014 using elementary methods: A finite group \(G\) is nilpotent if and only if \(| ab |=| a| | b|\) whenever the elements \(a,b\in G\) have coprime orders. In fact, this result is just the main theorem for \(k=1\). Furthermore, the first and the third authors of the present paper had already demonstrated the particular case \(k=2\) of the theorem [Sib. Math. J. 57, No. 5, 762--763 (2016; Zbl 1358.20014). For the proof of the theorem, the authors first show that, under the hypotheses, the subgroup \(\gamma_k(G)\) of a soluble group \(G\) is nilpotent, and then use a counterexample of minimal order and assume \(k\geq 3\) to derive a contradiction. It involves some results about Engel elements and Fitting height in finite groups as well as some other well-known results such as the Frobenius normal \(p\)-complement theorem or the Baer-Suzuki theorem. The authors claim that they suspect that a similar criterion of nilpotency of the \(k\)th term of the derived series of a finite group \(G\) could be established.