The derived series of a finite \(p\)-group. (Q863352)

Let \(G\) be a \(p\)-group of order \(p^m\), and let \(G^{(d)}\) denote the \(d\)-th term of the derived series of \(G\). Suppose that \(G^{(d)}>\{1\}\). Philip Hall (1933) proved that \(m\geq 2^d+d\). Blackburn in his thesis (1956) showed that if \(d=3\) and \(p>2\), then \(m\geq 14\). A. Mann (2000) showed that \(m\geq 2^d+2d-2\). It is proved in this paper that if \(p\geq 5\), then \(m\geq 2^d+3d-6=(2^d+2d-2)+(d-4)\) which is better than Mann's bound for \(d\geq 5\). The proof is fairly involved and uses the Lie ring method. Some intermediate results present independent interest.