Generalized dimension subgroups and derived functors (Q908321)

This article is a contribution to the study of generalized dimension subgroups of groups. Let us remind that, if \(G\) is a given group and \(\mathfrak{a}\) a two-sided ideal of its integral group ring \(\mathbb{Z}[G]\), then \(G\cap (1+\mathfrak{a})\) is a normal subgroup of \(G\), which is generally hard to determine and meaningful for the structure of \(G\). A particularly interesting case is the following: \(\mathfrak{a}\) is a power \(\mathfrak{g}^n\) of the augmentation ideal \(\mathfrak{g}\) of \(\mathbb{Z}[G]\); the previous normal subgroup is then called \textit{\(n\)-th dimension subgroup of \(G\)} and denoted by \(D_n(G)\). This group contains the \(n\)-th term \(\gamma_n(G)\) of the lower central serie of \(G\), and is equal to it for \(n\leq 3\) or for \(G\) a free group, but this equality does not hold generally. (For an overview of this area of group theory, see the book by the same authors [Lower central and dimension series of groups. Berlin: Springer (2009; Zbl 1157.20002)]). If one goes back to the case of a general ideal \(\mathfrak{a}\) of the group ring, the decreasing sequence of normal subgroups \((G\cap (1+\mathfrak{a}+\mathfrak{g}^n))\) is called the sequence of \textit{generalized dimension subgroups} of \(G\) associated to \(\mathfrak{a}\). In this paper, the authors study such kind of groups for \(n\leq 4\) and some ideals \(\mathfrak{a}\), answering a particular a question of [\textit{N. Gupta}, Free group rings. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (1987; Zbl 0641.20022)]. They after investigate relationships between some of these generalized dimension subgroups and derived functors of non-additive functors in the sense of \textit{A. Dold} and \textit{D. Puppe} [Ann. Inst. Fourier 11, 201--312 (1961; Zbl 0098.36005)]. At the end, the article expresses some functors on groups as limits over the category of presentations of the group on which it is evaluated, going on the approach of \textit{I. Emmanouil} and \textit{R. Mikhailov} [J. Algebra 319, No. 4, 1450--1461 (2008; Zbl 1149.20042)].