Lie properties of crossed products. (Q958632)

Upper (lower) Lie nilpotent and Lie \(n\)-Engel group algebras were characterized in the 70s. The aim of the present paper is to generalize these classical results for crossed products \(F_\sigma^\lambda G\), where \(F\) is a field, \(G\) is a group, \(\sigma\colon G\to\Aut(F)\), \(\lambda\colon G\times G\to U(F)\) (satisfying the necessary properties). Recently polynomial identities of crossed products were studied by \textit{D. S. Passman} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 129, No. 4, 943-946 (2001; Zbl 0967.16014); Commun. Algebra 29, No. 9, 3863-3710 (2001; Zbl 0998.16020)]. The main results of the present paper are as follows. Upper (lower) Lie nilpotent crossed products are twisted group algebras \(F^\lambda G\), and in the noncommutative case the necessary and sufficient condition of being upper (lower) Lie nilpotent is that the characteristic is the prime \(p\), the group is nilpotent with commutator subgroup of \(p\)-power order, group commutators \((a,b)\) in \(G\) are untwisted and satisfy a certain property in connection with the product \(\mu((a,b))\) of twists of the nonidentity powers \((a,b)^i\) and the commutator \((a,b)\). In case the identity \([x,y^m_{(n)}]=0\) is satisfied, a ring is called Lie \((n,m)\)-Engel. Lie \((n,m)\)-Engel crossed products of prime characteristic \(p\) are twisted group algebras \(F^\lambda G\), and in the noncommutative case the necessary and sufficient condition of being Lie \((n,m)\)-Engel is that the group has a normal subgroup \(B\) of finite index, the commutator subgroup \(B'\) of \(p\)-power order, the \(p\)-Sylow subgroup \(P/B\) of the factor \(G/B\) is normal, the factor group \(G/P\) is finite Abelian of exponent dividing \(m\), the subgroup \(P\) is nilpotent, untwisted \(p\)-elements of the group \(G\) form a subgroup, and group commutators \((a,b)\) are untwisted \(p\)-elements satisfying a property analogous to the one mentioned above. Moreover, the twisted group algebra is stably untwisted, and \(|G:B||B'|\) is bounded by a fixed function of \(m\) and \(n\). Lie \(n\)-Engel crossed products are also described. Proofs use several deep results from associative as well as Lie ring theory.