arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Seymour Bachmuth.
We present a solution to the Burnside Problem for 2 generator groups of prime-power exponent that does not rely on induced maps as in [2]. As before, we construct a surjective map of a rank 2 free group to a solvable group G and finish by showing that the Burnside group is an image of G. Theorem B in the paper with H. A. Heilbronn and H. Y. Mochizuki [9] is indispensable in the proof.
The Burnside Problem asks whether a finitely generated group of exponent n is finite. We present a solution for 2-generator groups of prime power exponent. Results of P. Hall and G. Higman extends the finiteness conclusion to groups having composite exponents. Our main result, called the Generalized Burnside Theorem, is a solvability theorem that applies to a family of groups called GB (Generalized Burnside) groups that contain infinite as well as finite groups. The final section discusses the extension to k-generator groups although details are left for another time.
All groups are 2-generator. For any prime-power q, Theorem 1 constructs a solvable matrix group over a quotient of a Laurent polynomial ring. This group is closely related to a group of exponent q as shown in Theorems 2 & 3 . Theorem 4 in section 5 shows that a group of prime-power exponent contains the relations of a solvable group. It follows that the Burnside groups of exponent q are solvable, and it is easy to deduce that the solvability class of these groups tends to infinity with q. Crucial to this work, especially for precise bounds on the solvability class, is an earlier paper with Heilbronn and Mochizuki.