BREADTH IN POLYCYCLIC GROUPS

Abstract

The breadth of a polycyclic group is the maximum of h(G) - h(CG(x)) for x ∈ G, where h(G) is the Hirsch length. We prove a number of results that bound the class of a finitely generated nilpotent group, and the Hirsch length of the derived group in a polycyclic group, in terms of the breadth. These results are analogues of well-known results in finite group theory.