Convergent sequences in discrete groups

Abstract

We prove that a finitely generated group contains a sequence of non-trivial elements which converge to the identity in every compact homomorphic image if and only if the group is not virtually abelian.

10 pages, no figures; in v2 some material on Jordan's Theorem and Chu duality added; v3 updated version, to appear in the Canadian Math. Bulletin

Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Diophantine properties of nilpotent Lie groups
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• Verbal width in arithmetic Chevalley groups