Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Let G be a group and n(≧ 2) an integer. We say that G belongs to the class of groups Pn if every product of n elements can be reordered, i.e. for all n-tuples , there exists a non-trivial element σ in the symmetric group Σn such that Let P denote the union of the classes Pn, n ≧ 2. Clearly every finite group belongs to P and each class Pn is closed with respect to forming subgroups and factor groups.
The authors are grateful to British Council and C.N.R. for financial support while this work was being carried out in Italy and Warwick.