Description

In 1902 William Burnside wrote "A still undecided point in the theory of discontinuous groups is whether the order of a group may not be finite while the order of every operation it contains is finite." Since then, the Burnside problem has inspired a considerable amount of research. This popular text provides a comprehensive account of the many recent results obtained in studies of the restricted Burnside problem by making extensive use of Lie ring techniques that provide for a uniform treatment of the field. The updated and revised second edition includes a new chapter on Zelmanov's highly acclaimed, recent solution to the restricted Burnside problem for arbitrary prime-power exponents. Much of the material presented has until now been available only in Russian journals. This book will be welcomed by researchers and students in group theory.