Thread: abelian groups

Is there a group that satisfies a^3=1 for each a in G but isn't abelian?

Originally Posted by MathBird

Is there a group that satisfies a^3=1 for each a in G but isn't abelian?

I can't find any reason why not - but if it is finite then it is at least 3-generated (because it is regular so it can't be 2-generated).

What about , the semidirect product of with ? I'm not sure if that is actually properly defined - I'm doing this in a bit of a hurry...

Thanks a lot. But may I ask for a little more details.

Originally Posted by MathBird

Thanks a lot. But may I ask for a little more details.

About the 3-generated bit? I was making it too complicated, and I think my logic was wrong. However, the group must be at least 3-generated if it is finite as otherwise it will have order 3 or 9, and there are no non-abelian groups of order 3 or 9. Also,


is a group that works. I believe the group I gave earlier is nonsense...

EDIT: Of course it's nonsense - and are just the identity element...