On the structure of abelian profinite groups

Abstract

A subgroup $G$ of a product $\prod\limits_{i\in\mathbb{N}}G_i$ is \emph{rectangular} if there are subgroups $H_i$ of $G_i$ such that $G=\prod\limits_{i\in\mathbb{N}}H_i$. We say that $G$ is \emph{weakly rectangular} if there are finite subsets $F_i\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ and subgroups $H_i$ of $\bigoplus\limits_{j\in F_i} G_j$ that satisfy $G=\prod\limits_{i\in\mathbb{N}}H_i$. %We say that $G$ is a \emph{subdirect product} of the family $\{G_i\}_{i\in I}$ if $G$ is weakly rectangular and %$G\cap\bigoplus\limits_{i\in I} G_i=\bigoplus\limits_{i\in\mathbb{N}}H_i$. In this paper we discuss when a closed subgroup of a product is weakly rectangular. Some possible applications to the theory of group codes are also highlighted.