Structure of the Macdonald groups in one parameter

Abstract

Consider the Macdonald groups $G(\alpha)=\langle A,B\,|\, A^{[A,B]}=A^\alpha,\, B^{[B,A]}=B^\alpha\rangle$, $\alpha\in{\mathbf Z}$. We fill a gap in Macdonald's proof that $G(\alpha)$ is always nilpotent, and proceed to determine the order, upper and lower central series, nilpotency class, and exponent of $G(\alpha)$.