In this paper a number of questions about locally compact groups are studied. The structure of finite dimensional connected locally compact groups is investigated, and a fairly simple representation of such groups is obtained. Using this it is proved that finite dimensional arcwise connected locally compact groups are Lie groups, and that in general arcwise connected locally compact groups are locally connected. Semi-simple locally compact groups are then investigated, and it is shown that under suitable restrictions these satisfy many of the properties of semi-simple Lie groups. For example, a factor group of a semi-simple locally compact group is semi-simple. A result of Zassenhaus, Auslander and Wang is reformulated, and in this new formulation it is shown to be true under more general conditions. This fact is used in the study of (C)-groups in the sense of K. Iwasawa.
Locally compact groups built up from p-adic Lie groups, for p in a given set of primes
