  Let $G$ be a $p$-group. We denote by $\mathcal{X}_i(G)$ the intersection of
all subgroups of $G$ having index $p^i$, for $i \leq \log_p(|G|)$. In this
paper, the newly introduced series $\{\mathcal{X}_i(G)\}_i$ is investigated and
a number of results concerning its behaviour are proved. As an application of
these results, we show that if an abelian subgroup $A$ of $G$ intersects each
one of the subgroups $\mathcal{X}_i(G)$ at $\mathcal{X}_i(A)$, then $A$ has a
complement in $G$. Conversely if an arbitrary subgroup $H$ of $G$ has a normal
complement, then $\mathcal{X}_i(H) = \mathcal{X}_i(G) \cap H$.
