On soluble groups of prime-power exponent

This thesis records an attempt to prove the two conjecture: Conjecture A: Every finite non-regular primitive permutation group of degree n contains permutations fixing one point but fixing at most $n^{1/2}$ points. Conjecture C: Every finite irreducible linear group of degree m > 1 contains an element whose fixed-point space has dimension at most m/2. Variants of these conjectures are formulated, and C is reduced to a special case of A. The main results of the investigation are: Theorem 2: Every finite non-regular primitive permutation group of degree n contains permutations which fix one point but fix fewer than (n+3)/4 points. Theorem 3: Every finite non-regular primitive soluble permutation group of degree n contains permutations which fix one point but fix fewer than $n^{7/18}$ points. Theorem 4: If H is a finite group, F is a field whose characteristic is 0 or does not divide the order of H, and M is a non-trivial irreducible H-module of dimension m over F, then there is an element h in H whose fixed-point space in M has dimension less than m/2. Theorem 5: If H is a finite soluble group, F is any field, and M is a non-trivial irreducible H-module of dimension m over F, then there is an element h in H whose fixed-point space in M has dimension less than 7m/18. Proofs of these assertions are to be found in Chapter II; examples which show the limitations on possible strenghtenings of the conjectures and results are marshalled in Chapter III. A detailed formulation of the problems and results is contained in section 1.

Let G be a finite group with an abelian normal subgroup N. When does N have a unique conjugacy class of complements in G? We consider this question with a focus on properties of maximal subgroups. As corollaries we obtain Theorems 1.6 and 1.7 which are closely related to a result by Parker and Rowley on supplements of a nilpotent normal subgroup [3, Theorem 1]. Furthermore, we consider families of maximal subgroups of G closed under conjugation whose intersection equals Φ ⁢ ( G ) {\Phi(G)} . In particular, we characterize the soluble groups having a unique minimal family with this property (Theorem 2.3, Remark 2.4). In the case when Φ ⁢ ( G ) = 1 {\Phi(G)=1} , these are exactly the soluble groups in which each abelian normal subgroup has a unique conjugacy class of complements.

The Chermak–Delgado lattice of a finite group G is a self-dual sublattice of the subgroup lattice of G. In this paper, we focus on finite groups whose Chermak–Delgado lattice is a subgroup lattice of an elementary abelian p-group. We prove that such groups are nilpotent of class 2. We also prove that, for any elementary abelian p-group E, there exists a finite group G such that the Chermak–Delgado lattice of G is a subgroup lattice of E.

Let G be a finite 2-generated non-cyclic group. The spread of G is the largest integer k such that for any nontrivial elements x1,…,xk, there exists y G ∈ G such that G = 〈xi,y〉 for all i. The more restrictive notion of uniform spread, denoted u(G), requires y to be chosen from a fixed conjugacy class of G, and a theorem of Breuer, Guralnick and Kantor states that u(G) ⩾ 2 for every non-abelian finite simple group G. For any group with u(G) ⩾ 1, we define the uniform domination number γu(G) of G to be the minimal size of a subset S of conjugate elements such that for each nontrivial x ∈ G there exists y ∈ S with G = 〈x, y〉 (in this situation, we say that S is a uniform dominating set for G). We introduced the latter notion in a recent paper, where we used probabilistic methods to determine close to best possible bounds on γu(G) for all simple groups G.In this paper we establish several new results on the spread, uniform spread and uniform domination number of finite groups and finite simple groups. For example, we make substantial progress towards a classification of the simple groups G with γu (G) = 2, and we study the associated probability that two randomly chosen conjugate elements form a uniform dominating set for G. We also establish new results concerning the 2-generation of soluble and symmetric groups, and we present several open problems.

Let [Formula: see text] be a finite group. Let [Formula: see text] be a prime dividing the order of [Formula: see text], denoted by [Formula: see text] the number of Sylow [Formula: see text]-subgroups of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we present some characterizations of a finite [Formula: see text]-soluble group [Formula: see text] with the property that [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] for some subgroups [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text].

In this note, we introduce a generalisation of the concept of Engel elements called \(p'\)-Engel elements and investigate some basic properties of \(p'\)-Engel elements together with four related sets in a finite group. We obtain some characterisations of finite p-nilpotent groups, soluble groups and minimal non-p-nilpotent groups by use of \(p'\)-Engel elements.

We consider the asymptotic complexity of manipulating matrix groups over finite fields. The question is, given a matrix group G by a list of generators, what can we say in polynomial time about the structure of G? While considerable progress has been made recently in identifying the nonabelian composition factors of a matrix group, the fundamental question of recognizing the simplicity of a non-abelian matrix group remains open. For the purposes of polynomial time computation, we reduce this problem to the following “affine case:” Let A be an elementary abelian p-group which is a non-central minimal normal subgroup of a finite group G. Assume further that the quotient G/A is a finite simple group S of Lie type of characteristic p. The algorithmic goal is to distinguish the simple group S from the nonsimple group G. Both S and G are given as “black-box groups of characteristic p.” The reduction to this basic problem involves a large number of recent techniques and results which we review along the way. We address the affine case for the groups S = PSL(2, q) where q = p , p prime. We show that PSL(2, p) can be recognized in Monte Carlo polynomial time among all black-box groups of known characteristic. The situation for f ≥ 2 seems much harder; we exhibit challenging open cases for every f ≥ 2 when q is large. Along with S = PSL(2, p), the positive result holds for all simple groups S of Lie type of characteristic p with the property that in every nontrivial S-module in characteristic p, every element of S has a fixed point. We call these groups “unisingular.” Very recently, Guralnick, Saxl, and Tiep classified these groups. They found that a large number of classes of simple groups are unisingular, including certain classes of linear and unitary groups, all symplectic groups over an odd prime field, all orthogonal groups of odd degree over an odd prime field, many orthogonal groups of even degree, and a number of classes of exceptional groups. 2 Laszlo Babai and Aner Shalev

All groups considered are finite. A group has a trivial Frattini subgroup if and only if every nontrivial normal subgroup has a proper supplement.The property is normal subgroup closed, but neither subgroup nor quotient closed. It is subgroup closed if and only if the group is elementary, i.e. all Sylow subgroups are elementary abelian. If G is solvable, then G and all its quotients have trivial Frattini subgroup if and only if every normal subgroup of G has a complement. For a nilpotent group, every nontrivial normal subgroup has a supplement if and only if the group is elementary abelian. Consequently, the center of a group in which every normal subgroup has a supplement is an elementary abelian direct factor.

If G is a group, then K(G) is the set of commutators of elements of G. C is the class of groups such that G′ = K(G) is the minimal cardinality of any generating set of dG. We prove: Theorem A. Let G be a nilpotent group of class two such that G' is finite and d(G′) < 4.Then G < G.Theorm B. Let G be a finite group such that G′ is elementary abelian of order p3. Then G ∈ C.Theorem C. Let G be a finite group with an elementary abelian Sylow p-subgroup S, of order p2, such that S ⊆ K(G). Then S ⊆K(G).

On a class of inseparable finite groups

We distinguish 2-maximal and strictly 2-maximal subgroups of a finite group and give examples of soluble and simple groups in which every 2-maximal subgroup is strictly 2-maximal. Let M be a maximal subgroup of a group G. We prove that every maximal subgroup of M is strictly 2-maximal in G if M is normal in G or if G is p-soluble and We describe the structure of a finite group in which all 2-maximal subgroups are Hall subgroups. In particular, it has a Sylow tower and all its Sylow subgroups are elementary abelian.

Let $G$ be a group. The orbits of the natural action of Aut$(G)$ on $G$ are called ``automorphism orbits'' of $G$, and the number of automorphism orbits of $G$ is denoted by $\omega(G)$. We prove that if $G$ is a soluble group with finite rank such that $\omega(G)< \infty$, then $G$ contains a torsion-free characteristic nilpotent subgroup $K$ such that $G = K \rtimes H$, where $H$ is a finite group. Moreover, we classify the mixed order soluble groups of finite rank such that $\omega(G)=3$.

Computing with group homomorphisms

It is well known that every local formation of finite soluble groups possesses three distinguished local definitions consisting of finite soluble groups: the minimal one, the full and integrated one, and the maximal one. As far as the first and the second of these are concerned, this statement remains true in the context of arbitrary finite groups. Doerk, Šemetkov, and Schmid have posed the problem of whether every local formation of finite groups has a distinguished (that is, unique) maximal local definition. In this paper a description of local formations with a unique maximal local definition is given, from which counter-examples emerge. Furthermore, a criterion for a formation function to be a local definition of a given local formation is obtained.

Classical results from the theory of finite soluble groups state that Carter subgroups, i.e. self-normalizing nilpotent subgroups, coincide with nilpotent projectors and with nilpotent covering subgroups, and they form a non-empty conjugacy class of subgroups, in soluble groups. This paper presents an extension of these facts to pi -separable groups, for sets of primes pi , by proving the existence of a conjugacy class of subgroups in pi -separable groups, which specialize to Carter subgroups within the universe of soluble groups. The approach runs parallel to the extension of Hall theory from soluble to pi -separable groups by Čunihin, regarding existence and properties of Hall subgroups.