Let $G$ be a finite 2-generated soluble group and suppose that $\langle a_1,b_1\rangle=\langle a_2,b_2\rangle=G$. If either $G^\prime$ is of odd order or $G^\prime$ is nilpotent, then there exists $b \in G$ with $\langle a_1,b\rangle=\langle a_2,b\rangle=G.$ We construct a soluble 2-generated group $G$ of order $2^{10}\cdot 3^2$ for which the previous result does not hold. However a weaker result is true for every finite soluble group: if $\langle a_1,b_1\rangle=\langle a_2,b_2\rangle=G$, then there exist $c_1, c_2$ such that $\langle a_1, c_1\rangle = \langle c_1, c_2\rangle =\langle c_2, a_2\rangle=G.$
We investigate the finite soluble groups $G$ with the following property (replacement property): for every irredundant generating set $\{g_1,\dots,g_m\}$ of maximal size and for any $1\neq g\in G$ there exists an $i\in \{1,\dots,m\}$ so that $\langle g_1,\dots,g_{i-1},g,g_{i+1},\dots,g_m\rangle=G.$
Let $G$ be a finite insoluble group with soluble radical $R(G)$. In this paper we investigate the soluble graph of $G$, which is a natural generalisation of the widely studied commuting graph. Here the vertices are the elements in $G \setminus R(G)$, with $x$ adjacent to $y$ if they generate a soluble subgroup of $G$. Our main result states that this graph is always connected and its diameter, denoted $δ_{\mathcal{S}}(G)$, is at most $5$. More precisely, we show that $δ_{\mathcal{S}}(G) \leqslant 3$ if $G$ is not almost simple and we obtain stronger bounds for various families of almost simple…
In this paper we give asymptotics for the conjugacy growth of the soluble Baumslag-Solitar groups $BS(1,k)$, $k\geq 2$, with respect to the standard generating set, by providing a complete description of geodesic conjugacy representatives. We show that the conjugacy growth series for these groups are transcendental, and give formulas for the series. As a result of our computation we also establish that in each $BS(1,k)$ the conjugacy and standard growth rates are equal.
The Andrews-Curtis conjecture claims that every normally generating $n$-tuple of a free group $F_n$ of rank $n \ge 2$ can be reduced to a basis by means of Nielsen transformations and arbitrary conjugations. Replacing $F_n$ by an arbitrary finitely generated group yields natural generalizations whose study may help disprove the original and unsettled conjecture. We prove that every finitely generated soluble group satisfies the generalized Andrews-Curtis conjecture in the sense of Borovik, Lubotzky and Myasnikov. In contrast, we show that some soluble Baumslag-Solitar groups do not satisfy the…
Let $G$ be a transitive permutation group on a finite set $Ω$ and recall that a base for $G$ is a subset of $Ω$ with trivial pointwise stabiliser. The base size of $G$, denoted $b(G)$, is the minimal size of a base. If $b(G)=2$ then we can study the Saxl graph $Σ(G)$ of $G$, which has vertex set $Ω$ and two vertices are adjacent if they form a base. This is a vertex-transitive graph, which is conjectured to be connected with diameter at most $2$ when $G$ is primitive. In this paper, we combine probabilistic and computational methods to prove a strong form of this conjecture for all almost simp…
We investigate the extent to which the exchange relation holds in finite groups $G$. We define a new equivalence relation $\equiv_{\mathrm{m}}$, where two elements are equivalent if each can be substituted for the other in any generating set for $G$. We then refine this to a new sequence $\equiv_{\mathrm{m}}^{(r)}$ of equivalence relations by saying that $x \equiv_{\mathrm{m}}^{(r)}y$ if each can be substituted for the other in any $r$-element generating set. The relations $\equiv_{\mathrm{m}}^{(r)}$ become finer as $r$ increases, and we define a new group invariant $ψ(G)$ to be the value of $…
A well-known conjecture of Babai states that if $G$ is a finite simple group and $X$ is a generating set of $G$, then the diameter of the Cayley graph $Cay(G,X)$ is bounded above by $(\log |G|)^c$ for some absolute constant $c$. The goal of this paper is to prove such a bound for the diameter of $Cay(G,X)$ whenever $G=SL(n,p)$ and $X$ is a generating set of $G$ which contains a transvection. A natural analogue of this result is also proved for $G=SL(n,K)$, where $K$ can be any field.
A well-known conjecture of Babai states that if $G$ is any finite simple group and $X$ is a generating set for $G$, then the diameter of the Cayley graph $Cay(G,X)$ is bounded by $\log|G|^c$ for some universal constant $c$. In this paper, we prove such a bound for $Cay(G,X)$ for $G=PSL(n,q),PSp(n,q)$ or $PSU(n,q)$ where $q$ is odd, under the assumptions that $X$ contains a transvection and $q\neq 9$ or $81$.
So far, it has been proven that if $G$ is an abelian group , then the diameter of $G^n$ with respect to any generating set is $O(n)$; and if $G$ is nilpotent, symmetric or dihedral, then there exists a generating set of minimum size, for which the diameter of $G^n$ is $O(n)$ \cite{Karimi:2017}. In \cite{Dona:2022} it has been proven that if $G$ is a non-abelian simple group, then the diameter of $G^n$ with respect to any generating set is $O(n^3)$. In this paper we estimate the diameter of direct power of alternating groups $A_n$ for $n \geq 4$, i.e. a class of non-abelian simple groups. We sh…
Let G be a finite group with a generating set A. By the (symmetric) diameter of G with respect to A we mean the maximum over g in G of the length of the shortest word in (A union A inverse)A expressing g.By the (symmetric) diameter of G we mean the maximum of (symmetric) diameter over all generating sets of G. Let n greater than or equal to 1, by G power n we mean the n-th direct power of G. For n greater than or equal to 1 and finite non-abelian solvable group G we find an upper bound, growing polynomially with respect to n, for the symmetric diameter and the diameter of G power n.
Let $G$ be a $2$-generated group. The generating graph $Γ(G)$ is the graph whose vertices are the elements of $G$ and where two vertices $g_1$ and $g_2$ are adjacent if $G = \langle g_1, g_2 \rangle.$ This graph encodes the combinatorial structure of the distribution of generating pairs across $G.$ In this paper we study some graph theoretic properties of $Γ(G)$, with particular emphasis on those properties that can be formulated in terms of forbidden induced subgraphs. In particular we investigate when the generating graph $Γ(G)$ is a cograph (giving a complete description when $G$ is soluble…
Given a non-abelian finite simple group $G$ of Lie type, and an arbitrary generating set $S$, it is conjectured by Laszlo Babai that its Cayley graph $Γ(G,S)$ will have a diameter of $(\log |G|)^{O(1)}$. However, little progress has been made when the rank of $G$ is large. In this article, we shall show that if $G$ has rank $n$, and its base field has order $q$, then the diameter of $Γ(G,S)$ would be $q^{O(n(\log n + \log q)^3)}$.
The following problem was originally posed by B.H. Neumann and H. Neumann. Suppose that a group $G$ can be generated by $n$ elements and that $H$ is a homomorphic image of $G$. Does there exist, for every generating $n$-tuple $(h_1,\ldots, h_n)$ of $H$, a homomorphism $\vartheta \colon G \to H$ and a generating $n$-tuple $(g_1,\ldots,g_n)$ of $G$ such that $(g_1^\vartheta,\ldots,g_n^\vartheta) = (h_1,\ldots,h_n)$? M.J. Dunwoody gave a negative answer to this question, by means of a carefully engineered construction of an explicit pair of soluble groups. Via a new approach we produce, for $n = …
For a nilpotent group $G$, let $Ξ(G)$ be the difference between the complement of the generating graph of $G$ and the commuting graph of $G$, with vertices corresponding to central elements of $G$ removed. That is, $Ξ(G)$ has vertex set $G \setminus Z(G)$, with two vertices adjacent if and only if they do not commute and do not generate $G$. Additionally, let $Ξ^+(G)$ be the subgraph of $Ξ(G)$ induced by its non-isolated vertices. We show that if $Ξ(G)$ has an edge, then $Ξ^+(G)$ is connected with diameter $2$ or $3$, with $Ξ(G) = Ξ^+(G)$ in the diameter $3$ case. In the infinite case, our res…
Given a finite group $G$, the invariably generating graph of $G$ is defined as the undirected graph in which the vertices are the nontrivial conjugacy classes of $G$, and two classes are adjacent if and only if they invariably generate $G$. In this paper we study this object for alternating and symmetric groups. The main result of the paper states that, if we remove the isolated vertices from the graph, the resulting graph is connected and has diameter at most $6$.
Given a 2-generated finite group $G$, the non-generating graph of $G$ has as vertices the elements of $G$ and two vertices are adjacent if and only if they are distinct and do not generate $G$. We consider the graph $Σ(G)$ obtained from the non-generating graph of $G$ by deleting the universal vertices. We prove that if the derived subgroup of $G$ is not nilpotent, then this graph is connected, with diameter at most 5. Moreover we give a complete classification of the finite groups $G$ such that $Σ(G)$ is disconnected.
Royal Holloway, University of London（伦敦大学皇家霍洛威学院）；Università degli Studi di Padova（帕多瓦大学）；FernUniversität in Hagen（哈根远程大学）；Università degli Studi di Firenze（佛罗伦萨大学）
Let $G \simeq M \rtimes C$ be an $n$-generator group with $M$ Abelian and $C$ cyclic. We study the Nielsen equivalence classes and T-systems of generating $n$-tuples of $G$. The subgroup $M$ can be turned into a finitely generated faithful module over a suitable quotient $R$ of the integral group ring of $C$. When $C$ is infinite, we show that the Nielsen equivalence classes of the generating $n$-tuples of $G$ correspond bijectively to the orbits of unimodular rows in $M^{n -1}$ under the action of a subgroup of $GL_{n - 1}(R)$. Making no assumption on the cardinality of $C$, we exhibit a comp…
Given a finite group $G$ and a generating set $S \subseteq G$, the diameter $diam(G,S)$ is the least integer $n$ such that every element of $G$ is the product of at most $n$ elements of $S$. In this paper, for bounded $|S|$, we characterize groups with polynomial diameter as the groups with a large abelian section close to the top, precisely of size an exponential portion of the size of the full group. This complements a key result of Breuillard and Tointon. As a consequence, groups with polynomial diameter have many conjugacy classes, and contain a large nilpotent subgroup of class at most $2…
Assume that $G$ is a finite group. For every $a, b \in\mathbb N,$ we define a graph $Γ_{a,b}(G)$ whose vertices correspond to the elements of $G^a\cup G^b$ and in which two tuples $(x_1,\dots,x_a)$ and $(y_1,\dots,y_b)$ are adjacent if and only if $\langle x_1,\dots,x_a,y_1,\dots,y_b \rangle =G.$ We study several properties of these graphs (isolated vertices, loops, connectivity, diameter of the connected components) and we investigate the relations between their properties and the group structure, with the aim of understanding which information about $G$ are encoded by these graphs.
Let $G$ be either the Grigorchuk $2$-group or one of the Gupta-Sidki $p$-groups. We give new upper bounds for the diameters of the quotients of $G$ by its level stabilisers, as well as other natural sequences of finite-index normal subgroups. Our bounds are independent of the generating set, and are polylogarithmic functions of the group order, with explicit degree. Our proofs utilize a version of the profinite Solovay-Kitaev procedure, the branch structure of $G$, and in certain cases, results on the lower central series of $G$.
We give a new proof of a theorem of D. Calegari that says that the Cayley graph of a surface group with respect to any generating set lying in finitely many mapping class group orbits has infinite diameter. This applies, for instance, to the generating set consisting of all simple closed curves.
Let $G$ be 2-generated group. The generating graph $Γ(G)$ of $G$ is the graph whose vertices are the elements of $G$ and where two vertices $g$ and $h$ are adjacent if $G = \langle g, h \rangle.$ This definition can be extended to a 2-generated profinite group $G,$ considering in this case topological generation. We prove that the set $V(G)$ of non-isolated vertices of $Γ(G)$ is closed in $G$ and that, if $G$ is prosoluble, then the graph $Δ(G)$ obtained from $Γ(G)$ by removing its isolated vertices is connected with diameter at most 3. However we construct an example of a 2-generated profinit…
Let $Γ$ be a group and $(Γ_n)_{n=1} ^{\infty}$ be a descending sequence of finite-index normal subgroups. We establish explicit upper bounds on the diameters of the directed Cayley graphs of the $Γ/Γ_n$ , under some natural hypotheses on the behaviour of power and commutator words in $Γ$. The bounds we obtain do not depend on a choice of generating set. Moreover under reasonable conditions our method provides a fast algorithm for constructing directed Cayley graphs of diameter satisfying our bounds. The proof is closely analogous to the the Solovay-Kitaev procedure, which only uses commutator …
We produce new short laws in two variables valid in finite groups of Lie type. Our result improves upon results of Kozma and the second named author, and is sharp up to logarithmic factors, for all families except possibly the Suzuki groups. We also produce short laws valid for generating pairs and random pairs in finite groups of Lie type, and, conditional on Babai's diameter conjecture, make effective the dependence of our bounds on the rank. Our proof uses, among other tools, the Classification of Finite Simple Groups, Aschbacher's structure theorem for maximal subgroups for classical group…
We show that every non-trivial compact connected group and every non-trivial general or special linear group over an infinite field admits a generating set such that the associated Cayley graph has infinite diameter.
When one studies geometric properties of graphs, local finiteness is a common implicit assumption, and that of transitivity a frequent explicit one. By compactness arguments, local finiteness guarantees several regularity properties. It is generally easy to find counterexamples to such regularity results when the assumption of local finiteness is dropped. The present work focuses on the following problem: determining whether these regularity properties still hold when local finiteness is replaced by an assumption of transitivity. After recalling the locally finite situation, we show that there…
Generating the symmetric group by three prefix reversals
Indiana University（印第安纳大学）；Krasovskii Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics（克拉索夫斯基数学与力学研究所）；Ural Mathematical Center（乌拉尔数学中心）；Sobolev Institute of Mathematics（索博列夫数学研究所）；Novosibirsk State University（新西伯利亚国立大学）；Three Gorges Mathematical Research Center, China Three Gorges University（三峡大学三峡数学研究中心）
Let $A\neq A_1, A_2, I_{2m}$ be an irreducible Artin--Tits group of spherical type. We show that periodic elements of $A$ and the elements preserving some parabolic subgroup of $A$ act elliptically on the additional length graph $\mathcal{C}_{AL}(A)$, an hyperbolic, infinite diameter graph associated to $A$ constructed by Calvez and Wiest to show that $A/Z(A)$ is acylindrically hyperbolic. We use these results to find an element $g\in A$ such that $\langle P,g \rangle\cong P* \langle g \rangle$ for every proper standard parabolic subgroup $P$ of $A$. The length of $g$ is uniformly bounded with…
We introduce the notion of connection thickness of spheres in a Cayley graph, related to dead-ends and their retreat depth. It was well-known that connection thickness is bounded for finitely presented one-ended groups. We compute that for natural generating sets of lamplighter groups on a line or on a tree, connection thickness is linear or logarithmic respectively. We show that it depends strongly on the generating set. We give an example where the metric induced at the (finite) thickness of connection gives diameter of order $n^2$ to the sphere of radius $n$. We also discuss the rarity of d…
