Various descending chains of subgroups of a finite permutation group can be used to define a sequence of `basic' permutation groups that are analogues of composition factors for abstract finite groups. Primitive groups have been the traditional choice for this purpose, but some combinatorial applications require different kinds of basic groups, such as quasiprimitive groups, that are defined by properties of their normal subgroups. Quasiprimitive groups admit similar analyses to primitive groups, share many of their properties, and have been used successfully, for example to study $s$-arc transitive graphs. Moreover investigating them has led to new results about finite simple groups.
Given a prime $p$, we construct a permutation group containing at least $p^{p-2}$ non-conjugated regular elementary abelian subgroups of order $p^3$. This gives the first example of a permutation group with exponentially many non-conjugated regular subgroups.
In this paper, we classify finite quasiprimitive permutation groups with a metacyclic transitive subgroup, solving a problem initiated by Wielandt in 1949. It also involves the classification of factorizations of almost simple groups with a metacyclic factor.
We determine the semi-regular subgroups of the 2-transitive permutation groups PGL(2,n), PSL(2,n), PGU(3,n), PSU(3,n), Sz(n) and Ree(n) with n a suitable power of a prime number p.
We prove an upper bound for the number of cyclic transitive subgroups in a finite permutation group and clarify the structure of the groups for which this bound becomes sharp. We also give an application in the theory of number fields.
We give a general constructive proof for hierarchical coordinatizations (Lagrange Decompositions) of permutation groups. The generalization originates from the investigation of how the subgroup chains of finite permutation groups yield different coordinate systems. The study is motivated by the practical needs and the verification of an existing computational implementation. Large scale machine calculated examples are also presented.
The first main result of this paper is that a finite transitive nonabelian characteristically simple subgroup of a wreath product in product action must lie in the base group of the wreath product. This allows us to characterize nonabelian transitive characteristically simple subgroups $H$ of finite quasiprimitive permutation groups $G$. If the socle of $G$, denoted by $\mbox{soc}(G)$, is nonabelian, then $H$ lies in $\mbox{soc}(G)$. An explicit description is given for the possibilities of $H$ under the condition that $H$ does not contain a nontrivial normal subgroup of $\mbox{soc}(G)$.
Let $G$ be a countable group, $\operatorname{Sub}(G)$ the (compact, metric) space of all subgroups of $G$ with the Chabauty topology and $\operatorname{Is}(G) \subset \operatorname{Sub}(G)$ the collection of isolated points. We denote by $X!$ the (Polish) group of all permutations of a countable set $X$. Then the following properties are equivalent: (i) $\operatorname{Is}(G)$ is dense in $\operatorname{Sub}(G)$, (ii) $G$ admits a "generic permutation representation". Namely there exists some $τ^* \in \operatorname{Hom}(G,X!)$ such that the collection of permutation representations $\{ϕ\in \ope…
We say that a finite group $G$ acting on a set $Ω$ has Property $(*)_p$ for a prime $p$ if $P_ω$ is a Sylow $p$-subgroup of $G_ω$ for all $ω\inΩ$ and Sylow $p$-subgroups $P$ of $G$. Property $(*)_p$ arose in the recent work of Tornier (2018) on local Sylow $p$-subgroups of Burger-Mozes groups, and he determined the values of $p$ for which the alternating group $A_n$ and symmetric group $S_n$ acting on $n$ points has Property $(*)_p$. In this paper, we extend this result to finite $2$-transitive groups and we give a structural characterisation result for the finite primitive groups that satisfy…
Motivated by a problem from behavioral economics, we study subgroups of permutation groups that have a certain strong symmetry. Given a fixed permutation, consider the set of all permutations with disjoint inversion sets. The group is called non-nudgable, if the cardinality of this set always remains the same when replacing the initial permutation with its inverse. It is called nudgable otherwise. We show that all full permutation groups, standard dihedral groups, half of the alternating groups, and any abelian subgroup are non-nudgable. In the right probabilistic sense, it is thus quite likel…
This paper is about the structure of infinite primitive permutation groups and totally disconnected locally compact groups ("tdlc groups'"). The permutation groups we investigate are subdegree-finite (i.e. all orbits of point stabilisers are finite). Automorphism groups of connected, locally finite graphs are examples of subdegree-finite permutation groups. The tdlc groups we investigate all have a maximal subgroup that is compact and open. Tdlc groups with few open subgroups (recently studied by Pierre-Emmanuel Caprace and Timothée Marquis) are examples of such groups. We prove a classificati…
We study the representations of the commutator subgroup of the braid group with n strands in the symmetric group of degree r. Motivated by some experimental results, we conjecture that for n>r, every such representation is trivial.
Motivated by questions arising in connection with branched coverings of connected smooth projective curves over finite fields, we study the proportion of fixed point free elements (derangements) in cosets of normal subgroups of primitive permutations groups. Using the Aschbacher-O'Nan-Scott theorem for primitive groups to partition the problem, we provide complete answers for affine groups and groups which contain a regular normal nonabelian subgroup.
We classify the finite primitive permutation groups which have a cyclic subgroup with two orbits. This extends classical topics in permutation group theory, and has arithmetic consequences. By a theorem of C. L. Siegel, affine algebraic curves with infinitely many integral points are parametrized by rational functions whose monodromy groups have this property. We classify the possibilities of these monodromy groups, and give an application to Hilbert's irreducibility theorem.
This article began as a study of the structure of infinite permutation groups G in which point stabilisers are finite and all infinite normal subgroups are transitive. That led to two variations. One is the generalisation in which point stabilisers are merely assumed to satisfy min-N, the minimal condition on normal subgroups. The groups G are then of two kinds. Either they have a maximal finite normal subgroup, modulo which they have either one or two minimal non-trivial normal subgroups, or they have a regular normal subgroup M which is a divisible abelian p-group of finite rank. In the latt…
In the first paper in this series we estimated the probability that a random permutation $π\in\mathcal{S}_n$ has a fixed set of a given size. In this paper, we elaborate on the same method to estimate the probability that $π$ has $m$ disjoint fixed sets of prescribed sizes $k_1,\dots,k_m$, where $k_1+\cdots+k_m=n$. We deduce an estimate for the proportion of permutations contained in a transitive subgroup other than $\mathcal{S}_n$ or $\mathcal{A}_n$. This theorem consists of two parts: an estimate for the proportion of permutations contained in an imprimitive transitive subgroup, and an estim…
If every element of a matrix group is similar to a permutation matrix, then it is called a permutation-like matrix group. References [4] and [5] showed that, if a permutation-like matrix group contains a maximal cycle of length equal to a prime or a square of a prime and the maximal cycle generates a normal subgroup, then it is similar to a permutation matrix group. In this paper, we prove that if a permutation-like matrix group contains a maximal cycle of length equal to any power of any odd prime and the maximal cycle generates a normal subgroup, then it is similar to a permutation matrix gr…
The problem of describing the invariance groups of unordered relations, called briefly \emph{relation groups}, goes back to classical work by H. Wielandt. In general, the problem turned out to be hard, and so far it has been settled only for a few special classes of permutation groups. The problem have been solved, in particular, for the class of primitive permutation groups, using the classification of finite simple groups and other deep results of permutation group theory. In this paper we show that, if $G$ is a finite simple primitive permutation group other then the alternating group $A_n$…
In this paper we study finite semiprimitive permutation groups, that is, groups in which each normal subgroup is transitive or semiregular. We give bounds on the order, base size, minimal degree, fixity, and chief length of an arbitrary finite semiprimitive group in terms of its degree. To establish these bounds, we classify finite semiprimitive groups that induce the alternating or symmetric group on the set of orbits of an intransitive normal subgroup.
In this paper we prove that any finite group of order $n$ can be viewed as the group of the solutions of a certain matrix equation $XB=BY$, where the unknowns $X,Y$ are two permutation matrices of order $n$ and $(1+k)n+2 $ respectively and where $k\in \Bbb N$ is given by Cayley's theorem. Moreover, we show that $G$ is isomorphic to a certain subgroup formed by permutation matrices of order $(1+k)n$ obtained by permuting all the rows of the identity matrix $I_{(1+k)n}$.
Given a transitive permutation group, a fundamental object for studying its higher transitivity properties is the permutation action of its isotropy subgroup. We reverse this relationship and introduce a universal construction of infinite permutation groups that takes as input a given system of imprimitivity for its isotropy subgroup. This produces vast families kaleidoscopic groups. We investigate their algebraic properties, such as simplicity and oligomorphy; their homological properties, such as acyclicity or contrariwise large Schur multipliers; their topological properties, such as unique…
If every element of a matrix group is similar to a permutation matrix, then it is called a permutation-like matrix group. References [4], [5] and [6] showed that, if a permutation-like matrix group contains a maximal cycle such that the maximal cycle generates a normal subgroup and the length of the maximal cycle equals to a prime, or a square of a prime, or a power of an odd prime, then the permutation-like matrix group is similar to a permutation matrix group. In this paper, we prove that if a permutation-like matrix group contains a maximal cycle such that the maximal cycle generates a norm…
The maximality of Abelian subgroups play a role in various parts of group theory. For example, Mycielski has extended a classical result of Lie groups and shown that a maximal Abelian subgroup of a compact connected group is connected and, furthermore, all the maximal Abelian subgroups are conjugate. For finite symmetric groups the question of the size of maximal Abelian subgroups has been examined by Burns and Goldsmith in 1989 and Winkler in 1993. We show that there is not much interest in generalizing this study to infinite symmetric groups; the cardinality of any maximal Abelian subgroup o…
Let $K$ be a field of characteristic two, and let $λ$ be a two-part partition of some natural number $r$. Denote the permutation module corresponding to the (maximal) Young subgroup $Σ_λ$ in $Σ_r$ by $M^λ$. We construct a full set of orthogonal primitive idempotents of the centraliser subalgebra $S_K(λ) = 1_λS_K(2,r) 1_λ= End_{KΣ_r}(M^λ)$ of the Schur algebra $S_K(2,r)$. These idempotents are naturally in one-to-one correspondence with the 2-Kostka numbers.
The wreath product of two permutation groups G < Sym(Gamma) and H < Sym(Delta) can be considered as a permutation group acting on the set Pi of functions from Delta to Gamma. This action, usually called the product action, of a wreath product plays a very important role in the theory of permutation groups, as several classes of primitive or quasiprimitive groups can be described as subgroups of such wreath products. In addition, subgroups of wreath products in product action arise as automorphism groups of graph products and codes. In this paper we consider subgroups X of full wreath products …
In this paper we classify all maximal subgroups M of a nearly simple primitive rank 3 group G of type L=Omega_{2m+1}(3), m > 3; acting on an L-orbit E of non-singular points of the natural module for L such that 1_P^G <=1_M^G where P is a stabilizer of a point in E. This result has an application to the study of minimal genera of algebraic curves which admit group actions.
Let $p$ be an odd prime and let $n$ be a natural number. In this article we determine the irreducible constituents of the permutation module induced by the action of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$ on the cosets of a Sylow $p$-subgroup $P_n$. As a consequence, we determine the number of irreducible representations of the corresponding Hecke algebra $\mathcal{H}(\mathfrak{S}_n, P_n, 1_{P_n})$.
A cycle base of a permutation group is defined to be a maximal set of its pairwise non-conjugate regular cyclic subgroups. It is proved that a cycle base of a permutation group of degree $n$ can be constructed in polynomial time in~$n$.
Following Babai's algorithm for the string isomorphism problem, we determine that it is possible to write expressions of short length describing certain permutation cosets, including all permutation subgroups; this is feasible both in the original version of the algorithm and in its CFSG-free version, partially done by Babai and completed by Pyber. The existence of such descriptions gives a weak form of the Cameron-Maróti classification even without assuming CFSG. We also thoroughly explicate Babai's recursion process (as given in Helfgott) and obtain explicit constants for the runtime of the …
We investigate properties of finite transitive permutation groups $(G, Ω)$ in which all proper subgroups of $G$ act intransitively on $Ω.$ In particular, we are interested in reduction theorems for minimally transitive representations of solvable groups.
A permutation group is called semiprimitive if each of its normal subgroups is either transitive or semiregular. Given nontrivial finite transitive permutation groups $L_1$ and $L_2$ with $L_1$ not semiprimitive, we construct an infinite family of rank two amalgams of permutation type $[L_1,L_2]$ and Borel subgroups of strictly increasing order. As an application, we show that there is no bound on the order of edge-stabilisers in locally $[L_1,L_2]$ graphs. We also consider the corresponding question for amalgams of rank $k\geq 3$. We completely resolve this by showing that the order of the Bo…
Let PC be the group of bijections from [0, 1[ to itself which are continuous outside a finite set. Let PC be its quotient by the subgroup of finitely supported permutations. We show that the Kapoudjian class of PC vanishes. That is, the quotient map PC $\rightarrow$ PC splits modulo the alternating subgroup of even permutations. This is shown by constructing a nonzero group homomorphism, called signature, from PC to Z 2Z. Then we use this signature to list normal subgroups of every subgroup G of PC which contains S fin and such that G, the projection of G in PC , is simple.
The size of minimal generating set for commutator of Sylow 2-subgroup of alternating group was found. Given a permutational wreath product of finite cyclic groups sequence we prove that the commutator width of such groups is 1 and we research some properties of its commutator subgroup. It was shown that $(Syl_2 A_{2^k})^2 = Syl'_2 (A_{2^k}), \, k>2$. A new approach to presentation of Sylow 2-subgroups of alternating group ${A_{2^{k}}}$ was applied. As a result the short proof that the commutator width of Sylow 2-subgroups of alternating group ${A_{2^{k}}}$, permutation group ${S_{2^{k}}}$ and …
Let $G$ be a permutation group on a set $Ω$, and $k$ a positive integer. The $k$-closure $G^{(k)}$ of $G$ is the largest subgroup of $\operatorname{Sym}(Ω)$, with the same as $G$ orbits of componentwise action on $Ω^k$. We prove that the $k$-closure of a finite nilpotent permutation group is the direct product of $k$-closures of its Sylow subgroups.
Let $G$ be a permutation group of degree $n$ and let $s(G)$ denote the number of set-orbits of $G$. We determine $\inf(\frac {\log_2 s(G)} n)$ over all groups $G$ that satisfy certain restrictions on composition factors (i.e. $Alt(k), k > 4$ cannot be obtained as a quotient of a subgroup of $G$).
A group K is said to be a B-group if every permutation group containing K as a regular subgroup is either imprimitive or 2-transitive. In the second edition of his influential textbook on finite groups, Burnside published a proof that cyclic groups of composite prime-power degree are B-groups. Ten years later in 1921 he published a proof that every abelian group of composite degree is a B-group. Both proofs are character-theoretic and both have serious flaws. Indeed, the second result is false. In this note we explain these flaws and prove that every cyclic group of composite order is a B-grou…
Malnormal subgroups occur in various contexts. We review a large number of examples, and we compare the situation in this generality to that of finite Frobenius groups of permutations. In a companion paper [HaWe], we analyse when peripheral subgroups of knot groups and 3-manifold groups are malnormal.
In this paper, I show that if $p$ is an odd prime, and if $P$ is a finite $p$-group, then there exists an exact sequence of abelian groups $$0\to T(P)\to D(P)\to\lproj{P}\to H^1\big(\apdeux(P),\Z\big)^{(P)},$$ where $D(P)$ is the Dade group of $P$ and $T(P)$ is the subgroup of endo-trivial modules. Here $\lproj{P}$ is the group of sequences of compatible elements in the Dade groups $D\big(N_P(Q)/Q\big)$ for non trivial subgroups $Q$ of $P$. The poset $\apdeux(P)$ is the set of elementary abelian subgroups of rank at least 2 of $P$, ordered by inclusion. The group $H^1\big(\apdeux(P),\Z\big)^{(…
In this paper we characterize the finite permutation groups $F<S_d$ on $d$ letters such that every compact open subgroup of the associated universal group $U(F)<{\rm Aut} T_d$ is topologically finitely generated. Actually we show that in this case the groups are positively finitely generated.
A permutation group is innately transitive if it has a transitive minimal normal subgroup, and this subgroup is called a plinth. In this paper we study three special types of inclusions of innately transitive permutation groups in wreath products in product action. This is achieved by studying the natural Cartesian decomposition of the underlying set that correspond to the product action of a wreath product. Previously we identified six classes of Cartesian decompositions that can be acted upon transitively by an innately transitive group with a non-abelian plinth. The inclusions studied in th…
Given a permutational wreath product sequence of cyclic groups of prime order we research a commutator width of such groups and some properties of its commutator subgroup. Commutator width of Sylow 2-subgroups of alternating group $A_{2^{k}}$, permutation group $S_{2^k}$ and $C_p \wr B$ were founded. The result of research was extended on subgroups $(Syl_2 {A_{2^k}})'$, $p>2$. The paper presents a construction of commutator subgroup of Sylow 2-subgroups of symmetric and alternating groups. Also minimal generic sets of Sylow 2-subgroups of $A_{2^k}$ were founded. Elements presentation of $(Syl_…
A matrix group is said to be permutation-like if any matrix of the group is similar to a permutation matrix. G. Cigler proved that, if a permutation-like matrix group contains a normal cyclic subgroup which is generated by a maximal cycle and the matrix dimension is a prime, then the group is similar to a permutation matrix group. This paper extends the result to the case where the matrix dimension is a square of a prime.
We study permutation groups of given minimal degree without the classical primitivity assumption. We provide sharp upper bounds on the order of a permutation group of minimal degree m and on the number of its elements of any given support. These results contribute to the foundations of a non-commutative coding theory. A main application of our results concerns the Hidden Subgroup Problem for the symmetric group in Quantum Computing. We completely characterize the hidden subgroups of the symmetric group that can be distinguished from identity with weak Quantum Fourier Sampling, showing these ar…
We prove that all invariant random subgroups of the lamplighter group $L$ are co-sofic. It follows that $L$ is permutation stable, providing an example of an infinitely presented such a group. Our proof applies more generally to all permutational wreath products of finitely generated abelian groups. We rely on the pointwise ergodic theorem for amenable groups.
Semi-direct products of finite groups have permutation representations that are constructed from the permutation representations of their constituents. One can envision these in a metaphoric sense in which a rope is made from a bundle of threads. In this way, subgroups and quotients are easily visualized. The general idea is applied to the finite subgroups of the special unitary group of $(2\times 2)$-matrices. Amusing diagrams are developed that describe the unit quaternions, the binary tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral group as well as the dicyclic groups. In all cases, the quotients …
In this paper the relationship between $S$-subgroups in $\Z_{2}^{n}$ and binary codes is shown. If the codes used are both $P(T)$-codes and $G$-codes, then the $S$-subgroup is free. The codes constructed are cyclic, decimated or symmetric and the $S$-subgroups obtained are free under the action the cyclic permutation subgroup, invariants under the action the decimated permutation subgroup and symmetric under the action of symmetric permutation subgroup, respectively. Also it is shows that there is no codes generating whole $\Z_{2}^{n}$ in any $\G_{n}(a)$-complete $S$-set of the $S$-ring $\math…
We examine distortion of finitely generated normal subgroups. We show a connection between subgroup distortion and group divergence. We suggest a method computing the distortion of normal subgroups by decomposing the whole group into smaller subgroups. We apply our work to compute the distortion of normal subgroups of graph of groups and normal subgroups of right-angled Artin groups that induce infinite cyclic quotient groups. We construct normal subgroups of $\CAT(0)$ groups introduced by Macura and introduce a collection of normal subgroups of right-angled Artin groups. These groups provide …
