Let N be a normal subgroup of a finite group G and consider the set cd(G|N) of degrees of irreducible characters of G whose kernels do not contain N. A number of theorems are proved relating the set cd(G|N) to the structure of N. For example, if N is solvable, its derived length is bounded above by a function of |cd(G|N)|. Also, if |cd(G|N)| is at most 2, then N is solvable and its derived length is at most |cd(G|N)|. If G is solvable and |cd(G|N)| = 3, then the derived length of N is at most 3.
We determine all finite subgroups of simple algebraic groups that have irreducible centralizers - that is, centralizers whose connected component does not lie in a parabolic subgroup.
A closed subgroup of a semisimple algebraic group is called irreducible if it lies in no proper parabolic subgroup. In this paper we classify all irreducible subgroups of exceptional algebraic groups $G$ which are connected, closed and simple of rank at least $2$. Consequences are given concerning the representations of such subgroups on various $G$-modules: for example, with one exception, the conjugacy classes of irreducible simple connected subgroups of rank at least $2$ are determined by their composition factors on the adjoint module for $G$.
This paper is a contribution to the study of the subgroup structure of exceptional algebraic groups over algebraically closed fields of arbitrary characteristic. Following Serre, a closed subgroup of a semisimple algebraic group $G$ is called irreducible if it lies in no proper parabolic subgroup of $G$. In this paper we complete the classification of irreducible connected subgroups of exceptional algebraic groups, providing an explicit set of representatives for the conjugacy classes of such subgroups. Many consequences of this classification are also given. These include results concerning t…
Our main goal is to determine, under certain restrictions, the maximal closed connected subgroups of simple algebraic groups containing a regular torus. We call a torus regular if its centralizer is abelian. We also obtain some results of independent interest. In particular, we determine the irreducible representations of simple algebraic groups whose non-zero weights occur with multiplicity 1.
In this paper, we classify conjugacy classes of centralizers of irreducible subgroups in $PSL(n,\mathbb{C})$ using alternate modules a.k.a. finite abelian groups with an alternate bilinear form. When $n$ is squarefree, we prove that these conjugacy classes are classified by their isomorphism classes. More generally, we define a finite graph related to this classification whose combinatorial properties are expected to help us describe the stratification of the singular (orbifold) locus in some character varieties.
Let $N$ be a normal subgroup of a finite group $G$. In this paper, we consider the elements $g$ of $N$ such that $χ(g)\neq 0$ for all irreducible characters $χ$ of $G$. Such an element is said to be non-vanishing in $G$. Let $p$ be a prime. If all $p$-elements of $N$ satisfy the previous property, then we prove that $N$ has a normal Sylow $p$-subgroup. As a consequence, we also study certain arithmetical properties of the $G$-conjugacy class sizes of the elements of $N$ which are zeros of some irreducible character of $G$. In particular, if $N=G$, then new contributions are obtained.
We call an element of a finite general linear group $ \textrm{GL}(d,q) $ \emph{fat} if it leaves invariant, and acts irreducibly on, a subspace of dimension greater than $d/2$. Fatness of an element can be decided efficiently in practice by testing whether its characteristic polynomial has an irreducible factor of degree greater than $d/2$. We show that for groups $G$ with $ \textrm{SL}(d,q) \leq G \leq \textrm{GL}(d,q) $ most pairs of fat elements from $G$ generate irreducible subgroups, namely we prove that the proportion of pairs of fat elements generating a reducible subgroup, in the set o…
The following results are proved: The center of any finite index subgroup of an irreducible, infinite, non-affine Coxeter group is trivial; Any finite index subgroup of an irreducible, infinite, non-affine Coxeter group cannot be expressed as a product of two nontrivial subgroups. These two theorems imply a unique decomposition theorem for a class of Coxeter groups. We also obtain that the orbit of each element other than the identity under the conjugation action in an irreducible, infinite, non-affine Coxeter group is an infinite set. This implies that an irreducible, infinite Coxeter group i…
In this article we give an self contained existence proof for J. Conway's sporadic simple group Co_1 [4] using the second author's algorithm [14] constructing finite simple groups from irreducible subgroups of GL_n(2). Here n = 11 and the irreducible subgroup is the Mathieu group M_{24}. From the split extension E of M_{24} by a uniquely determined 11-dimensional GF(2)M_{24}-module V we construct the centralizer H = C_G(z) of a 2-central involution z of E in an unknown target group G. Then we prove that all the conditions of Algorithm 2.5 of [14] are satisfied. This allows us to construct a si…
Let $p\ge 3$ be a prime. A generalised multi-edge spinal group is a subgroup of the automorphism group of a regular $p$-adic rooted tree T that is generated by one rooted automorphism and $p$ families of directed automorphisms, each family sharing a common directed path disjoint from the paths of the other families. This notion generalises the concepts of multi-edge spinal groups, including the widely studied GGS-groups, and the extended Gupta-Sidki groups that were introduced by Pervova. Extending techniques that were developed in these more special cases, we prove: generalised multi-edge spi…
In this note, we formulate an observation that "almost all" irreducible ordinary characters of finite groups of Lie type remain irreducible when restricted to the derived subgroups. To see this, key ingredients are some asymptotic results for conjugacy classes of finite groups of Lie type and strongly regular semisimple elements in dual groups.
This is the fourth and last in a series of four papers (with research announcement posted on this arXiv) that develop a decomposition theory for subgroups of $\text{Out}(F_n)$. In this paper we develop general ping-pong techniques for the action of $\text{Out}(F_n)$ on the space of lines of $F_n$. Using these techniques we prove the main results stated in the research announcement, Theorem C and its special case Theorem I, the latter of which says that for any finitely generated subgroup $\mathcal H$ of $\text{Out}(F_n)$ that acts trivially on homology with $\mathbb{Z}/3$ coefficients, and for…
We prove that non-trivial representations of the alternating group $A_n$ are reducible over a primitive proper subgroup which is isomorphic to some alternating group $A_m$.
Let $G$ be a simple linear algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $p \geqslant 0$, let $H$ be a proper closed subgroup of $G$ and let $V$ be a nontrivial finite dimensional irreducible rational $KG$-module. We say that $(G,H,V)$ is an irreducible triple if $V$ is irreducible as a $KH$-module. Determining these triples is a fundamental problem in the representation theory of algebraic groups, which arises naturally in the study of the subgroup structure of classical groups. In the 1980s, Seitz and Testerman extended earlier work of Dynkin on connected subgroups…
We determine the irreducible 2-modular representations of the symplectic group $G=Sp_{2n}(2)$ whose restriction to every abelian subgroup has a trivial constituent. A similar result is obtained for maximal tori of $G$. There is significant information on the existence of eigenvalue 1 of elements of $G$ in a given irreducible representation of $G$.
We extend the Howlett-Isaacs theorem on the solvability of groups of central type taking into account actions by automorphisms. Then we study certain induced characters whose constituents have all the same degree.
Let $G$ be a simple classical algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $p \ge 0$ with natural module $W$. Let $H$ be a closed subgroup of $G$ and let $V$ be a non-trivial irreducible tensor-indecomposable $p$-restricted rational $KG$-module such that the restriction of $V$ to $H$ is irreducible. In this paper we classify all such triples $(G,H,V)$, where $H$ is a maximal closed disconnected positive-dimensional subgroup of $G$, and $H$ preserves a natural geometric structure on $W$.
We classify all triples $(G,V,H)$ such that $SL_n(q)\leq G\leq GL_n(q)$, $V$ is a representation of $G$ of dimension greater than one over an algebraically closed field $\FF$ of characteristic coprime to $q$, and $H$ is a proper subgroup of $G$ such that the restriction $V\dar_{H}$ is irreducible. This problem is a natural part of the Aschbacher-Scott program on maximal subgroups of finite classical groups.
Let $G_2(q)$ be the Chevalley group of type $G_2$ defined over a finite field with q=p^n elements, where p is a prime number and $n$ is a positive integer. In this paper, we determine when the restriction of an absolutely irreducible representation of $G$ in characteristic other than p to a maximal subgroup of $G_2(q)$ is still irreducible. Similar results are obtained for $^2B_2(q)$ and $^2G_2(q)$.
Let G be a simple classical algebraic group over an algebraically closed field K of characteristic $p \ge 0$ with natural module W. Let H be a closed subgroup of G and let V be a nontrivial p-restricted irreducible tensor indecomposable rational KG-module such that the restriction of V to H is irreducible. In this paper we classify the triples (G,H,V) of this form, where $V \ne W, W^{*}$ and H is a disconnected almost simple positive-dimensional closed subgroup of G acting irreducibly on W. Moreover, by combining this result with earlier work, we complete the classification of the irreducible …
We prove that various subgroups of the mapping class group $Mod(Σ)$ of a surface $Σ$ are at least exponentially distorted. Examples include the Torelli group (answering a question of Hamenstadt), the "point-pushing" and surface braid subgroups, and the Lagrangian subgroup. Our techniques include a method to compute lower bounds on distortion via representation theory and an extension of Johnson theory to arbitrary subgroups of $H_1(Σ;\mathbb{Z})$.
The classical Itô-Michler theorem on character degrees of finite groups asserts that if the degree of every complex irreducible character of a finite group $G$ is coprime to a given prime $p$, then $G$ has a normal Sylow $p$-subgroup. We propose a new direction to generalize this theorem by introducing an invariant concerning character degrees. We show that if the average degree of linear and even-degree irreducible characters of $G$ is less than $4/3$ then $G$ has a normal Sylow $2$-subgroup, as well as corresponding analogues for real-valued characters and strongly real characters. These res…
We let $φ$ be an ageometric fully irreducible outer automorphism so that its Handel-Mosher axis bundle consists of a single unique axis. We show that the centralizer $Cen(\langleφ\rangle)$ of the cyclic subgroup generated by $φ$ equals the stabilizer $\text{Stab}(Λ^+_φ)$ of the attracting lamination $Λ^+_φ$ and is isomorphic to $\mathbb Z$. We further show, via an analogous result about the commensurator, that the normalizer $N(\langleφ\rangle)$ of $\langle φ\rangle$ is isomorphic to either $\mathbb Z$ or $\mathbb Z_2 * \mathbb Z_2$.
This work gives a classification of imprimitive irreducible finite subgroups of the orthogonal group O(7) plus the number of conjugate classes for each group.
In this paper, we calculate the numbers of irreducible ordinary characters and irreducible Brauer characters in a block of a finite group $G$, whose associated fusion system over a 2-subgroup $P$ of $G$ (which is a defect group of the block) has the hyperfocal subgroup $\mathbb Z_{2^n}\times \mathbb Z_{2^n}$ for some $n\geq 2$, when the block is controlled by the normalizer $N_G(P)$ and the hyperfocal subgroup is contained in the center of $P$, or when the block is not controlled by $N_G(P)$ and the hyperfocal subgroup is contained in the center of the unique essential subgroup in the fusion s…
Let $G$ be a simple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $p\geqslant 0$, let $H$ be a proper closed subgroup of $G$ and let $V$ be a nontrivial irreducible $KG$-module, which is $p$-restricted, tensor indecomposable and rational. Assume that the restriction of $V$ to $H$ is irreducible. In this paper, we study the triples $(G,H,V)$ of this form when $G$ is a classical group and $H$ is positive-dimensional. Combined with earlier work of Dynkin, Seitz, Testerman and others, our main theorem reduces the problem of classifying the triples $(G,H,V)$ to the case w…
Let $U(q)$ be a Sylow $p$-subgroup of the Chevalley groups $D_4(q)$ where $q$ is a power of a prime $p$. We describe a construction of all complex irreducible characters of $U(q)$ and obtain a classification of these irreducible characters via the root subgroups which are contained in the center of these characters. Furthermore, we show that the multiplicities of the degrees of these irreducible characters are given by polynomials in $q-1$ with nonnegative coefficients.
We study irreducible restrictions from modules over symmetric groups to subgroups. We get reduction results which substantially restrict the classes of subgroups and modules for which this is possible. Such results are known when the characteristic of the ground field is greater than $3$, but the small characteristics cases require a substantially more delicate analysis and new ideas. This work fits into the Aschbacher-Scott program on maximal subgroups of finite classical groups.
We parametrize the set of irreducible characters of the Sylow $p$-subgroups of the Chevalley groups $\mathrm{D}_6(q)$ and $\mathrm{E}_6(q)$, for an arbitrary power $q$ of any prime $p$. In particular, we establish that the parametrization is uniform for $p \ge 3$ in type $\mathrm{D}_6$ and for $p \ge 5$ in type $\mathrm{E}_6$, while the prime $2$ in type $\mathrm{D}_6$ and the primes $2,$ $3$ in type $\mathrm{E}_6$ yield character degrees of the form $q^m/p^i$ which force a departure from the generic situations. Also for the first time in our analysis we see a family of irreducible characters …
We describe the centralizer of irreducible representations from a finitely generated group $Γ$ to $PSL(p,\mathbb{C})$ where $p$ is a prime number. This leads to a description of the singular locus (the set of conjugacy classes of representations whose centralizer strictly contains the center of the ambient group) of the irreducible part of the character variety $χ^i(Γ,PSL(p,\mathbb{C}))$. When $Γ$ is a free group of rank $l\geq 2$ or the fundamental group of a closed Riemann surface of genus $g\geq 2$, we give a complete description of this locus and prove that this locus is exactly the set of…
Let $p$ be a prime and let $\mathbb{C}$ be the complex field. We explicitly classify the finite solvable irreducible monomial subgroups of $\mathrm{GL}(p,\mathbb{C})$ up to conjugacy. That is, we give a complete and irredundant list of $\mathrm{GL}(p,\mathbb{C})$-conjugacy class representatives as generating sets of monomial matrices. Copious structural information about non-solvable finite irreducible monomial subgroups of $\mathrm{GL}(p,\mathbb{C})$ is also proved, enabling a classification of all such groups bar one family. We explain the obstacles in that exceptional case. For $p\leq 3$, w…
We show that the maximal subgroup of the free profinite semigroup associated by Almeida to an irreducible sofic shift is a free profinite group, generalizing an earlier result of the second author for the case of the full shift (whose corresponding maximal subgroup is the maximal subgroup of the minimal ideal). A corresponding result is proved for certain relatively free profinite semigroups. We also establish some other analogies between the kernel of the free profinite semigroup and the $\J$-class associated to an irreducible sofic shift.
We study irreducible restrictions from modules over alternating groups to subgroups. We get reduction results which substantially restrict the classes of subgroups and modules for which this is possible. This is known when the characteristic of the ground field is greater than $3$, but the small characteristics cases require a substantially more delicate analysis and new ideas. In view of our earlier work on symmetric groups we may consider only the restriction of irreducible modules over alternating groups which do not extend to symmetric groups. This work fits into the Aschbacher-Scott progr…
Many results have been established about determining whether or not an element evaluates to zero on an irreducible character of a group. In this note it is shown that if a group $G$ has a normal nilpotent subgroup $N$, and $P$ is a Sylow $p$-subgroup of $G$, then no irreducible character of $G$ vanishes on $N\cap Z(P)$.
We prove that $d(G) \log |G| = O(n^2 \log q)$ for irreducible subgroups $G$ of GL$(n,q)$, and estimate the associated constants. The result is motivated by attempts to bound the complexity of computing the automorphism groups of various classes of finite groups.
It has been known that the centralizer $Z_W(W_I)$ of a parabolic subgroup $W_I$ of a Coxeter group $W$ is a split extension of a naturally defined reflection subgroup by a subgroup defined by a 2-cell complex $\mathcal{Y}$. In this paper, we study the structure of $Z_W(W_I)$ further and show that, if $I$ has no irreducible components of type $A_n$ with $2 \leq n < \infty$, then every element of finite irreducible components of the inner factor is fixed by a natural action of the fundamental group of $\mathcal{Y}$. This property has an application to the isomorphism problem in Coxeter groups.
A character of a group is said to be super-monomial if every primitive character inducing it is linear. It is conjectured by Isaacs that every irreducible character of an odd $M$-group is super-monomial. We show that all non linear irreducible characters of lowest degree of an odd $M$-group is super-monomial and provide cases in which one can guarantee that certain irreducible characters of normal subgroups are super-monomial. Finally, we study groups having two irreducible monomial character degrees.
Let F be a finite field with q elements, let A be a finite dimensional F-algebra and let J=J(A) be the Jacobson radical of A. Then G=1+J is a p-group, where p is the characteristic of F. We refer to G as an F-algebra group. A subgroup H of G is said to be an algebra subgroup of G if H=1+U for some multiplicatively closed F-subspace of J. In this paper, we parametrize the irreducible complex characters of G in terms of G-orbits on the dual space of J. Moreover, we prove that every irreducible complex character of G is induced from a linear character of some algebra subgroup of G.
In a previous article by the author and P. Wesolek, it was shown that a compactly generated locally compact group $G$ admits a finite normal series $(G_i)$ in which the factors are compact, discrete or irreducible in the sense that no closed normal subgroup of $G$ lies properly between $G_{i-1}$ and $G_{i}$. In the present article, we generalize this series to an analogous decomposition of the coset space $G/H$ with respect to closed subgroups, where $G$ is locally compact and $H$ is compactly generated. This time, the irreducible factors are coset spaces $G_{i}/G_{i-1}$ where $G_{i}$ is compa…
Let $G$ be a semisimple real algebraic Lie group of real rank at least two and $U$ be the unipotent radical of a non-trivial parabolic subgroup. We prove that a discrete Zariski dense subgroup of $G$ that contains an irreducible lattice of $U$ is an arithmetic lattice of $G$. This solves a conjecture of Margulis and extends previous work of Hee Oh.
We prove Clifford theoretic results on the representations of finite groups which only hold in characteristic $2$. Let $G$ be a finite group, let $N$ be a normal subgroup of $G$ and let $φ$ be an irreducible $2$-Brauer character of $N$ which is self-dual. We prove that there is a unique self-dual irreducible Brauer character $θ$ of $G$ such that $φ$ occurs with odd multiplicity in the restriction of $θ$ to $N$. Moreover this multiplicity is $1$. Conversely if $θ$ is an irreducible $2$-Brauer character of $G$ which is self-dual but not of quadratic type, the restriction of $θ$ to $N$ is a sum o…
Given a permutational wreath product sequence of cyclic groups we investigate its minimal generating set, minimal generating set for its commutator and some properties of its commutator subgroup. We strengthen the result of author \cite{SkVC, SkMal, SkAr} and construct minimal generating set for wreath product of finite and infinite cyclic groups and direct product of such groups. We generalize results of Meldrum about commutator subgroup of wreath product \cite{Meld} because we take in consideration as regular wreath product as well as no regular (where active group $\mathcal{A}$ can acts not…
Let $U_n(q)$ denote the upper triangular group of degree $n$ over the finite field $\F_q$ with $q$ elements. It is known that irreducible constituents of supercharacters partition the set of all irreducible characters $\Irr(U_n(q)).$ In this paper we present a correspondence between supercharacters and pattern subgroups of the form $U_k(q)\cap {}^wU_k(q)$ where $w$ is a monomial matrix in $GL_k(q)$ for some $k<n.$
Let G be a finite group and N be a non-trivial normal subgroup of G, such that the average character degree of irreducible characters in Irr(G|N) is less than or equal to 16=5. Then we prove that N is solvable. Also, we prove the solvability of G, by assuming that the average character degree of irreducible characters in Irr(G|N) is strictly less than 16=5. We show that the bounds are sharp.
Building on reduction theorems and dimension bounds for symmetric groups obtained in our earlier work, we classify the irreducible restrictions of representations of the symmetric and alternating groups to proper subgroups. Such classification is known when the characteristic of the ground field is greater than $3$, but the small characteristics cases require a substantially more delicate analysis and new ideas. Our results fit into the Aschbacher-Scott program on maximal subgroups of finite classical groups.
In this paper, we construct a group with three real irreducible characters whose Sylow 2-subgroup is an iterated central extension of a Suzuki 2-group. This answers a question raised by Moreto and Navarro who asked whether such a group exists.
