On control of the prime spectrum of a finite simple group

The set π(G) of all prime divisors of the order of a finite group G is often called its prime spectrum. It is proved that every finite simple nonabelian group G has sections H ₁, …, H _m of some special form such that π(H ₁)∪…∪π(H _m ) = π(G) and m ≤ 5. Moreover, m ≤ 2 if G is an alternating or classical simple group. In all cases, it is possible to choose the sections H _i so that each of them is a simple nonabelian group, a Frobenius group, or (in one case) a dihedral group. If the above equality holds for a finite group G, then we say that the set {H ₁,…,H _m } controls the prime spectrum of G. We also study some parameter c(G) of finite groups G related to the notion of control.     

Hamiltonian cycles in Dirac graphs

We prove that for any n-vertex Dirac graph (graph with minimum degree at least n/2) G=(V,E), the number, Ψ(G), of Hamiltonian cycles in G is at least

$exp_2 [2h(G) - n\log e - o(n)],$

where h(G)=maxΣ _e x _e log(1/x _e ), the maximum over x: E → ?⁺ satisfying Σ _e?υ x _e = 1 for each υ ∈ V, and log =log₂. (A second paper will show that this bound is tight up to the o(n).)

We also show that for any (Dirac) G of minimum degree at least d, h(G) ≥ (n/2) logd, so that Ψ(G) > (d/(e + o(1))) ⁿ . In particular, this says that for any Dirac G we have Ψ(G) > n!/(2 + o(1)) ⁿ , confirming a conjecture of G. Sárközy, Selkow, and Szemerédi which was the original motivation for this work.     

Spectra of Automorphic Extensions of Finite Simple Exceptional Groups of Lie Type

The spectrum ω (G) of a finite group G is the set of orders of elements of G. Let S be a simple exceptional group of type E ₆ or E ₇ . We describe all finite groups G such that S ≤ G ≤ Aut S and ω (G) = ω (S) and completes the study of the recognition-by-spectrum problem for all simple exceptional groups of Lie type.     

On Dominions of the Rationals in Nilpotent Groups

The dominion of a subgroup H of a group G in a class M is the set of all a ∈ G that have the same images under every pair of homomorphisms, coinciding on H from G to a group in M. A group H is n-closed in M if for every group G = gr(H, a₁,..., a_n) in M that includes H and is generated modulo H by some n elements, the dominion of H in G (in M) is equal to H. We prove that the additive group of the rationals is 2-closed in every quasivariety of torsion-free nilpotent groups of class at most 3.     

Realizability of Two-dimensional Linear Groups over Rings of Integers of Algebraic Number Fields

Given the ring of integers O _K of an algebraic number field K, for which natural numbers n there exists a finite group G???GL(n, O _K ) such that O _K G, the O _K -span of G, coincides with M(n, O _K ), the ring of (n?×?n)-matrices over O _K ? The answer is known if n is an odd prime. In this paper we study the case n?=?2; in the cases when the answer is positive for n?=?2, for n?=?2m there is also a finite group G???GL(2m, O _K ) such that O _K G?=?M(2m, O _K ).     

Finite Groups Whose <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Maximal Subgroups Are Modular

Let G be a finite group. If M_n< M_n?1< · · · < M₁< M₀ = G with Mi a maximal subgroup of M_i?1 for all i = 1,..., n, then M_n (n > 0) is an n-maximal subgroup of G. A subgroup M of G is called modular provided that (i) 〈X,M ∩ Z〉 = 〈X,M〉 ∩ Z for all X ≤ G and Z ≤ G such that X ≤ Z, and (ii) 〈M,Y ∩ Z〉 = 〈M,Y 〉 ∩ Z for all Y ≤ G and Z ≤ G such that M ≤ Z. In this paper, we study finite groups whose n-maximal subgroups are modular.     

Degree sum of a pair of independent edges and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis><Subscript>3</Subscript>-connectivity

Let G be a 2-edge-connected simple graph on n vertices. For an edge e = uv ∈ E(G), define d(e) = d(u) + d(v). Let F denote the set of all simple 2-edge-connected graphs on n ≥ 4 vertices such that G ∈ F if and only if d(e) + d(e’) ≥ 2n for every pair of independent edges e, e’ of G. We prove in this paper that for each G ∈ F, G is not Z ₃-connected if and only if G is one of K _2,n?2, K _3,n?3, K _2,n?2 ⁺ , K _3,n?3 ⁺ or one of the 16 specified graphs, which generalizes the results of X. Zhang et al. [Discrete Math., 2010, 310: 3390–3397] and G. Fan and X. Zhou [Discrete Math., 2008, 308: 6233–6240].     

On 2-Closedness of the Rational Numbers in Quasivarieties of Nilpotent Groups

The dominion of a subgroup H of a group G in a class M is the set of all elements a ∈ G that have equal images under every pair of homomorphisms from G to a group of M coinciding on H. A group H is said to be n-closed in M if for every group G = gr(H, a₁,..., a _n ) of M that contains H and is generated modulo H by some n elements, the dominion of H in G (in M) is equal to H. We prove that the additive group of the rational numbers is 2-closed in every quasivariety M of torsion-free nilpotent groups of class at most 3 whenever every 2-generated group of M is relatively free.     

On the length of a finite group and of its 2-generator subgroups

The nonsoluble length λ(G) of a finite group G is defined as the minimum number of nonsoluble factors in a normal series of G each of whose quotients either is soluble or is a direct product of nonabelian simple groups. The generalized Fitting height of a finite group G is the least number h = h* (G) such that F* _h (G) = G, where F* ₁ (G) = F* (G) is the generalized Fitting subgroup, and F* _i+1(G) is the inverse image of F* (G/F*_i (G)). In the present paper we prove that if λ(J) ≤ k for every 2-generator subgroup J of G, then λ(G) ≤ k. It is conjectured that if h* (J) ≤ k for every 2-generator subgroup J, then h* (G) ≤ k. We prove that if h* (〈x, x^g 〉) ≤ k for allx, g ∈ G such that 〈x, x^g 〉 is soluble, then h* (G) is k-bounded.     

An explicit formula for the fourth moment of certain exponential sums

For integers m, n, q, k, with q,k≧1 and Dirichlet characters \(\chi, \chi' \text {\rm \;(mod}\,q)\) we define a generalized Kloosterman sum

$S(m,n,\chi, \chi', q)= \sideset{}{'} \sum_{a=1}^q \chi (a)G(a,\chi')e \left(\frac{ma^k+na}{q}\right)$

with a Dirichlet character and a Gauss sum G(a,χ′) as coefficient, where e(z)=e ^2πiz . The aim of this paper is to study the fourth power mean

$M_k(q)=\sum_m\ \sum_{\chi}\ \sum_{\chi'} \bigl|S(m,n,\chi,\chi', q)\bigr|^4$

obtaining explicit formulas for M _k (q).

     

On the finite prime spectrum minimal groups

Let G be a finite group. The set of all prime divisors of the order of G is called the prime spectrum of G and is denoted by π(G). A group G is called prime spectrum minimal if π(G) ≠ π(H) for any proper subgroup H of G. We prove that every prime spectrum minimal group all of whose nonabelian composition factors are isomorphic to the groups from the set {PSL ₂(7), PSL ₂(11), PSL ₅(2)} is generated by two conjugate elements. Thus, we extend the corresponding result for finite groups with Hall maximal subgroups. Moreover, we study the normal structure of a finite prime spectrum minimal group with a nonabelian composition factor whose order is divisible by exactly three different primes.     

Finiteness results for lattices in certain Lie groups

In this note we establish some general finiteness results concerning lattices Γ in connected Lie groups G which possess certain “density” properties (see Moskowitz, M., On the density theorems of Borel and Furstenberg, Ark. Mat. 16 (1978), 11–27, and Moskowitz, M., Some results on automorphisms of bounded displacement and bounded cocycles, Monatsh. Math. 85 (1978), 323–336). For such groups we show that Γ always has finite index in its normalizer N _G (Γ). We then investigate analogous questions for the automorphism group Aut(G) proving, under appropriate conditions, that Stab_Aut(G)(Γ) is discrete. Finally we show, under appropriate conditions, that the subgroup \(\tilde{\Gamma}=\{i_{\gamma}:\gamma \in \Gamma \},\ i_{\gamma}(x)=\gamma x\gamma^{-1}\), of Aut(G) has finite index in Stab_Aut(G)(Γ). We test the limits of our results with various examples and counterexamples.     

Stability of Discontinuous Groups Acting on Homogeneous Spaces

Suppose given a nilpotent connected simply connected Lie group G, a connected Lie subgroup H of G, and a discontinuous group Γ for the homogeneous space M = G/H. In this work we study the topological stability of the parameter space R(Γ,G,H) in the case where G is three-step. We prove a stability theorem for certain particular pairs (Γ,H). We also introduce the notion of strong stability on layers making use of an explicit layering of Hom(Γ,G) and study the case of Heisenberg groups.     

Finite groups with some non-Abelian subgroups of non-prime-power order

Let G be a finite group and NA(G) denote the number of conjugacy classes of all nonabelian subgroups of non-prime-power order of G. The Symbol π(G) denote the set of the prime divisors of |G|. In this paper we establish lower bounds on NA(G). In fact, we show that if G is a finite solvable group, then NA(G) = 0 or NA(G) ≥ 2^|π(G)|?2, and if G is non-solvable, then NA(G) ≥ |π(G)| + 1. Both lower bounds are best possible.     

Finite simple groups that are not spectrum critical

Let G be a finite group. The spectrum of G is the set ω(G) of orders of all its elements. The subset of prime elements of ω(G) is called the prime spectrum and is denoted by π(G). A group G is called spectrum critical (prime spectrum critical) if, for any subgroups K and L of G such that K is a normal subgroup of L, the equality ω(L/K) = ω(G) (π(L/K) = π(G), respectively) implies that L = G and K = 1. In the present paper, we describe all finite simple groups that are not spectrum critical. In addition, we show that a prime spectrum minimal group G is prime spectrum critical if and only if its Fitting subgroup F(G) is a Hall subgroup of G.     

Fekete-Szegö problem for close-to-convex functions with respect to a certain convex function dependent on a real parameter

Given α ∈ [0, 1], let h _α (z):= z/(1 - αz), z ∈ D:= {z ∈ D: |z| < 1}. An analytic standardly normalized function f in D is called close-to-convex with respect to h _α if there exists δ ∈ (-π/2, π/2) such that Re{e^iδ zf′(z)/h _α (z)} > 0, z ∈ D. For the class ? (h _α ) of all close-to-convex functions with respect to h _α , the Fekete-Szegö problem is studied.     

Every graph is (2,3)-choosable

A total weighting of a graph G is a mapping ? that assigns to each element z ∈ V (G)∪E(G) a weight ?(z). A total weighting ? is proper if for any two adjacent vertices u and v, ∑ _e∈E(u) ?(e)+?(u)≠∑ _e∈E(v) ?(e)+?(v). This paper proves that if each edge e is given a set L(e) of 3 permissible weights, and each vertex v is given a set L(v) of 2 permissible weights, then G has a proper total weighting ? with ?(z) ∈ L(z) for each element z ∈ V (G)∪E(G).     

Connections and Higgs fields on a principal bundle

Let M be a compact connected Kähler manifold and G a connected linear algebraic group defined over \({\mathbb{C}}\) . A Higgs field on a holomorphic principal G-bundle ε _G over M is a holomorphic section θ of \(\text{ad}(\epsilon_{G})\otimes {\Omega}^{1}_{M}\) such that θ∧ θ = 0. Let L(G) be the Levi quotient of G and (ε _G (L(G)), θ _l ) the Higgs L(G)-bundle associated with (ε _G , θ). The Higgs bundle (ε _G , θ) will be called semistable (respectively, stable) if (ε _G (L(G)), θ _l ) is semistable (respectively, stable). A semistable Higgs G-bundle (ε _G , θ) will be called pseudostable if the adjoint vector bundle ad(ε _G (L(G))) admits a filtration by subbundles, compatible with θ, such that the associated graded object is a polystable Higgs vector bundle. We construct an equivalence of categories between the category of flat G-bundles over M and the category of pseudostable Higgs G-bundles over M with vanishing characteristic classes of degree one and degree two. This equivalence is actually constructed in the more general equivariant set-up where a finite group acts on the Kähler manifold. As an application, we give various equivalent conditions for a holomorphic G-bundle over a complex torus to admit a flat holomorphic connection.     

On a problem of P. Hall for Engel words

Let θ be a word in n variables and let G be a group; the marginal and verbal subgroups of G determined by θ are denoted by θ(G) and θ ^*(G), respectively. The following problems are generally attributed to P. Hall:

1. (I)
   If π is a set of primes and |G : θ ^*(G)| is a finite π-group, is θ(G) also a finite π-group?
    
2. (II)
   If θ(G) is finite and G satisfies maximal condition on its subgroups, is |G : θ ^*(G)| finite?
    
3. (III)
   If the set \({\{\theta(g_1,\ldots,g_n) \;|\; g_1,\ldots,g_n\in G\}}\) is finite, does it follow that θ(G) is finite?
    

We investigate the case in which θ is the n-Engel word e _n  = [x, _n y] for \({n\in\{2,3,4\}}\) .

     

Integral approximation of the characteristic function of an interval by trigonometric polynomials

We prove that the value E _n?1(χ _h ) _L of the best integral approximation of the characteristic function χ _h of an interval (?h, h) on the period [?π,π) by trigonometric polynomials of degree at most n ? 1 is expressed in terms of zeros of the Bernstein function cos {nt ? arccos[(2q ? (1 + q ²) cost)/(1 + q ² ? 2q cost)]}, t ∈ [0, π], q ∈ (?1,1). Here, the parameters q, h, and n are connected in a special way; in particular, q = sech ? tanh for h = π/n.