Engel-type subgroups and length parameters of finite groups

Let g be an element of a finite group G. For a positive integer n, let E _n (g) be the subgroup generated by all commutators [...[[x, g], g],..., g] over x ∈ G, where g is repeated n times. By Baer’s theorem, if E _n (g) = 1, then g belongs to the Fitting subgroup F(G). We generalize this theorem in terms of certain length parameters of E _n (g). For soluble G we prove that if, for some n, the Fitting height of E _n (g) is equal to k, then g belongs to the (k+1)th Fitting subgroup F_k+1(G). For nonsoluble G the results are in terms of nonsoluble length and generalized Fitting height. The generalized Fitting height h*(H) of a finite group H is the least number h such that F_h* (H) = H, where F₀* (H) = 1, and F_i+1(H)* is the inverse image of the generalized Fitting subgroup F*(H/F*_i (H)). Let m be the number of prime factors of |g| counting multiplicities. It is proved that if, for some n, the generalized Fitting height of E _n (g) is equal to k, then g belongs to F*_f(k,m)(G), where f(k, m) depends only on k and m. The nonsoluble length λ(H) of a finite group H is defined as the minimum number of nonsoluble factors in a normal series each of whose factors either is soluble or is a direct product of nonabelian simple groups. It is proved that if λ(E _n (g)) = k, then g belongs to a normal subgroup whose nonsoluble length is bounded in terms of k and m. We also state conjectures of stronger results independent of m and show that these conjectures reduce to a certain question about automorphisms of direct products of finite simple groups.     

Length-type parameters of finite groups with almost unipotent automorphisms

Let α be an automorphism of a finite group G. For a positive integer n, let E _G,n (α) be the subgroup generated by all commutators [...[[x,α],α],…,α] in the semidirect product G 〈α〉 over x ∈ G, where α is repeated n times. By Baer’s theorem, if E _G,n (α)=1, then the commutator subgroup [G,α] is nilpotent. We generalize this theorem in terms of certain length parameters of E _G,n (α). For soluble G we prove that if, for some n, the Fitting height of E _G,n (α) is equal to k, then the Fitting height of [G,α] is at most k + 1. For nonsoluble G the results are in terms of the nonsoluble length and generalized Fitting height. The generalized Fitting height h*(H) of a finite group H is the least number h such that F _h* (H) = H, where F ₀* (H) = 1, and F _i+1* (H) is the inverse image of the generalized Fitting subgroup F*(H/F _i *(H)). Let m be the number of prime factors of the order |α| counting multiplicities. It is proved that if, for some n, the generalized Fitting height E _G,n (α) of is equal to k, then the generalized Fitting height of [G,α] is bounded in terms of k and m. The nonsoluble length λ(H) of a finite group H is defined as the minimum number of nonsoluble factors in a normal series each of whose factors either is soluble or is a direct product of nonabelian simple groups. It is proved that if λE _G,n (α)= k, then the nonsoluble length of [G,α] is bounded in terms of k and m. We also state conjectures of stronger results independent of m and show that these conjectures reduce to a certain question about automorphisms of direct products of finite simple groups.     

Some Existence Theorems on All Fractional (<Emphasis Type="Italic">g</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>)-factors with Prescribed Properties

Let G be a graph, and g, f: V (G) → Z⁺ with g(x) ≤ f(x) for each x ∈ V (G). We say that G admits all fractional (g, f)-factors if G contains an fractional r-factor for every r: V (G) → Z⁺ with g(x) ≤ r(x) ≤ f(x) for any x ∈ V (G). Let H be a subgraph of G. We say that G has all fractional (g, f)-factors excluding H if for every r: V (G) → Z⁺ with g(x) ≤ r(x) ≤ f(x) for all x ∈ V (G), G has a fractional r-factor F _h such that E(H) ∩ E(F _h ) = θ, where h: E(G) → [0, 1] is a function. In this paper, we show a characterization for the existence of all fractional (g, f)-factors excluding H and obtain two sufficient conditions for a graph to have all fractional (g, f)-factors excluding H.     

The Upper Connected Vertex Detour Monophonic Number of a Graph

For any vertex x in a connected graph G of order n ≥ 2, a set S _x ? V (G) is an x-detour monophonic set of G if each vertex v ∈ V (G) lies on an x-y detour monophonic path for some element y in S _x . The minimum cardinality of an x-detour monophonic set of G is the x-detour monophonic number of G, denoted by dm _x (G). A connected x-detour monophonic set of G is an x-detour monophonic set S _x such that the subgraph induced by S _x is connected. The minimum cardinality of a connected x-detour monophonic set of G is the connected x-detour monophonic number of G, denoted by cdm _x (G). A connected x-detour monophonic set S _x of G is called a minimal connected x-detour monophonic set if no proper subset of S _x is a connected x-detour monophonic set. The upper connected x-detour monophonic number of G, denoted by cdm⁺ _x (G), is defined to be the maximum cardinality of a minimal connected x-detour monophonic set of G. We determine bounds and exact values of these parameters for some special classes of graphs. We also prove that for positive integers r,d and k with 2 ≤ r ≤ d and k ≥ 2, there exists a connected graph G with monophonic radius r, monophonic diameter d and upper connected x-detour monophonic number k for some vertex x in G. Also, it is shown that for positive integers j,k,l and n with 2 ≤ j ≤ k ≤ l ≤ n - 3, there exists a connected graph G of order n with dm _x (G) = j,dm⁺ _x (G) = k and cdm⁺ _x (G) = l for some vertex x in G.     

Neighborhood Conditions for Fractional ID-<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-factor-critical Graphs

Let G be a graph and k ≥ 2 a positive integer. Let h: E(G) → [0, 1] be a function. If \(\sum\limits_{e \mathrel\backepsilon x} {h(e) = k} \) holds for each x ∈ V (G), then we call G[F_h] a fractional k-factor of G with indicator function h where F_h = {e ∈ E(G): h(e) > 0}. A graph G is fractional independent-set-deletable k-factor-critical (in short, fractional ID-k-factor-critical), if G ? I has a fractional k-factor for every independent set I of G. In this paper, we prove that if n ≥ 9k ? 14 and for any subset X ? V (G) we have

$${N_G}(X) = V(G)if|X| \geqslant \left\lfloor {\frac{{kn}}{{3k - 1}}} \right\rfloor ;or|{N_G}(X)| \geqslant \frac{{3k - 1}}{k}|X|if|X| < \left\lfloor {\frac{{kn}}{{3k - 1}}} \right\rfloor ,$$

then G is fractional ID-k-factor-critical.

     

On recognizability of some finite simple orthogonal groups by spectrum

It is proved that, if G is a finite group that has the same set of element orders as the simple group D _p (q), where p is prime, p ≥ 5 and q ∈ {2, 3, 5}, then the commutator group of G/F(G) is isomorphic to D _p (q), the subgroup F(G) is equal to 1 for q = 5 and to O _q (G) for q ∈ {2, 3}, F(G) ≤ G′, and |G/G′| ≤ 2.     

Super Edge-connectivity and Zeroth-order General Randić Index for −1 ≤ <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis> &lt; 0

Let G be a connected graph with order n, minimum degree δ = δ(G) and edge-connectivity λ = λ(G). A graph G is maximally edge-connected if λ = δ, and super edge-connected if every minimum edgecut consists of edges incident with a vertex of minimum degree. Define the zeroth-order general Randi? index \(R_\alpha ^0\left( G \right) = \sum\limits_{x \in V\left( G \right)} {d_G^\alpha \left( x \right)} \), where d_G(x) denotes the degree of the vertex x. In this paper, we present two sufficient conditions for graphs and triangle-free graphs to be super edge-connected in terms of the zeroth-order general Randi? index for ?1 ≤ α < 0, respectively.     

Neighbor sum distinguishing chromatic index of sparse graphs via the combinatorial Nullstellensatz

Let ?: E(G) → {1, 2, · · ·, k} be an edge coloring of a graph G. A proper edge-k-coloring of G is called neighbor sum distinguishing if \(\sum\limits_{e \mathrel\backepsilon u} {\phi \left( e \right)} \ne \sum\limits_{e \mathrel\backepsilon v} {\phi \left( e \right)} \) for each edge uv ∈ E(G). The smallest value k for which G has such a coloring is denoted by χ′_Σ(G), which makes sense for graphs containing no isolated edge (we call such graphs normal). It was conjectured by Flandrin et al. that χ′_Σ(G) ≤ Δ(G) + 2 for all normal graphs, except for C₅. Let mad(G) = \(\max \left\{ {\frac{{2\left| {E\left( h \right)} \right|}}{{\left| {V\left( H \right)} \right|}}|H \subseteq G} \right\}\) be the maximum average degree of G. In this paper, we prove that if G is a normal graph with Δ(G) ≥ 5 and mad(G) < 3 ? \(\frac{2}{{\Delta \left( G \right)}}\), then χ′_Σ(G) ≤ Δ(G) + 1. This improves the previous results and the bound Δ(G) + 1 is sharp.     

On <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>- critical 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>- connected graphs

A graph G is called an (n,k)-graph if κ(G-S)=n-|S| for any S ? V(G) with |S| ≤ k, where ?(G) denotes the connectivity of G. Mader conjectured that for k ≥ 3 the graph K_2k+2?(1-factor) is the unique (2k, k)-graph. Kriesell has settled two special cases for k = 3,4. We prove the conjecture for the general case k ≥ 5.     

Conditional connectivity of bubble sort graphs

A subset F ? V (G) is called an R ^k -vertex-cut of a graph G if G ? F is disconnected and each vertex of G ? F has at least k neighbors in G ? F. The R ^k -vertex-connectivity of G, denoted by κ ^k (G), is the cardinality of a minimum R ^k -vertex-cut of G. Let B _n be the bubble sort graph of dimension n. It is known that κ _k (B _n ) = 2 ^k (n ? k ? 1) for n ≥ 2k and k = 1, 2. In this paper, we prove it for k = 3 and conjecture that it is true for all k ∈ N. We also prove that the connectivity cannot be more than conjectured.     

Subgraph Transversal of Graphs

Given graphs F and G, denote by \({\tau_F}(G)\) the cardinality of a smallest subset \(T {\subseteq}V(G)\) that meets every maximal F-free subgraph of G. Erdös, Gallai and Tuza [9] considered the question of bounding \(\tau_{\overline{K_2}}(G)\) by a constant fraction of |G|. In this paper, we will give a complete answer to the following question: for which F, is τ _F (G) bounded by a constant fraction of |G|?In addition, for those graphs F for which \({\tau_F}(G)\) is not bounded by any fraction of |G|, we prove that \(\tau_F(G)\le|G|-\frac{1}{2}\sqrt{|G|}+\frac{1}{2}\), provided F is not K _k or \(\overline{K_k}\).     

Distance domination of generalized de Bruijn and Kautz digraphs

Let G = (V,A) be a digraph and k ≥ 1 an integer. For u, v ∈ V, we say that the vertex u distance k-dominate v if the distance from u to v at most k. A set D of vertices in G is a distance k-dominating set if each vertex of V D is distance k-dominated by some vertex of D. The distance k-domination number of G, denoted by γ _k (G), is the minimum cardinality of a distance k-dominating set of G. Generalized de Bruijn digraphs G _B (n, d) and generalized Kautz digraphs G _K (n, d) are good candidates for interconnection networks. Denote Δ _k := (∑ _j=0 ^k d ^j )^?1. F. Tian and J. Xu showed that ?nΔ _k ? γ _k (G _B (n, d)) ≤?n/d ^k? and ?nΔ _k ? ≤ γ _k (G _K (n, d)) ≤ ?n/d ^k ?. In this paper, we prove that every generalized de Bruijn digraph G _B (n, d) has the distance k-domination number ?nΔ _k ? or ?nΔ _k ?+1, and the distance k-domination number of every generalized Kautz digraph G _K (n, d) bounded above by ?n/(d ^k?1+d ^k )?. Additionally, we present various sufficient conditions for γ _k (G _B (n, d)) = ?nΔ _k ? and γ _k (G _K (n, d)) = ?nΔ _k ?.     

Token Graphs

For a graph G and integer k ≥ 1, we define the token graph F _k (G) to be the graph with vertex set all k-subsets of V(G), where two vertices are adjacent in F _k (G) whenever their symmetric difference is a pair of adjacent vertices in G. Thus vertices of F _k (G) correspond to configurations of k indistinguishable tokens placed at distinct vertices of G, where two configurations are adjacent whenever one configuration can be reached from the other by moving one token along an edge from its current position to an unoccupied vertex. This paper introduces token graphs and studies some of their properties including: connectivity, diameter, cliques, chromatic number, Hamiltonian paths, and Cartesian products of token graphs.     

On integral Cayley sum graphs

Let S be a subset of a finite abelian group G. The Cayley sum graph Cay⁺(G, S) of G with respect to S is a graph whose vertex set is G and two vertices g and h are joined by an edge if and only if g + h ∈ S. We call a finite abelian group G a Cayley sum integral group if for every subset S of G, Cay⁺(G, S) is integral i.e., all eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix are integers. In this paper, we prove that all Cayley sum integral groups are represented by Z₃ and Zn₂ ⁿ, n ≥ 1, where Z_k is the group of integers modulo k. Also, we classify simple connected cubic integral Cayley sum graphs.     

Disjoint cliques in claw-free graphs

A graph is said to be claw-free if it does not contain an induced subgraph isomorphic to K_1,3. Let s and k be two integers with 0 ≤ s ≤ k and let G be a claw-free graph of order n. In this paper, we investigate clique partition problems in claw-free graphs. It is proved that if n ≥ 3s+4(k?s) and d(x)+d(y) ≥ n?2s+2k+1 for any pair of non-adjacent vertices x, y of G, then G contains s disjoint K₃s and k ? s disjoint K₄s such that all of them are disjoint. Moreover, the degree condition is sharp in some cases.     

An improvement of the five halves theorem of J. Boardman

Let (M ^m , T) be a smooth involution on a closed smooth m-dimensional manifold and F = ∪ _j=0 ⁿ F ^j (n ≤ m) its fixed point set, where F ^j denotes the union of those components of F having dimension j. The famous Five Halves Theorem of J. Boardman, announced in 1967, establishes that, if F is nonbounding, then m ≤ 5/2n. In this paper we obtain an improvement of the Five Halves Theorem when the top dimensional component of F, F ⁿ , is nonbounding. Specifically, let ω = (i ₁, i ₂, …, i _r ) be a non-dyadic partition of n and s _ω (x ₁, x ₂, …, x _n ) the smallest symmetric polynomial over Z ₂ on degree one variables x ₁, x ₂, …, x _n containing the monomial \(x_1^{i_1 } x_2^{i_2 } \cdots x_r^{i_r }\). Write s _ω (F ⁿ ) ∈ H ⁿ (F ⁿ , Z ₂) for the usual cohomology class corresponding to s _ω (x ₁, x ₂, …, x _n ), and denote by ?(F ⁿ ) the minimum length of a nondyadic partition ω with s _ω (F ⁿ ) ≠ 0 (here, the length of ω = (i ₁, i ₂, …, i _r ) is r). We will prove that, if (M ^m , T) is an involution for which the top dimensional component of the fixed point set, F ⁿ , is nonbounding, then m ≤ 2n + ?(F ⁿ ); roughly speaking, the bound for m depends on the degree of decomposability of the top dimensional component of the fixed point set. Further, we will give examples to show that this bound is best possible.     

On the Characterizability of the Automorphism Groups of Sporadic Simple Groups by Their Element Orders

For G a finite group, π _e (G) denotes the set of orders of elements in G. If Ω is a subset of the set of natural numbers, h(Ω) stands for the number of isomorphism classes of finite groups with the same set Ω of element orders. We say that G is k-distinguishable if h(π _e (G)) = k < ∞, otherwise G is called non-distinguishable. Usually, a 1-distinguishable group is called a characterizable group. It is shown that if M is a sporadic simple group different from M ₁₂, M ₂₂, J ₂, He, Suz, M ^c L and O′N, then Aut(M) is characterizable by its element orders. It is also proved that if M is isomorphic to M ₁₂, M ₂₂, He, Suz or O′N, then h(π _e (Aut(M))) ∈¸ {1,∞}.     

The boundary of the outer space of a free product

Let G be a countable group that splits as a free product of groups of the form G = G ₁ *···* G _k * F _N , where F _N is a finitely generated free group. We identify the closure of the outer space PO(G, {G ₁,..., G _k }) for the axes topology with the space of projective minimal, very small (G, {G ₁,..., G _k })-trees, i.e. trees whose arc stabilizers are either trivial, or cyclic, closed under taking roots, and not conjugate into any of the G _i ’s, and whose tripod stabilizers are trivial. Its topological dimension is equal to 3N + 2k ? 4, and the boundary has dimension 3N + 2k ? 5. We also prove that any very small (G, {G ₁,..., G _k })-tree has at most 2N + 2k?2 orbits of branch points.     

Structural properties and enumeration of 1-generator generalized quasi-cyclic codes

Let F _q be a finite field of cardinality q, m ₁, m ₂, . . . , m _l be any positive integers, and \({A_i=F_q[x]/(x^{m_i}-1)}\) for i = 1, . . . , l. A generalized quasi-cyclic (GQC) code of block length type (m ₁, m ₂, . . . , m _l ) over F _q is defined as an F _q [x]-submodule of the F _q [x]-module \({A_1\times A_2\times\cdots\times A_l}\). By the Chinese Remainder Theorem for F _q [x] and enumeration results of submodules of modules over finite commutative chain rings, we investigate structural properties of GQC codes and enumeration of all 1-generator GQC codes and 1-generator GQC codes with a fixed parity-check polynomial respectively. Furthermore, we give an algorithm to count numbers of 1-generator GQC codes.     

Lower bounds on the signed total k-domination number of graphs

Let G be a graph with vertex set V(G). For any integer k ≥ 1, a signed total k-dominating function is a function f: V(G) → {?1, 1} satisfying ∑_x∈N(v)f(x) ≥ k for every v ∈ V(G), where N(v) is the neighborhood of v. The minimum of the values ∑_v∈V(G)f(v), taken over all signed total k-dominating functions f, is called the signed total k-domination number. In this note we present some new sharp lower bounds on the signed total k-domination number of a graph. Some of our results improve known bounds.