Cross-sections, quotients, and representation rings of semisimple algebraic groups

Let G be a connected semisimple algebraic group over an algebraically closed field k. In 1965 Steinberg proved that if G is simply connected, then in G there exists a closed irreducible cross-section of the set of closures of regular conjugacy classes. We prove that in arbitrary G such a cross-section exists if and only if the universal covering isogeny t:[^(G)] ? G \tau :\hat{G} \to G is bijective; this answers Grothendieck’s question cited in the epigraph. In particular, for char k = 0, the converse to Steinberg’s theorem holds. The existence of a cross-section in G implies, at least for char k = 0, that the algebra k[G] ^G of class functions on G is generated by rk G elements. We describe, for arbitrary G, a minimal generating set of k[G] ^G and that of the representation ring of G and answer two Grothendieck’s questions on constructing generating sets of k[G] ^G . We prove the existence of a rational (i.e., local) section of the quotient morphism for arbitrary G and the existence of a rational cross-section in G (for char k = 0, this has been proved earlier); this answers the other question cited in the epigraph. We also prove that the existence of a rational section is equivalent to the existence of a rational W-equivariant map T ⇢ G/T where T is a maximal torus of G and W the Weyl group.     

On the differences between Szeged and Wiener indices of graphs

Let G be a connected graph and η(G)=Sz(G)−W(G), where W(G) and Sz(G) are the Wiener and Szeged indices of G, respectively. A well-known result of Klav?ar, Rajapakse, and Gutman states that η(G)≥0, and by a result of Dobrynin and Gutman η(G)=0 if and only if each block of G is complete. In this paper, a path-edge matrix for the graph G is presented by which it is possible to classify the graphs in which η(G)=2. It is also proved that there is no graph G with the property that η(G)=1 or η(G)=3. Finally, it is proved that, for a given positive integer k,k≠1,3, there exists a graph G with η(G)=k.     

Characterizations of G-tube domains

Let G be a real connected Lie group for which the universal complexification G ^ℂ has a polar decomposition G ^ℂ≅G exp(i?), where ? denotes the Lie algebra of G. The present paper is concerned with Riemann G-domains over the complex group G ^ℂ viewed as a G-manifold via the left multiplication. Such a Riemann domain X is said to be of Reinhardt type if G contains a discrete cocompact subgroup $\Gamma$ for whichG/Γ is a Stein manifold. Here the following is proved: Every Riemann G-domain of Reinhardt type is schlicht, hence a G-tube domain, i.e., a G-invariant subdomain of G ^ℂ. As an application one obtains conditions for a holomorphically separable G-manifold to be a G-tube domain. Received: 22 October 1998     

On Two Theorems of Finite Solvable Groups

For a finite group G, let T（G） denote a set of primes such that a prime p belongs to T（G） if and only if p is a divisor of the index of some maximal subgroup of G. It is proved that if G satisfies any one of the following conditions： （1） G has a p-complement for each p∈T（G）; （2）│T（G）│= 2： （3） the normalizer of a Sylow p-subgroup of G has prime power index for each odd prime p∈T（G）; then G either is solvable or G/Sol（G）≌PSL（2, 7） where Sol（G） is the largest solvable normal subgroup of G.     

Acyclic edge colorings of graphs

A proper coloring of the edges of a graph G is called acyclic if there is no 2‐colored cycle in G. The acyclic edge chromatic number of G, denoted by a′(G), is the least number of colors in an acyclic edge coloring of G. For certain graphs G, a′(G) ≥ Δ(G) + 2 where Δ(G) is the maximum degree in G. It is known that a′(G) ≤ 16 Δ(G) for any graph G. We prove that there exists a constant c such that a′(G) ≤ Δ(G) + 2 for any graph G whose girth is at least cΔ(G) log Δ(G), and conjecture that this upper bound for a′(G) holds for all graphs G. We also show that a′(G) ≤ Δ + 2 for almost all Δ‐regular graphs. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 37: 157–167, 2001     

On properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis>-expansive homeomorphisms

We show that LUB of the set of G-expansive constants for a G-expansive homeomorphism h on a compact metric G-space, G compact, is not a G-expansive constant for h. We obtain a result regarding projecting and lifting of G-expansive homeomorphisms having interesting applications. We also prove that the G-expansiveness is a dynamical property for homeomorphisms on compact metric G-spaces and study G-periodic points.     

Special representations of the group SP(4,q) with minimal degrees

Let G be a finite group. Let p(G) denote the minimal degree of a faithful permutation representation ofG and let q(G) and c(G) denote the minimal degree of a faithful representation of G by quasi-permutation matrices over the rational and the complex numbers, respectively. Finally r(G) denotes the minimal degree of a faithful rational valued complex character of G. The purpose of this paper is to calculate p(G), q(G), c(G) and r(G) for the group SP(4,q). This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hitting times for random walks on subdivision and triangulation graphs

Let G be a connected graph. The subdivision graph of G, denoted by S(G), is the graph obtained from G by inserting a new vertex into every edge of G. The triangulation graph of G, denoted by R(G), is the graph obtained from G by adding, for each edge uv, a new vertex whose neighbours are u and v. In this paper, we first provide complete information for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the probability transition matrix of a random walk on S(G) (res. R(G)) in terms of those of G. Then we give an explicit formula for the expected hitting time between any two vertices of S(G) (res. R(G)) in terms of those of G. Finally, as applications, we show that, the relations between the resistance distances, the number of spanning trees and the multiplicative degree-Kirchhoff index of S(G) (res. R(G)) and G can all be deduced from our results directly.     

List‐coloring the square of a subcubic graph

The square G² of a graph G is the graph with the same vertex set G and with two vertices adjacent if their distance in G is at most 2. Thomassen showed that every planar graph G with maximum degree Δ(G) = 3 satisfies χ(G²) ≤ 7. Kostochka and Woodall conjectured that for every graph, the list‐chromatic number of G² equals the chromatic number of G², that is, χ_l(G²) = χ(G²) for all G. If true, this conjecture (together with Thomassen's result) implies that every planar graph G with Δ(G) = 3 satisfies χ_l(G²) ≤ 7. We prove that every connected graph (not necessarily planar) with Δ(G) = 3 other than the Petersen graph satisfies χ_l(G²) ≤8 (and this is best possible). In addition, we show that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and girth g(G) ≥ 7, then χ_l(G²) ≤ 7. Dvo?ák, ?krekovski, and Tancer showed that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and girth g(G) ≥ 10, then χ_l(G²) ≤6. We improve the girth bound to show that if G is a planar graph with Δ(G) = 3 and g(G) ≥ 9, then χ_l(G²) ≤ 6. All of our proofs can be easily translated into linear‐time coloring algorithms. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 57: 65–87, 2008     

On packing 3‐vertex paths in a graph

Let G be a connected graph and let eb(G) and λ(G) denote the number of end‐blocks and the maximum number of disjoint 3‐vertex paths Λ in G. We prove the following theorems on claw‐free graphs: (t1) if G is claw‐free and eb(G) ≤ 2 (and in particular, G is 2‐connected) then λ(G) = ⌊| V(G)|/3⌋; (t2) if G is claw‐free and eb(G) ≥ 2 then λ(G) ≥ ⌊(| V(G) | − eb(G) + 2)/3 ⌋; and (t3) if G is claw‐free and Δ^*‐free then λ(G) = ⌊| V(G) |/3⌋ (here Δ^* is a graph obtained from a triangle Δ by attaching to each vertex a new dangling edge). We also give the following sufficient condition for a graph to have a Λ‐factor: Let n and p be integers, 1 ≤ p ≤ n − 2, G a 2‐connected graph, and |V(G)| = 3n. Suppose that G − S has a Λ‐factor for every S ⊆ V(G) such that |S| = 3p and both V(G) − S and S induce connected subgraphs in G. Then G has a Λ‐factor. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 36: 175–197, 2001     

A geometric approach to complete reducibility

Let G be a connected reductive linear algebraic group. We use geometric methods to investigate G-completely reducible subgroups of G, giving new criteria for G-complete reducibility. We show that a subgroup of G is G-completely reducible if and only if it is strongly reductive in G; this allows us to use ideas of R.W. Richardson and Hilbert–Mumford–Kempf from geometric invariant theory. We deduce that a normal subgroup of a G-completely reducible subgroup of G is again G-completely reducible, thereby providing an affirmative answer to a question posed by J.-P. Serre, and conversely we prove that the normalizer of a G-completely reducible subgroup of G is again G-completely reducible. Some rationality questions and applications to the spherical building of G are considered. Many of our results extend to the case of non-connected G. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 20G15, 14L24, 20E42     

The converse of Schur’s theorem

Schur’s theorem states that for a group G finiteness of G/Z(G) implies the finiteness of G′. In this paper, we show the converse is true provided that G/Z(G) is finitely generated and in such case, we have |G/Z(G)| ≤ |G′| ^d(G/Z(G)). In the special case of G being nilpotent, we prove |G/Z(G)| divides |G′| ^d(G/Z(G)).     

Integer and Fractional Packings in Dense Graphs

Let be any fixed graph. For a graph G we define to be the maximum size of a set of pairwise edge-disjoint copies of in G. We say a function from the set of copies of in G to [0, 1] is a fractional -packing of G if for every edge e of G. Then is defined to be the maximum value of over all fractional -packings of G. We show that for all graphs G. Received July 27, 1998 / Revised December 3, 1999     

The genus of the 2-amalgamations of graphs

A graph G is called the 2-amalgamation of subgraphs G₁ and G₂ if G = G₁ ∪ G₂ and G₁ ∩ G₂ = {x, y}, 2 distinct points. in this case we write G = G₁∪_{{x, y}} G₂. in this paper we show that the orientable genus, γ(G), satisfies the inequalities γ(G₁) + γ(G₂) ? 1 ≤ γ(G₁ ∪_{{x, y}} G₂) ≤ γ(G₁) + γ(G₂) + 1 and that this is the best possible result, i. e., the resulting three values for γ(G₁ ∪_{{x, y}} G₂) which are possible can actually be realized by appropriate choices for G₁ and G₂.     

The Conjugacy Class Number k(G): A Different Perspective

For a finite group G, let m(G) denote the least positive integer such that the union of any m(G) distinct nontrivial conjugacy classes of G together with the identity of G is a subgroup of G. We prove that m(G) = k(G) ?1 for all m(G) ≥2.     

A generalization of a converse to Schur’s theorem

Niroomand (Arch. Math. 94 (2010) 401–404) proved a converse to a theorem of Schur in the following sense. He proved that if G is a group such that [G, G] is finite and G/Z(G) is finitely generated, then G/Z(G) is finite, of order bounded above by [G, G] ^k where k is the minimal number of generators required for G/Z(G). Here, we give a completely elementary short proof of a further generalization.     

On Finite n-Acentralizer Groups

Let G be a group and Aut(G) be the group of automorphisms of G. Then the Acentralizer of an automorphism α ∈Aut(G) in G is defined as C _G (α) = {g ∈ G∣α(g) = g}. For a finite group G, let Acent(G) = {C _G (α)∣α ∈Aut(G)}. Then for any natural number n, we say that G is n-Acentralizer group if |Acent(G)| =n. We show that for any natural number n, there exists a finite n-Acentralizer group and determine the structure of finite n-Acentralizer groups for n ≤ 5.     

On graph invariants satisfying the deletion-contraction formula

As a generalization of chromatic polynomials, this paper deals with real-valued mappings ψ on the class of graphs satisfying ψ(G₁) = ψ(G₂) for all pairs G₁, G₂ of isomorphic graphs and ψ(G) = ψ(G − e) − ψ(G/e) for all graphs G and all edges e of G, where the definition of G/e is nonstandard. In particular, new inequalities for chromatic polynomials are presented. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Edge‐face chromatic number and edge chromatic number of simple plane graphs

Given a simple plane graph G, an edge‐face k‐coloring of G is a function ? : E(G) ∪ F(G) → {1,…,k} such that, for any two adjacent or incident elements a, b ∈ E(G) ∪ F(G), ?(a) ≠ ?(b). Let χ_e(G), χ_ef(G), and Δ(G) denote the edge chromatic number, the edge‐face chromatic number, and the maximum degree of G, respectively. In this paper, we prove that χ_ef(G) = χ_e(G) = Δ(G) for any 2‐connected simple plane graph G with Δ (G) ≥ 24. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory