Note on the existence of translation nets

We exhibit a class of (2 ^k + 1, 2^2k )-translation nets with nonabelian translation group, for any natural k. At the same time, it is the first infinite class of translation nets known to admit nonisomorphic translation groups for each of its elements.      

On the lower central series of the free nilpotent groups of finite rank

In their article, “On the derived subgroup of the free nilpotent groups of finite rank” R. D. Blyth, P. Moravec, and R. F. Morse describe the structure of the derived subgroup of a free nilpotent group of finite rank n as a direct product of a nonabelian group and a free abelian group, each with a minimal generating set of cardinality that is a given function of n. They apply this result to computing the nonabelian tensor squares of the free nilpotent groups of finite rank. We generalize their main result to investigate the structure of the other terms of the lower central series of a free nilpotent group of finite rank, each again described as a direct product of a nonabelian group and a free abelian group. In order to compute the ranks of the free abelian components and the size of minimal generating sets for the nonabelian components we introduce what we call weight partitions.     

The transposition of locally compact,connected translation planes

This note deals with the transposition of translation planes in the topological context. We show that a topological congruenceC of the real vector space ²ⁿ has the property that every hyperplane of ²ⁿ contains a component ofC. This makes it possible to define the transposeP of the topological translation planeP associated withC; it is proved that the translation planeP is topological also. The relationship between collineation groups and the relationship between coordinatizing quasifields ofP andP are also discussed.     

Groups Admitting a Kantor Family and a Factorized NormalSubgroup

We study the structure of a finite groupG admitting a Kantor family (F, F ^*) of type (s, t) and a nontrivial normal subgroupX which isfactorized byF F ^*. The most interesting cases, giving necessary conditions on the structure ofG and the parameterss andt, are those where a further Kantor family is induced inX, or where a partial congruence partition is induced in the factor groupG/X. Most of the known finite generalized quadrangles can be constructed as coset geometries with respect to a Kantor family. We show that the parameters of a skew translation generalized quadrangle necessarily are powers of the same prime. Furthermore, the structure of nonabelian groups admitting a Kantor family consisting only of abelian members is considered.Dedicated to Hanfried Lenz on the occasion of his 80th birthday     

On R*-sequenceability and symmetric harmoniousness of groups

We introduce a special harmoniousness called symmetric harmoniousness of groups and extend the R^*-sequenceability of abelian groups to nonabelian groups. We prove that the direct product of an R^*-sequenceable group of even order with a symmetric harmonious group of odd order is R^*-sequenceable. Examples of nonabelian R^*-sequenceable groups and nonabelian symmetric harmonious groups are given. It is shown that the nonabelian groups of order 3q (q prime) are symmetric harmonious. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

K-theory and exact sequences of partial translation algebras

In an earlier paper, the authors introduced partial translation algebras as a generalisation of group C^?${\mathrm{C}}^{?}$-algebras. Here we establish an extension of partial translation algebras, which may be viewed as an excision theorem in this context. We apply this general framework to compute the K-theory of partial translation algebras and group C^?${\mathrm{C}}^{?}$-algebras in the context of almost invariant subspaces of discrete groups. This generalises the work of Cuntz, Lance, Pimsner and Voiculescu. In particular we provide a new perspective on Pimsner's calculation of the K-theory for a graph product of groups.     

Lecture Hall Partitions

We prove a finite version of the well-known theorem that says that the number of partitions of an integer N into distinct parts is equal to the number of partitions of N into odd parts. Our version says that the number of lecture hall partitions of length n of N equals the number of partitions of N into small odd parts: 1,3,5, ldots, 2n-1 . We give two proofs: one via Bott's formula for the Poincaré series of the affine Coxeter group , and one direct proof.     

Primitive permutation groups of simple diagonal type

LetG be a finite primitive group such that there is only one minimal normal subgroupM inG, thisM is nonabelian and nonsimple, and a maximal normal subgroup ofM is regular. Further, letH be a point stabilizer inG. ThenH∩M is a (nonabelian simple) common complement inM to all the maximal normal subgroups ofM, and there is a natural identification ofM with a direct powerT ^m of a nonabelian simple groupT in whichH∩M becomes the “diagonal” subgroup ofT ^m: this is the origin of the title. It is proved here that two abstractly isomorphic primitive groups of this type are permutationally isomorphic if (and obviously only if) their point stabilizers are abstractly isomorphic. GivenT ^m, consider first the set of all permutational isomorphism classes of those primitive groups of this type whose minimal normal subgroups are abstractly isomorphic toT ^m. Secondly, form the direct productS _m×OutT of the symmetric group of degreem and the outer automorphism group ofT (so OutT=AutT/InnT), and consider the set of the conjugacy classes of those subgroups inS _m×OutT whose projections inS _m are primitive. The second result of the paper is that there is a bijection between these two sets. The third issue discussed concerns the number of distinct permutational isomorphism classes of groups of this type, which can fall into a single abstract isomorphism class.     

Unitals and inversive planes

We show that if U is a Buekenhout-Metz unital (with respect to a point P) in any translation plane of order q ² with kernel containing GF(q), then U has an associated 2-(q²,q+1,q) design which is the point-residual of an inversive plane, generalizing results of Wilbrink, Baker and Ebert. Further, our proof gives a natural, geometric isomorphism between the resulting inversive plane and the (egglike) inversive plane arising from the ovoid involved in the construction of the Buekenhout-Metz unital. We apply our results to investigate some parallel classes and partitions of the set of blocks of any Buekenhout-Metz unital.     

On translation planes of orderq 3 that admit a collineation group of orderq 3

Let II be a translation plane of orderq ³, with kernel GF(q) forq a prime power, that admits a collineation groupG of orderq ³ in the linear translation complement. Moreover, assume thatG fixes a point at infinity, acts transitively on the remaining points at infinity andG/E is an abelian group of orderq ², whereE is the elation group ofG.In this article, we determined all such translation planes. They are (i) elusive planes of type I or II or (ii) desirable planes.Furthermore, we completely determined the translation planes of orderp ³, forp a prime, admitting a collineation groupG of orderp ³ in the translation complement such thatG fixes a point at infinity and acts transitively on the remaining points at infinity. They are (i) semifield planes of orderp ³ or (ii) the Sherk plane of order 27.     

Desarguesian partial parallelisms

This article establishes connections between Desarguesian partial parallelisms of deficiency one in PG(3,q) and translation planes of orderq ⁴ admitting a collineation group isomorphic to SL(2,q) which is generated by Baer collineations.The author is grateful to Professor Alan Prince for helpful conversations with respect to this article and, in particular, with respect to the actual bounds for certain maximal partial spreads.The author is grateful to the referee for helpful comments in the writing of this article.     

Idempotent Block Splitting on Partial Partitions,I: Isotone Operators

Image segmentation algorithms can be modelled as image-guided operators (maps) on the complete lattice of partitions of space, or on the one of partial partitions (i.e., partitions of subsets of the space). In particular region-splitting segmentation algorithms correspond to block splitting operators on the lattice of partial partitions, in other words anti-extensive operators that act by splitting each block independently. This first paper studies in detail block splitting operators and their lattice-theoretical and monoid properties; in particular we consider their idempotence (a requirement in image segmentation). We characterize block splitting openings (kernel operators) as operators splitting each block into its connected components according to a partial connection; furthermore, block splitting openings constitute a complete sublattice of the complete lattice of all openings on partial partitions. Our results underlie the connective approach to image segmentation introduced by Serra. The second paper will study two classes of non-isotone idempotent block splitting operators, that are also relevant to image segmentation.     

Fejér means of functions on noncommutative Vilenkin groups with respect to the character system

Summary It is known that the Fejér means - with respect to the character system of the Walsh, and bounded Vilenkin groups - of an integrable function converge to the function a.e. In this work we discuss analogous problems on the complete product of finite, not necessarily Abelian groups with respect to the character system for functions that are constant on the conjugacy classes. We find that the nonabelian case differs from the commutative case. We prove the a.e. convergence of the (C,1) means of the Fourier series of square integrable functions. We also prove the existence of a function f∊L^q for some q >1 such that sup |σ_n f | = + ∞ a.e. This is a sharp contrast between the Abelian and the nonabelian cases.     

Perfect Baer Subplane Partitions and Three-Dimensional Flag-Transitive Planes

The classification of perfectBaer subplane partitions of PG(2, q²) is equivalentto the classification of 3-dimensional flag-transitive planeswhose translation complements contain a linear cyclic group actingregularly on the line at infinity. Since all known flag-transitiveplanes admit a translation complement containing a linear cyclicsubgroup which either acts regularly on the points of the lineat infinity or has two orbits of equal size on these points,such a classification would be a significant step towards theclassification of all 3-dimensional flag-transitive planes. Usinglinearized polynomials, a parametric enumeration of all perfectBaer subplane partitions for odd q is described.Moreover, a cyclotomic conjecture is given, verified by computerfor odd prime powers q < 200, whose truth would implythat all perfect Baer subplane partitions arise from a constructionof Kantor and hence the corresponding flag-transitive planesare all known.     

Multiplicative Jordan Decomposition in Group Rings of 3-Groups,II

In this paper, we complete the classification of those finite 3-groups G whose integral group rings have the multiplicative Jordan decomposition property. If G is abelian, then it is clear that ?[G] satisfies the multiplicative Jordan decomposition (MJD). In the nonabelian case, we show that ?[G] satisfies MJD if and only if G is one of the two nonabelian groups of order 3³ = 27.     

Representation of finite groups and the first Betti number of branched coverings of a universal Borromean orbifold

The paper studies the first homology of finite regular branched coverings of a universal Borromean orbifold called B _4,4,4ℍ³. We investigate the irreducible components of the first homology as a representation space of the finite covering transformation group G. This gives information on the first betti number of finite coverings of general 3-manifolds by the universality of B _4,4,4. The main result of the paper is a criterion in terms of the irreducible character whether a given irreducible representation of G is an irreducible component of the first homology when G admits certain symmetries. As a special case of the motivating argument the criterion is applied to principal congruence subgroups of B _4,4,4. The group theoretic computation shows that most of the, possibly nonprincipal, congruence subgroups are of positive first Betti number. This work is partially supported by the Sonderforschungsbereich 288.     

Ovoids and translation planes revisited

Kantor has previously described the translation planes which may be obtained by projecting sections of ovoids in ⁺(8, q)-spaces to ovoids in corresponding ⁺(6, q)-spaces. Since the Klein correspondence associates spreads in 4-dimensional vector spaces with ovoids in ⁺(6, q)-spaces, there are corresponding translation planes of order q ² and kernel containing GF(q). In this article, we revisit some of these translation planes and give some presentations of the spreads. Motivated by various properties of the planes, we study, in general, translation planes which admit certain homology groups and/or elation groups. In particular, we develop new constructions of projective planes of Lenz-Barlotti class II-1.Finally, we show how certain projective planes of order q ² of Lenz-Barlotti class II-1 may be considered equivalent to flocks of quadratic cones in PG(3, q).This work was partially supported by NSF grant DMS-8800843.     

On the self-intersections of curves deep in the lower central series of a surface group

We give various estimates of the minimal number of self-intersections of a nontrivial element of the kth term of the lower central series and derived series of the fundamental group of a surface. As an application, we obtain a new topological proof of the fact that free groups and fundamental groups of closed surfaces are residually nilpotent. Along the way, we prove that a nontrivial element of the kth term of the lower central series of a nonabelian free group has to have word length at least k in a free generating set.     

Frattini subgroups ofp-closed andp-supersolvable groups

A nonabelianp-group with cyclic center cannot occur as a normal subgroup contained in the Frattini subgroup of ap-closed group. If a nonabelian normal subgroup of orderp ⁿ and nilpotence classk is contained in the Frattini subgroup of ap-closed group, then its exponent is a divisor ofp ^n−k . This fact is used to derive a relation among the order, number of generators, exponent, and class of the Frattini subgroup, forp-groups. Finally, it is conjectured that a nonabelianp-group having center of orderp cannot occur as a normal subgroup contained in the Frattini subgroup of any finite group. A proof is given forp-supersolvable groups.     

On the structure of the augmentation quotient group for some nonabelian 2-groups

Let G be a finite nonabelian group, ℤG its associated integral group ring, and Δ(G) its augmentation ideal. For the semidihedral group and another nonabelian 2-group the problem of their augmentation ideals and quotient groups Q _n (G) = Δ ⁿ (G)/Δ ⁿ⁺¹(G) is deal with. An explicit basis for the augmentation ideal is obtained, so that the structure of its quotient groups can be determined.