Nonnormal and minimal nonabelian subgroups of a finite group

Let G be a finite p-group. If p = 2, then a nonabelian group G = Ω₁(G) is generated by dihedral subgroups of order 8. If p > 2 and a nonabelian group G = Ω₁(G) has no subgroup isomorphic to S_p²{\Sigma _{{p^2}}}, a Sylow p-subgroup of the symmetric group of degree p ², then it is generated by nonabelian subgroups of order p ³ and exponent p. If p > 2 and the irregular p-group G has < p nonabelian subgroups of order p ^p and exponent p, then G is of maximal class and order p ^p+1. We also study in some detail the p-groups, containing exactly p nonabelian subgroups of order p ^p and exponent p. In conclusion, we prove three new counting theorems on the number of subgroups of maximal class of certain type in a p-group. In particular, we prove that if p > 2, and G is a p-group of order > p ^p+1, then the number of subgroups ≅ ΣS_p²{\Sigma _{{p^2}}} in G is a multiple of p.     

Recognition of some simple groups by their noncommuting graphs

Let G be a nonabelian group and associate a noncommuting graph ∇(G) with G as follows: The vertex set of ∇(G) is G\Z(G) with two vertices x and y joined by an edge whenever the commutator of x and y is not the identity. Abdollahi et al. (J Algebra 298(2):468–492, 2006) put forward a conjecture called AAM’s Conjecture in as follows: If M is a finite nonabelian simple group and G is a group such that ∇(G) ≅ ∇(M), then G ≅ M. Even though this conjecture is well known to hold for all simple groups with nonconnected prime graphs and the alternating group A ₁₀ [see Darafsheh (Groups with the same non-commuting graph. Discrete Appl Math (2008) doi:), Wang and Shi (Commun Algebra 36(2):523–528, 2008)], it is still unknown for all simple groups with connected prime graphs except A ₁₀. In the present paper, we prove that this conjecture is also true for the projective special linear simple group L ₄(9). The new method used in this paper also works well in the cases L ₄(4), L ₄(7), U ₄(7), etc.     

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.     

Verifying Huppert’s Conjecture for PSp<Subscript>4</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>) when <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis> > 7

Let G denote a finite group and cd (G) the set of irreducible character degrees of G. Bertram Huppert conjectured that if H is a finite nonabelian simple group such that cd (G) = cd (H), then G ≅ H × A, where A is an abelian group. Huppert verified the conjecture for PSp₄(q) when q = 3, 4, 5, or 7. In this paper, we extend Huppert’s results and verify the conjecture for PSp₄(q) for all q. This demonstrates progress toward the goal of verifying the conjecture for all nonabelian simple groups of Lie type of rank two.     

A new characterization of L 2(q) by its noncommuting graph

Let G be a non-abelian group and associate a non-commuting graph ∇(G) with G as follows: the vertex set of ∇(G) is G\Z(G) with two vertices x and y joined by an edge whenever the commutator of x and y is not the identity. In this short paper we prove that if G is a finite group with ∇(G) ≅ ∇(M), where M = L ₂(q) (q = p ⁿ , p is a prime), then G ≅ M.      

Verifying Huppert’s Conjecture for <Superscript>2</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>)

Let G be a finite group and cd(G) be the set of irreducible character degrees of G. Bertram Huppert conjectured that if H is a finite nonabelian simple group such that cd(G) = cd(H), then G ≅ H×A, where A is an abelian group. In this paper, we verify the conjecture for the twisted Ree groups ² G ₂(q ²) for q ² = 3^2m + 1, m ≥ 1. The argument involves verifying five steps outlined by Huppert in his arguments establishing his conjecture for many of the nonabelian simple groups.     

Schur multiplicators of infinite pro-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-groups with finite coclass

Let G be an infinite pro-p-group of finite coclass and let M(G) be its Schur multiplicator. For p > 2, we determine the isomorphism type of Hom(M(G), ℤ_p), where ℤ_p denotes the p-adic integers, and show that M(G) is infinite. For p = 2, we investigate the Schur multiplicators of the infinite pro-2-groups of small coclass and show that M(G) can be infinite, finite or even trivial.     

Recognition by noncommuting graph of finite simple groups L 4(q)

Let G be a nonabelian group. We define the noncommuting graph ∇(G) of G as follows: its vertex set is G\Z(G), the set of non-central elements of G, and two different vertices x and y are joined by an edge if and only if x and y do not commute as elements of G, i.e., [x, y] ≠ 1. We prove that if L ∈ {L ₄(7), L ₄(11), L ₄(13), L ₄(16), L ₄(17)} and G is a finite group such that ∇(G) ≅ ∇(L), then G ≅ L.     

The largest lengths of conjugacy classes and the Sylow subgroups of finite groups

Let G be a finite nonabelian group, P ∈Syl_p(G), and bcl(G) the largest length of conjugacy classes of G. In this short paper, we prove that in general and |P/O_p(G)| < bcl(G) in the case where P is abelian. Received: 26 December 2004; revised: 26 January 2005     

Blocks with nonabelian defect groups which have cyclic subgroups of index p

In representation theory of finite groups, one of the most important and interesting problems is that, for a p-block A of a finite group G where p is a prime, the numbers k(A) and ℓ(A) of irreducible ordinary and Brauer characters, respectively, of G in A are p-locally determined. We calculate k(A) and ℓ(A) for the cases where A is a full defect p-block of G, namely, a defect group P of A is a Sylow p-subgroup of G and P is a nonabelian metacyclic p-group M _n+1(p) of order p ⁿ⁺¹ and exponent p ⁿ for n \geqslant 2{n \geqslant 2}, and where A is not necessarily a full defect p-block but its defect group P = M _n+1(p) is normal in G. The proof is independent of the classification of finite simple groups.     

Quasirecognition by prime graph of the simple group <Superscript>2</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis><Subscript>4</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>)

As the main result, we show that if G is a finite group such that Γ(G) = Γ(² F ₄(q)), where q = 2^2m+1 for some m ≧ 1, then G has a unique nonabelian composition factor isomorphic to ² F ₄(q). We also show that if G is a finite group satisfying |G| =|² F ₄(q)| and Γ(G) = Γ(² F ₄(q)), then G ≅ ² F ₄(q). As a consequence of our result we give a new proof for a conjecture of W. Shi and J. Bi for ² F ₄(q). The third author was supported in part by a grant from IPM (No. 87200022).     

On the Frattini normal embeddability of products ofp-groups

ItH _i is a finite non-abelianp-group with center of orderp, for 1≦j≦R, then the direct product of theH _i does not occur as a normal subgroup contained in the Frattini subgroup of any finitep-group. If the Frattini subgroup Φ of a finitep-groupG is cyclic or elementary abelian of orderp ², then the centralizer of Φ inG properly contains Φ. Non-embeddability properties of products of groups of order 16 are established.     

OD-characterization of all simple groups whose orders are less than 108

Let M be a simple group whose order is less than 10⁸. In this paper, we prove that if G is a finite group with the same order and degree pattern as M, then the following statements hold: (a) If M ≠ A ₁₀, U ₄(2), then G ≅ M; (b) If M = A ₁₀, then G ≅ A ₁₀ or J ₂ × ℤ₃; (c) If M = U ₄(2), then G is isomorphic to a 2-Frobenius group or U ₄(2). In particular, all simple groups whose orders are less than 10⁸ but A ₁₀ and U ₄(2) are OD-characterizable. As a consequence of this result, we can give a positive answer to a conjecture put forward by W. J. Shi and J. X. Bi in 1990 [Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 1456, 171–180].      

On the depth of the canonical modules of graded rings associated to an ideal

In this article, we first give a necessary and sufficient condition on a finite purely nonabelian p-group G for the group Aut _c (G) of central automorphisms of G to be elementary Abelian. We then generalize our result to the homocyclic case.     

On subgroups of finite <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-groups

In §2, we prove that if a 2-group G and all its nonabelian maximal sub-groups are two-generator, then G is either metacyclic or minimal non-abelian. In §3, we consider a similar question for p > 2. In §4 the 2-groups all of whose minimal nonabelian subgroups have order 16 and a cyclic subgroup of index 2, are classified. It is proved, in §5, that if G is a nonmetacyclic two-generator 2-group and A, B, C are all its maximal subgroups with d(A) ≤ d(B) ≤ d(C), then d(C) = 3 and either d(A) = d(B) = 3 (this occurs if and only if G/G′ has no cyclic subgroup of index 2) or else d(A) = d(B) = 2. Some information on the last case is obtained in Theorem 5.3.     

On maximal abelian subgroups in finite 2-groups

We determine here up to isomorphism the structure of any finite nonabelian 2-group G in which every two distinct maximal abelian subgroups have cyclic intersection. We obtain five infinite classes of such 2-groups (Theorem 1.1). This solves for p = 2 the problem Nr. 521 stated by Berkovich (in preparation). The more general problem Nr. 258 stated by Berkovich (in preparation) about the structure of finite nonabelian p-groups G such that A ∩ B = Z(G) for every two distinct maximal abelian subgroups A and B is treated in Theorems 3.1 and 3.2. In Corollary 3.3 we get a new result for an arbitrary finite 2-group. As an application of Theorems 3.1 and 3.2, we solve for p = 2 a problem of Heineken-Mann (Problem Nr. 169 stated in Berkovich, in preparation), classifying finite 2-groups G such that A/Z(G) is cyclic for each maximal abelian subgroup A (Theorem 4.1).      

Characterization of finite simple group <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript>(2)

Let G be a finite group, and let π _e (G) be the spectrum of G, that is, the set of all element orders of G. In 1987, Shi Wujie put forward the following conjecture. If G is a finite group and M is a non-abelian simple group, then G ≅ M if and only if |G| = |M| and π _e (G) = π _e (M). In this short paper, we prove that if G is a finite group, then G ≅ M if and only if |G| = |M| and π _e (G) = π _e (M), where M = D _n (2) and n is even.     

Characterization of $ {\mathbb{A}_{16}} $ by a noncommuting graph

Let G be a finite non-Abelian group. We define a graph Γ _G ; called the noncommuting graph of G; with a vertex set G − Z(G) such that two vertices x and y are adjacent if and only if xy ≠ yx: Abdollahi, Akbari, and Maimani put forward the following conjecture (the AAM conjecture): If S is a finite non-Abelian simple group and G is a group such that Γ _S ≅ Γ _G ; then S ≅ G: It is still unknown if this conjecture holds for all simple finite groups with connected prime graph except \mathbbA₁₀ {\mathbb{A}_{10}} , L ₄(8), L ₄(4), and U ₄(4). In this paper, we prove that if \mathbbA₁₆ {\mathbb{A}_{16}} denotes the alternating group of degree 16; then, for any finite group G; the graph isomorphism G_\mathbbA16 @ G_G {\Gamma_{{\mathbb{A}_{16}}}} \cong {\Gamma_G} implies that \mathbbA₁₆ @ G {\mathbb{A}_{16}} \cong G .     

A New Characterization of A 10 by its Noncommuting Graph

Let G be a nonabelian group and associate a noncommuting graph ?(G) with G as follows: The vertex set of ?(G) is G\Z(G) with two vertices x and y joined by an edge whenever the commutator of x and y is not the identity. In 1987, Professor J. G. Thompson gave the following conjecture.

Thompson's Conjecture. If G is a finite group with Z(G) = 1 and M is a nonabelian simple group satisfying N(G) = N(M), then G ? M, where N(G):={n ∈ ? | G has a conjugacy class of size n}.

In 2006, A. Abdollahi, S. Akbari, and H. R. Maimani put forward a conjecture (AAM's conjecture) in Abdollahi et al. (2006) as follows.

AAM's Conjecture. Let M be a finite nonabelian simple group and G a group such that ?(G) ? ? (M). Then G ? M.

In this short article we prove that if G is a finite group with ?(G) ? ? (A ₁₀), then G ? A ₁₀, where A ₁₀ is the alternating group of degree 10.     

Classification of finite groups according to the number of conjugacy classes II

In the following,G denotes a finite group,r(G) the number of conjugacy classes ofG, β(G) the number of minimal normal subgroups ofG andα(G) the number of conjugate classes ofG not contained in the socleS(G). Let Φ _j = {G|β(G) =r(G) −j}. In this paper, the family Φ₁₁ is classified. In addition, from a simple inspection of the groups withr(G) =b conjugate classes that appear in ϒ _j ^=1/11 Φ _j , we obtain all finite groups satisfying one of the following conditions: (1)r(G) = 12; (2)r(G) = 13 andβ(G) > 1; …; (9)r(G) = 20 andβ(G) > 8; (10)r(G) =n andβ(G) =n −a with 1 ≦a ≦ 11, for each integern ≧ 21. Also, we obtain all finite groupsG with 13 ≦r(G) ≦ 20,β(G) ≦r(G) − 12, and satisfying one of the following conditions: (i) 0 ≦α(G) ≦ 4; (ii) 5 ≦α(G) ≦ 10 andS(G) solvable.