Universal deformation rings and generalized quaternion defect groups

We determine the universal deformation rings R(G,V) of certain mod 2 representations V of a finite group G which belong to a 2-modular block of G whose defect groups are isomorphic to a generalized quaternion group D. We show that for these V, a question raised by the author and Chinburg concerning the relation of R(G,V) to D has an affirmative answer. We also show that R(G,V) is a complete intersection even though R(G/N,V) need not be for certain normal subgroups N of G which act trivially on V.     

Almost fixed-point-free automorphisms of soluble groups

Suppose G is either a soluble (torsion-free)-by-finite group of finite rank or a soluble linear group over a finite extension field of the rational numbers. We consider the implications for G if G has an automorphism of finite order m with only finitely many fixed points. For example, if m is prime then G is a finite extension of a nilpotent group and if m=4 then G is a finite extension of a centre-by-metabelian group. This extends the special cases where G is polycyclic, proved recently by Endimioni (2010); see [3].     

The rational group algebra of a normally monomial group

In this paper, a complete irredundant set of a class of strong Shoda pairs of a finite group G is computed. The algebraic structure of the rational group algebra of a normally monomial group is thus obtained. A necessary and sufficient condition for G to be normally monomial is derived. The main result is also illustrated by computing a complete set of primitive central idempotents and the explicit Wedderburn decomposition of the rational group algebra of some normally monomial groups.     

Probability that the commutator of two group elements is equal to a given element

In this paper we study the probability that the commutator of two randomly chosen elements in a finite group is equal to a given element of that group. Explicit computations are obtained for groups G which |G^′| is prime and G^′≤Z(G) as well as for groups G which |G^′| is prime and G^′∩Z(G)=1. This paper extends results of Rusin [see D.J. Rusin, What is the probability that two elements of a finite group commute? Pacific J. Math. 82 (1) (1979) 237-247].     

Morphic groups

A group G is called morphic if every endomorphism α:G→G for which Gα is normal in G satisfies G/Gα≅ker(α). This concept originated in a 1976 paper of Gertrude Ehrlich characterizing when the endomorphism ring of a module is unit regular. The concept has been extensively studied in module and ring theory, and this paper investigates the idea in the category of groups. After developing their basic properties, we characterize the morphic groups among the dihedral groups and the groups whose normal subgroups form a finite chain. We investigate when a direct product of morphic groups is again morphic, prove that a finite nilpotent group is morphic if and only if its Sylow subgroups are morphic, and present some results for the case where a p-group is morphic.     

Hopf powers and orders for some bismash products

The exponent of a finite group G can be viewed as a Hopf algebraic invariant of the group algebra H=kG: it is the least integer n for which the nth Hopf power endomorphism [n] of H is trivial. The exponent of a group scheme G as studied by Gabriel and Tate and Oort can be defined in the same way using the coordinate Hopf algebra H=O(G).The power map and the corresponding notion of exponent have been studied for a general finite-dimensional Hopf algebra beginning with work of Kashina. Several positive results, suggested by analogy to the group case, were proved by Kashina and by Etingof and Gelaki.Given these positive results, there was some hope that the Hopf order of an individual element of a Hopf algebra might also be a well-behaved notion, with some properties analogous to well-known facts on the orders of elements of a finite group.In fact we prove that such analogous properties do hold for Hopf algebras satisfying the usual rule for iterated powers; for example, such a Hopf algebra H has an element of order n if and only if n divides the exponent of H. However, in general such properties are not true. We will give examples where the behavior of Hopf powers, Hopf orders, and related notions is rather strange, unexpected, and seemingly hard to predict. We will see this using computer algebra calculations in Drinfeld doubles of finite groups, and more generally in bismash products constructed from factorizable groups.     

Partial augmentations power property: A Zassenhaus Conjecture related problem

Zassenhaus conjectured that any unit of finite order in the integral group ring $\mathbb{Z}G$ of a finite group G is conjugate in the rational group algebra of G to an element in ±G. We review the known weaker versions of this conjecture and introduce a new condition, on the partial augmentations of the powers of a unit of finite order in $\mathbb{Z}G$, which is weaker than the Zassenhaus Conjecture but stronger than its other weaker versions.We prove that this condition is satisfied for units mapping to the identity modulo a nilpotent normal subgroup of G. Moreover, we show that if the condition holds then the HeLP Method adopts a more friendly form and use this to prove the Zassenhaus Conjecture for a special class of groups.     

Identifications in modular group algebras

Let G be a group, S a subgroup of G, and F a field of characteristic p. We denote the augmentation ideal of the group algebra FG by ω(G). The Zassenhaus-Jennings-Lazard series of G is defined by D_n(G)=G∩(1+ωⁿ(G)). We give a constructive proof of a theorem of Quillen stating that the graded algebra associated with FG is isomorphic as an algebra to the enveloping algebra of the restricted Lie algebra associated with the D_n(G). We then extend a theorem of Jennings that provides a basis for the quotient ωⁿ(G)/ωⁿ⁺¹(G) in terms of a basis of the restricted Lie algebra associated with the D_n(G). We shall use these theorems to prove the main results of this paper. For G a finite p-group and n a positive integer, we prove that G∩(1+ω(G)ωⁿ(S))=D_n+1(S) and G∩(1+ω²(G)ωⁿ(S))=D_n+2(S)D_n+1(S∩D₂(G)). The analogous results for integral group rings of free groups have been previously obtained by Gruenberg, Hurley, and Sehgal.     

Bounded sets in topological groups and embeddings

We show that the existence of a non-metrizable compact subspace of a topological group G often implies that G contains an uncountable supersequence (a copy of the one-point compactification of an uncountable discrete space). The existence of uncountable supersequences in a topological group has a strong impact on bounded subsets of the group. For example, if a topological group G contains an uncountable supersequence and K is a closed bounded subset of G which does not contain uncountable supersequences, then any subset A of K is bounded in G?(K?A). We also show that every precompact Abelian topological group H can be embedded as a closed subgroup into a precompact Abelian topological group G such that H is bounded in G and all bounded subsets of the quotient group G/H are finite. This complements Ursul's result on closed embeddings of precompact groups to pseudocompact groups.     

A description of Baer-Suzuki type of the solvable radical of a finite group

We obtain the following characterization of the solvable radical R(G) of any finite group G: R(G) coincides with the collection of all g∈G such that for any 3 elements a₁,a₂,a₃∈G the subgroup generated by the elements , i=1,2,3, is solvable. In particular, this means that a finite group G is solvable if and only if in each conjugacy class of G every 4 elements generate a solvable subgroup. The latter result also follows from a theorem of P. Flavell on {2,3}^′-elements in the solvable radical of a finite group (which does not use the classification of finite simple groups).     

Bredon homology and ramified covering G-maps

Let G be a finite group. The objective of this paper is twofold. First we prove that the cellular Bredon homology groups with coefficients in an arbitrary coefficient system M are isomorphic to the homotopy groups of certain topological abelian group. And second, we study ramified covering G-maps of simplicial sets and of simplicial complexes. As an application, we construct a transfer for them in Bredon homology, when M is a Mackey functor. We also show that the Bredon-Illman homology with coefficients in M satisfies the equivariant weak homotopy equivalence axiom in the category of G-spaces.     

Nilpotency of group ring units symmetric with respect to an involution

Let F be an infinite field of characteristic different from 2. Let G be a torsion group having an involution ∗, and consider the units of the group ring FG that are symmetric with respect to the induced involution. We classify the groups G such that these symmetric units satisfy a nilpotency identity (x₁,…,x_n)=1.     

Skew group algebras of piecewise hereditary algebras are piecewise hereditary

We show that the main results of Happel-Rickard-Schofield (1988) and Happel-Reiten-Smalø (1996) on piecewise hereditary algebras are coherent with the notion of group action on an algebra. Then, we take advantage of this compatibility and show that if G is a finite group acting on a piecewise hereditary algebra A over an algebraically closed field whose characteristic does not divide the order of G, then the resulting skew group algebra A[G] is also piecewise hereditary.     

Lie properties of symmetric elements in group rings II

Let F be a field of characteristic different from 2, and G a group with involution ∗. Write (FG)⁺ for the set of elements in the group ring FG that are symmetric with respect to the induced involution. Recently, Giambruno, Polcino Milies and Sehgal showed that if G has no 2-elements, and (FG)⁺ is Lie nilpotent (resp. Lie n-Engel), then FG is Lie nilpotent (resp. Lie m-Engel, for some m). Here, we classify the groups containing 2-elements such that (FG)⁺ is Lie nilpotent or Lie n-Engel.     

The three space problem in topological groups

We study compact, countably compact, pseudocompact, and functionally bounded sets in extensions of topological groups. A property P is said to be a three space property if, for every topological group G and a closed invariant subgroup N of G, the fact that both groups N and G/N have P implies that G also has P. It is shown that if all compact (countably compact) subsets of the groups N and G/N are metrizable, then G has the same property. However, the result cannot be extended to pseudocompact subsets, a counterexample exists under p=c. Another example shows that extensions of groups do not preserve the classes of realcompact, Dieudonné complete and μ-spaces: one can find a pseudocompact, non-compact Abelian topological group G and an infinite, closed, realcompact subgroup N of G such that G/N is compact and all functionally bounded subsets of N are finite. Several examples given in the article destroy a number of tempting conjectures about extensions of topological groups.     

Fusions of Character Tables and Schur Rings of Abelian Groups

If the character table of a finite group H satisfies certain conditions, then the classes and characters of H can fuse to give the character table of a group G of the same order. We investigate the case where H is an abelian group. The theory is developed in terms of the S-rings of Schur and Wielandt. We discuss certain classes of p-groups which fuse from abelian groups and give examples of such groups which do not. We also show that a large class of simple groups do not fuse from abelian groups. The methods to show fusion include the use of extensions which are Camina pairs, but other techniques on S-rings are also developed.     

On the multiple exterior degree of finite groups

Recently the first two authors have introduced a group invariant, called exterior degree, which is related to the number of elements x and y of a finite group G such that xΛy = 1 in the exterior square GΛG of G. Research on this topic gives some relations between this concept, the Schur multiplier and the capability of a finite group. In the present paper, we will generalize the concept of exterior degree of groups and we will introduce the multiple exterior degree of finite groups. Among other results, we will obtain some relations between the multiple exterior degree, multiple commutativity degree and capability of finite groups.     

Graded polynomial identities and codimensions: Computing the exponential growth

Let G be a finite abelian group and A a G-graded algebra over a field of characteristic zero. This paper is devoted to a quantitative study of the graded polynomial identities satisfied by A. We study the asymptotic behavior of , n=1,2,…, the sequence of graded codimensions of A and we prove that if A satisfies an ordinary polynomial identity, exists and is an integer. We give an explicit way of computing such integer by proving that it equals the dimension of a suitable finite dimension semisimple G×Z₂-graded algebra related to A.     

Metrizable refinements of group topologies and the pseudo-intersection number

The pseudo-intersection number, denoted p, is the minimum cardinality of a family A⊆P(ω) having the strong finite intersection property but no infinite pseudo-intersection. For every countable topologizable group G, let pG denote the minimum character of a nondiscrete Hausdorff group topology on G which cannot be refined to a nondiscrete metrizable group topology. We show that pG=p.