Groups with a positive law on commutators

Let p be a prime number and let G be a finitely generated group that is residually a finite p-group. We prove that if G satisfies a positive law on all elements of the form [a,b][c,d]ⁱ, a,b,c,d∈G and i?0, then the entire derived subgroup G^′ satisfies a positive law. In fact, G^′ is an extension of a nilpotent group by a locally finite group of finite exponent.     

Almost fixed-point-free automorphisms of order 2

Let φ be an automorphism of order 2 of the group G with C _G (φ) finite. We prove the following. If G has finite Hirsch number then G is (nilpotent of class at most 2)-by-finite but need not be abelian-by-finite. If G is a finite extension of a soluble group with finite abelian ranks, then G is abelian-by-finite.     

On a conjecture of E. Rapaport Strasser about knot-like groups and its pro-p version

A group G is knot-like if it is finitely presented of deficiency 1 and has abelianization G/G^′?Z. We prove the conjecture of E. Rapaport Strasser that if a knot-like group G has a finitely generated commutator subgroup G^′ then G^′ should be free in the special case when the commutator G^′ is residually finite. It is a corollary of a much more general result : if G is a discrete group of geometric dimension n with a finite K(G,1)-complex Y of dimension n, Y has Euler characteristics 0, N is a normal residually finite subgroup of G, N is of homological type FP_n-1 and G/N?Z then N is of homological type FP_n and hence G/N has finite virtual cohomological dimension vcd(G/N)=cd(G)-cd(N). In particular either N has finite index in G or cd(N)?cd(G)-1.Furthermore we show a pro-p version of the above result with the weaker assumption that G/N is a pro-p group of finite rank. Consequently a pro-p version of Rapaport's conjecture holds.     

The generating graph of finite soluble groups

For a finite group G, let Γ(G) denote the graph defined on the non-identity elements of G in such a way that two distinct vertices are connected by an edge if and only if they generate G. We prove that if G is soluble, then the non-isolated vertices of Γ(G) belong to a unique connected component.     

An answer to a question of Isaacs on character degree graphs

Let N be a normal subgroup of a finite group G. We consider the graph Γ(G|N) whose vertices are the prime divisors of the degrees of the irreducible characters of G whose kernel does not contain N and two vertices are joined by an edge if the product of the two primes divides the degree of some of the characters of G whose kernel does not contain N. We prove that if Γ(G|N) is disconnected then G/N is solvable. This proves a strong form of a conjecture of Isaacs.     

Procyclic coverings of commutators in profinite groups

We consider profinite groups in which all commutators are contained in a union of finitely many procyclic subgroups. It is shown that if G is a profinite group in which all commutators are covered by m procyclic subgroups, then G possesses a finite characteristic subgroup M contained in G′ such that the order of M is m-bounded and G′/M is procyclic. If G is a pro-p group such that all commutators in G are covered by m procyclic subgroups, then G′ is either finite of m-bounded order or procyclic.     

The exponents of nonabelian tensor products of groups

We prove that the exponent of the nonabelian tensor product of two locally finite groups can be bounded in terms of exponents of given groups. Several estimates for the exponents of nonabelian tensor squares are obtained. In particular, if the group G is nilpotent of class ≤3 and of finite exponent, then the exponent of its nonabelian tensor square divides the exponent of G.     

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).     

Derived length and conjugacy class sizes

Let G be a finite solvable group, and let F(G) be its Fitting subgroup. We prove that there is a universal bound for the derived length of G/F(G) in terms of the number of distinct conjugacy class sizes of G. This result is asymptotically best possible. It is based on the following result on orbit sizes in finite linear group actions: If G is a finite solvable group and V a finite faithful irreducible G-module of characteristic r, then there is a universal logarithmic bound for the derived length of G in terms of the number of distinct r^′-parts of the orbit sizes of G on V. This is a refinement of the author's previous work on orbit sizes.     

The transvection free groups with polynomial rings of invariants

Let G be a finite linear group containing no transvections. This paper proves that the ring of invariants of G is polynomial if and only if the pointwise stabilizer in G of any subspace is generated by pseudoreflections. Kemper and Malle used the classification of finite irreducible groups generated by pseudoreflections to prove the irreducible case in arbitrary characteristic. We extend their result to the reducible case.     

Profinite Groups Admitting Just Infinite Quotients

 A profinite group is said to be just infinite if each of its proper quotients is finite. We address the question which profinite groups admit just infinite quotients. It is proved that any profinite group whose order (as a supernatural number) is divisible only by finitely many primes admits just infinite quotients. It is shown that if a profinite group G possesses the property in question then so does every open subgroup and every finite extension of G. Received 20 July 2001     

On semi cover-avoiding subgroups of finite groups

A subgroup H of a finite group G is said to have the semi cover-avoiding property in G if there is a normal series of G such that H covers or avoids every normal factor of the series. In this paper, some new results are obtained based on the assumption that some subgroups have the semi cover-avoiding property in the group.     

Broué's conjecture for non-principal 3-blocks of finite groups

In representation theory of finite groups, there is a well-known and important conjecture due to M. Broué. He conjectures that, for any prime p, if a p-block A of a finite group G has an abelian defect group D, then A and its Brauer correspondent p-block B of N_G(D) are derived equivalent. We demonstrate in this paper that Broué's conjecture holds for two non-principal 3-blocks A with elementary abelian defect group D of order 9 of the O'Nan simple group and the Higman-Sims simple group. Moreover, we determine these two non-principal block algebras over a splitting field of characteristic 3 up to Morita equivalence.     

The influence of minimal subgroups of focal subgroups on the structure of finite groups

A subgroup H of a finite group G is said to be complemented in G if there exists a subgroup K of G such that G=HK and H∩K=1. In this paper, it is proved that a finite group G is p-nilpotent provided p is the smallest prime number dividing the order of G and every minimal subgroup of the p-focal subgroup of G is complemented in N_G(P), where P is a Sylow p-subgroup of G. As some applications, some interesting results related with complemented minimal subgroups of focal subgroups are obtained.     

Group algebra series and coboundary modules

The shift action on the 2-cocycle group Z²(G,C) of a finite group G with coefficients in a finitely generated abelian group C has several useful applications in combinatorics and digital communications, arising from the invariance of a uniform distribution property of cocycles under the action. In this article, we study the shift orbit structure of the coboundary subgroup B²(G,C) of Z²(G,C). The study is placed within a well-known setting involving the Loewy and socle series of a group algebra over G. We prove new bounds on the dimensions of terms in such series. Asymptotic results on the size of shift orbits are also derived; for example, if C is an elementary abelian p-group, then almost all shift orbits in B²(G,C) are maximal-sized for large enough finite p-groups G of certain classes.     

Approximability of finite rank soluble groups by certain classes of finite groups

For soluble groups of finite rank we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition to be a virtually residually finite p-group. We also prove that a soluble group G of finite rank is residually π-finite for some finite set π of primes if and only if it has no subgroups of type Q and the torsion radical of G is a finite group.     

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.     

A theorem of Jon F. Carlson on filtrations of modules

We give an alternative proof to a theorem of Carlson [J.F. Carlson, Cohomology and induction from elementary abelian subgroups, Quart. J. Math. 51 (2000) 169-181] which states that if G is a finite group and k is a field of characteristic p, then any kG-module is a direct summand of a module which has a filtration whose sections are induced from elementary abelian p-subgroups of G. We also prove two new theorems which are closely related to Carlson’s theorem.     

Characters and Sylow 2-subgroups of maximal class revisited

We give two ways to distinguish from the character table of a finite group G if a Sylow 2-subgroup of G has maximal class. We also characterize finite groups with Sylow 3-subgroups of order 3 in terms of their principal 3-block.     

Complex group algebras of finite groups: Brauer's Problem 1

Brauer's Problem 1 asks the following: What are the possible complex group algebras of finite groups? It seems that with the present knowledge of representation theory it is not possible to settle this question. The goal of this paper is to present a partial solution to this problem. We conjecture that if the complex group algebra of a finite group does not have more than a fixed number m of isomorphic summands, then its dimension is bounded in terms of m. We prove that this is true for every finite group if it is true for the symmetric groups. The problem for symmetric groups reduces to an explicitly stated question in number theory or combinatorics.