Finite <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-central groups of height <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>

A finite group G is called p ⁱ -central of height k if every element of order p ⁱ of G is contained in the k ^th -term ζ _k (G) of the ascending central series of G. If p is odd, such a group has to be p-nilpotent (Thm. A). Finite p-central p-groups of height p − 2 can be seen as the dual analogue of finite potent p-groups, i.e., for such a finite p-group P the group P/Ω₁(P) is also p-central of height p − 2 (Thm. B). In such a group P, the index of P ^p is less than or equal to the order of the subgroup Ω₁(P) (Thm. C). If the Sylow p-subgroup P of a finite group G is p-central of height p − 1, p odd, and N _G (P) is p-nilpotent, then G is also p-nilpotent (Thm. D). Moreover, if G is a p-soluble finite group, p odd, and P ∈ Syl _p (G) is p-central of height p − 2, then N _G (P) controls p-fusion in G (Thm. E). It is well-known that the last two properties hold for Swan groups (see [11]).     

p-nilpotence of finite groups and minimal subgroups

In this paper, it is proved that a finite group G is p-nilpotent if every minimal subgroup of P∩O^p(G) is permutable in P and N_G(P) is p-nilpotent, and when p=2 either [Ω₂(P∩O^p(G)),P]Ω₁(P∩O^p(G)) or P is quaternion-free, where p is a prime dividing the order of G and P is a Sylow p-subgroup of G. By using this result, we may get a series of corollaries for p-nilpotence, which contain some known results. Some other applications of this result are also given.     

Normal <Emphasis Type="Italic">π</Emphasis>-complements for finite groups

Let G be a finite group. For a finite p-group P the subgroup generated by all elements of order p is denoted by Ω₁(p). Zhang [5] proved that if P is a Sylow p-subgroup of G, Ω₁(P) ≦ Z(P) and N _G (Z(P)) has a normal p-complement, then G has a normal p-complement. The object of this paper is to generalize this result. This paper was partly supported by Hungarian National Foundation for Scientific Research Grant # T049841 and T038059.     

Path extendable graphs

A pathP in a graphG is said to beextendable if there exists a pathP’ inG with the same endvertices asP such thatV(P)⊆V (P’) and |V(P’)|=|V(P)|+1. A graphG ispath extendable if every nonhamiltonian path inG is extendable. We investigate the extent to which known sufficient conditions for a graph to be hamiltonian-connected imply the extendability of paths in the graph. Several theorems are proved: for example, it is shown that ifG is a graph of orderp in which the degree sum of each pair of non-adjacent vertices is at leastp+1 andP is a nonextendable path of orderk inG thenk≤(p+1)/2 and 〈V (P)〉≅K _k orK _k −e. As corollaries of this we deduce that if δ(G)≥(p+2)/2 or if the degree sum of each pair of nonadjacent vertices inG is at least (3p−3)/2 thenG is path extendable, which strengthen results of Williamson [13].     

Longest Paths and Longest Cycles in Graphs with Large Degree Sums

 Let p(G) and c(G) denote the number of vertices in a longest path and a longest cycle, respectively, of a finite, simple graph G. Define σ₄(G)=min{d(x ₁)+d(x ₂)+ d(x ₃)+d(x ₄) | {x ₁,…,x ₄} is independent in G}. In this paper, the difference p(G)−c(G) is considered for 2-connected graphs G with σ₄(G)≥|V(G)|+3. Among others, we show that p(G)−c(G)≤2 or every longest path in G is a dominating path. Received: August 28, 2000 Final version received: May 23, 2002     

Recognition of the Projective Special Linear Group over GF（3）

Let P be a finite group and denote by w（P） the set of its element orders. P is called k-recognizable by the set of its element orders if for any finte group G with ω（G） =ω（P） there are, up to isomorphism, k finite groups G such that G ≌P. In this paper we will prove that the group Lp（3）, where p 〉 3 is a prime number, is at most 2-recognizable.     

On Poset Boolean Algebras

Let (P,≤) be a partially ordered set. The poset Boolean algebra of P, denoted F(P), is defined as follows: The set of generators of F(P) is {x _p  : p∈P}, and the set of relations is {x _p ⋅x _q =x _p  : p≤q}. We say that a Boolean algebra B is well-generated, if B has a sublattice G such that G generates B and (G,≤ ^B |G) is well-founded. A well-generated algebra is superatomic. THEOREM 1. Let (P,≤) be a partially ordered set. The following are equivalent. (i) P does not contain an infinite set of pairwise incomparable elements, and P does not contain a subset isomorphic to the chain of rational numbers, (ii) F(P) is superatomic, (iii) F(P) is well-generated. The equivalence (i) ⇔ (ii) is due to M. Pouzet. A partially ordered set W is well-ordered, if W does not contain a strictly decreasing infinite sequence, and W does not contain an infinite set of pairwise incomparable elements. THEOREM 2. Let F(P) be a superatomic poset algebra. Then there are a well-ordered set W and a subalgebra B of F(W), such that F(P) is a homomorphic image of B. This is similar but weaker than the fact that every interval algebra of a scattered chain is embeddable in an ordinal algebra. Remember that an interval algebra is a special case of a poset algebra. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the Probabilistic Zeta Function for Finite Groups

LetGbe a finite group, and define the function[formula]where μ is the Möbius function on the subgroup lattice ofG. The functionP(G, s) is the multiplicative inverse of a zeta function forG, as described by Mann and Boston. Boston conjectured thatP′(G, 1) = 0 ifGis a nonabelian simple. We will prove a generalization of this conjecture, showing thatP′(G, 1) = 0 unlessG/O_p(G) is cyclic for some primep.     

Permutability of minimal subgroups and<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-nilpotency of finite groups

In this paper it is proved that ifp is a prime dividing the order of a groupG with (|G|,p − 1) = 1 andP a Sylowp-subgroup ofG, thenG isp-nilpotent if every subgroup ofP ∩G ^N of orderp is permutable inN _G (P) and whenp = 2 either every cyclic subgroup ofP ∩G ^N of order 4 is permutable inN _G (P) orP is quaternion-free. Some applications of this result are given. The research of the first author is supported by a grant of Shanxi University and a research grant of Shanxi Province, PR China. The research of the second author is partially supported by a UGC(HK) grant #2160126 (1999/2000).     

On r-recognition by prime graph of Bp(3) where p is an odd prime

Let G be a finite group. The prime graph Γ(G) of G is defined as follows. The vertices of Γ(G) are the primes dividing the order of G and two distinct vertices p and p′ are joined by an edge if there is an element in G of order pp′. We denote by k(Γ(G)) the number of isomorphism classes of finite groups H satisfying Γ(G) = Γ(H). Given a natural number r, a finite group G is called r-recognizable by prime graph if k(Γ(G)) =  r. In Shen et al. (Sib. Math. J. 51(2):244–254, 2010), it is proved that if p is an odd prime, then B _p (3) is recognizable by element orders. In this paper as the main result, we show that if G is a finite group such that Γ(G) = Γ(B _p (3)), where p > 3 is an odd prime, then G @ B_p(3){G\cong B_p(3)} or C _p (3). Also if Γ(G) = Γ(B ₃(3)), then G @ B₃(3), C₃(3), D₄(3){G\cong B_3(3), C_3(3), D_4(3)}, or G/O₂(G) @ Aut(²B₂(8)){G/O_2(G)\cong {\rm Aut}(^2B_2(8))}. As a corollary, the main result of the above paper is obtained.     

Pro-p Galois groups of rank ≤ 4

Let p be a prime > 2, let F be a field of characteristic ≠p containing a primitive p-th root of unity and let G _F (p) be the Galois group of the maximal Galois-p-extension of F. If rk G _F (p)≤ 4 then G _F (p) is a free pro-p product of metabelian groups or G _F (p) is a Demuškin group of rank 4. Received: 3 September 1997 / Revised version: 3 October 1997     

Factors and Connected Induced Subgraphs

 Let G be a connected graph without loops and without multiple edges, and let p be an integer such that 0 < p<|V(G)|. Let f be an integer-valued function on V(G) such that 2≤f(x)≤ deg _G (x) for all x∈V(G). We show that if every connected induced subgraph of order p of G has an f-factor, then G has an f-factor, unless ∑ _{x ∈ V ( G )} f(x) is odd. Received: June 29, 1998?Final version received: July 30, 1999     

Correspondences Between 2-Brauer Characters of Solvable Groups

Let G be a finite solvable group and let p be a prime. Let P ∈ Syl _p (G) and N = N _G (P). We prove that there exists a natural bijection between the 2-Brauer irreducible characters of p′-degree of G and those of N _G (P).     

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.     

Relative Length of Longest Paths and Cycles in Graphs

For a graph G, let diff(G) = p(G) − c(G), where p(G) and c(G) denote the orders of a longest path and a longest cycle in G, respectively. Let G be a 3-connected graph of order n. In the paper, we give a best-possible lower bound to σ₄(G) to assure diff(G) ≤ 1. The result settles a conjecture in J. Graph Theory 37 (2001), 137–156.     

A partition approach to Vizing's conjecture

In 1963, Vizing [Vichysl.Sistemy 9 (1963), 30–43] conjectured that γ(G × H) ≥ γ(G)γ(H), where G × H denotes the cartesian product of graphs, and γ(G) is the domination number. In this paper we define the extraction number x(G) and we prove that P₂(G) ≤ x(G), and γ(G × H) ≥ x(G)γ(H), where P₂(G) is the 2-packing number of G. Though the equality x(G) = γ(G) is proven to hold in several classes of graphs, we construct an infinite family of graphs which do not satisfy this condition. Also, we show the following lower bound: γ(G × H) ≥ γ(G)P₂(H) + P₂(G)(γ(H) − P₂(H)). © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Finite groups with its power automorphism groups having small indices

In this paper, a finite group G with IAut（G） ： P（G）I ~- p or pq is determined, where P（G） is the power automorphism group of G, and p, q are distinct primes. Especially, we prove that a finite group G satisfies ｜Aut（G） ： P（G）｜= pq if and only if Aut（G）/P（G） ≌S3. Also, some other classes of finite groups are investigated and classified, which are necessary for the proof of our main results.     

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.     

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.      

Optimal Extension of Fourier Multiplier Operators in L p (G)

Given 1 ≤ p < ∞, a compact abelian group G and a p-multiplier ${\psi : \Gamma \to {\mathbb C}}Given 1 ≤ p < ∞, a compact abelian group G and a p-multiplier y: G? \mathbb C{\psi : \Gamma \to {\mathbb C}} (with Γ the dual group), we study the optimal domain of the multiplier operator T^(p)_y : L^p (G) ? L^p (G){T^{(p)}_\psi : L^p (G) \to L^p (G)}. This is the largest Banach function space, denoted by L¹(m^(p)_y){L^1(m^{(p)}_\psi)}, with order continuous norm into which L ^p (G) is embedded and to which T^(p)_y{ T^{(p)}_\psi} has a continuous L ^p (G)-valued extension. Compactness conditions for the optimal extension are given, as well as criteria for those ψ for which L¹(m^(p)_y) = L^p (G){L^1(m^{(p)}_\psi) = L^p (G)} is as small as possible and also for those ψ for which L¹(m^(p)_y) = L¹ (G){L^1(m^{(p)}_\psi) = L^1 (G)} is as large as possible. Several results and examples are presented for cases when L^p (G) \subsetneqq L¹(m^(p)_y) \subsetneqq L¹ (G){L^p (G) \subsetneqq L^1(m^{(p)}_\psi) \subsetneqq L^1 (G)}.