Structure of finite, minimal nonabelian groups and triangularization

Motivated by problems concerning simultaneous triangularization, we study the structure of finite, minimal nonabelian groups. Using the structure result of Miller and Moreno we explicitly describe all irreducible representations of such groups. We illustrate the usefulness of results of this type on several examples.     

Invariant subspaces for operator semigroups with commutators of rank at most one

Let X be a complex Banach space of dimension at least 2, and let S be a multiplicative semigroup of operators on X such that the rank of ST−TS is at most 1 for all {S,T}⊂S. We prove that S has a non-trivial invariant subspace provided it is not commutative. As a consequence we show that S is triangularizable if it consists of polynomially compact operators. This generalizes results from [H. Radjavi, P. Rosenthal, From local to global triangularization, J. Funct. Anal. 147 (1997) 443-456] and [G. Cigler, R. Drnovšek, D. Kokol-Bukovšek, T. Laffey, M. Omladi?, H. Radjavi, P. Rosenthal, Invariant subspaces for semigroups of algebraic operators, J. Funct. Anal. 160 (1998) 452-465].     

An extension of a theorem of Kaplansky

A theorem of Kaplansky asserts that a semigroup of matrices with entries from a field whose members all have singleton spectra is triangularizable. Indeed, Kaplansky’s Theorem unifies well-known theorems of Kolchin and Levitzki on simultaneous triangularizability of semigroups of unipotent and nilpotent matrices, respectively. First, for a division ring D of characteristic zero whose center intersects its multiplicative commutator group in a finite group, we prove that the counterpart of Kolchin’s Theorem over D implies that of Kaplansky’s Theorem over D. Next, we note that this proof, when adjusted in the setting of fields, provides a new and simple proof of Kaplansky’s Theorem over fields of characteristic zero. We show that if Kaplansky’s Theorem holds over a division ring D, which is for instance the case over general fields, then a generalization of Kaplansky’s Theorem holds over D, and in particular over general fields.