Finite groups with three rational conjugacy classes

We show that if a finite group G has exactly three rational conjugacy classes, then G also has exactly three rational-valued irreducible complex characters. This generalizes a result of Navarro and Tiep (Trans Amer Math Soc 360:2443–2465, 2008) and partially answers in the affirmative a conjecture of theirs. We also give a family of examples of non-solvable groups with exactly three rational conjugacy classes.