Questions tagged [gr.group-theory]

Questions about the branch of algebra that deals with groups.

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partially commutative monoid [closed]

Let $G$ be a simple graph with vertex $I$ and edge set $E$. I am defining $M(G)$ to be the quotient of the free monoid $I^*$ on $I$ by the relations $ab=ba$ and $c^2 = 1$ whenever $\{a,b\} \notin E(G)$...
GA316's user avatar
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1 vote
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223 views

Does $[H_i , G_i]$ distributive imply $[H_1 \times H_2, G_1 \times G_2]$ modular?

Let $L(G)$ be the subgroup lattice of $G$ and $[H, G]$ an interval in $L(G)$. A lattice $(L, \wedge, \vee)$ is distributive if $a∨(b∧c) = (a∨b) ∧ (a∨c)$, $\forall a,b,c \in L $, and is modular if ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
366 views

A basic question about rings

Perhaps this is a trivial question, but I have no idea how to justify it. Call a pair of groups $(G_1, G_2)$ ring-compatible if $G_1$ is abelian and there exists a ring $R$ with addition and ...
Stanley Yao Xiao's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

About isomorphism of $PGL(2)$ and $SO(3)$ [closed]

I need to prove that $PGL_2(\mathbb{R})\cong SO_3(\mathbb{R})$. Abstract considerations show that both can be identified with the group of projective motions of a conic curve. But maybe there is more ...
Tim's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
453 views

Projective characters with corresponding factor set

The following is just a follow up to my previous question. I have a finite group $H$ with 14 ordinary characters. The Schur multiplier $M(H)\cong 2^2$. Hence the group $H$ will have 3 sets of ...
A.L. Prins's user avatar
29 votes
9 answers
12k views

Applications for p-Sylow subgroups theorem

I have searched for such a question and didn't find it. I recently had a presentation in which I introduced $p$-Sylow subgroups and proved Sylow's theorems. I will have another one soon, concerning ...
114 votes
3 answers
5k views

The number $\pi$ and summation by $SL(2,\mathbb Z)$

Let $f(a,b,c,d)=\sqrt{a^2+b^2}+\sqrt{c^2+d^2}-\sqrt{(a+c)^2+(b+d)^2}$. (it is the defect in the triangle inequality) Then, we discovered by heuristic arguments and then verified by computer that $$\...
Nikita Kalinin's user avatar
81 votes
3 answers
5k views

How do I verify the Coq proof of Feit-Thompson?

I probably don't have the appropriate background to even ask this question. I know next to nothing about formal or computer-aided proof, and very little even about group theory. And this question is ...
Nate Eldredge's user avatar
74 votes
4 answers
5k views

Groups that do not exist

In the long process that resulted in the classification of finite simple groups, some of the exceptional groups were only shown to exist after people had computed (most of) their character tables and ...
Mariano Suárez-Álvarez's user avatar
70 votes
9 answers
16k views

Is there a slick proof of the classification of finitely generated abelian groups?

One the proofs that I've never felt very happy with is the classification of finitely generated abelian groups (which says an abelian group is basically uniquely the sum of cyclic groups of orders $...
Ben Webster's user avatar
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69 votes
28 answers
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Results from abstract algebra which look wrong (but are true)

There are many statements in abstract algebra, often asked by beginners, which are just too good to be true. For example, if $N$ is a normal subgroup of a group $G$, is $G/N$ isomorphic to a subgroup ...
63 votes
1 answer
4k views

Feit-Thompson conjecture

The Feit-Thompson conjecture states: If $p<q$ are primes, then $\frac{q^p-1}{q-1}$ does not divide $\frac{p^q-1}{p-1}$. On page xiii of these proceedings of a conference at the University of ...
Mare's user avatar
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61 votes
1 answer
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Are there $n$ groups of order $n$ for some $n>1$?

Given a positive integer $n$, let $N(n)$ denote the number of groups of order $n$, up to isomorphism. Question: Does $N(n)=n$ hold for some $n>1$? I checked the OEIS-sequence https://oeis.org/...
Peter's user avatar
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56 votes
6 answers
6k views

Can the symmetric groups on sets of different cardinalities be isomorphic?

For any set X, let SX be the symmetric group on X, the group of permutations of X. My question is: Can there be two nonempty sets X and Y with different cardinalities, but for which SX is isomorphic ...
Joel David Hamkins's user avatar
55 votes
2 answers
6k views

How do you *state* the Classification of finite simple groups?

From the point of view of formal math, what would constitute an appropriate statement of the classification of finite simple groups? As I understand it, the classification enumerates 18 infinite ...
Mario Carneiro's user avatar
54 votes
5 answers
10k views

Why are the sporadic simple groups HUGE?

I'm merely a grad student right now, but I don't think an exploration of the sporadic groups is standard fare for graduate algebra, so I'd like to ask the experts on MO. I did a little reading on them ...
REDace0's user avatar
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53 votes
5 answers
5k views

How much of the ATLAS of finite groups is independently checked and/or computer verified?

In a recent talk Finite groups, yesterday and today Serre made some comments about proofs that rely on the classification of finite simple groups (CFSG) and on the ATLAS of Finite Groups. Namely, he ...
David Roberts's user avatar
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51 votes
14 answers
13k views

Introductory text on geometric group theory?

Can someone indicate me a good introductory text on geometric group theory?
51 votes
1 answer
8k views

What is Atiyah's topological formulation of the odd order theorem?

Here is a quote from an article by Daniel Gorenstein on the history of the classification of finite simple groups (available here). During that year in Harvard, Thompson began his monumental ...
spin's user avatar
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49 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is each squared finite group trivial?

A semigroup $S$ is defined to be squared if there exists a subset $A\subseteq S$ such that the function $A\times A\to S$, $(x,y)\mapsto xy$, is bijective. Problem: Is each squared finite group ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
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47 votes
1 answer
3k views

Do all exact $1 \to A \to A \times B \to B \to 1$ split for finite groups?

Let $A$, $B$ be finite groups. Is it true that all short exact sequences $1 \rightarrow A \rightarrow A \times B \rightarrow B \rightarrow 1$ split on the right? In other words, do there exist ...
Dan Glasscock's user avatar
44 votes
1 answer
5k views

Infinitely many solutions of a diophantine equation

If $P(x,y,...,z)$ is a polynomial with integer coefficients then every integer solution of $P=0$ corresponds to a homomorphism from $\mathbb{Z}[x,y,...,z]/(P)$ to $\mathbb{Z}$. So there are infinitely ...
user avatar
44 votes
4 answers
5k views

Is there a universal countable group? (a countable group containing every countable group as a subgroup)

This recent MO question, answered now several times over, inquired whether an infinite group can contain every finite group as a subgroup. The answer is yes by a variety of means. So let us raise the ...
Joel David Hamkins's user avatar
42 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is there a smallest group containing all finite groups?

Does there exist a group $G$ such that for any finite $K$ there is a monomorphism $K \to G$ for any $H$ with property 1 there is a monomorphism $G \to H$ If yes, is it the only one?
Arshak Aivazian's user avatar
41 votes
4 answers
2k views

What is the probability two random maps on n symbols commute?

It is well known that two randomly chosen permutations of $n$ symbols commute with probability $p_n/n!$ where $p_n$ is the number of partitions of $n$. This is a special case of the fact that in a ...
Benjamin Steinberg's user avatar
40 votes
1 answer
2k views

Known and fixed gaps in the proof of the CFSG

As the "second-generation" proof of the Classification of Finite Simple Groups is being written up in the volumes by Gorenstein, Lyons, Aschbacher, Smith, Solomon, and others (see e.g. this ...
Carl-Fredrik Nyberg Brodda's user avatar
39 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why are Schur multipliers of finite simple groups so small?

Given a finite simple group $G$, we can consider the quasisimple extensions $\tilde G$ of $G$, that is to say central extensions which remain perfect. Some basic group cohomology (based on the ...
Terry Tao's user avatar
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38 votes
4 answers
2k views

On sentences true in all finite groups

Let $w$ be a group word with two variables $x$ and $y$. Is the sentence $(\forall x)(\exists y)w=1$ true in every group if it is true in every finite group? The same question about the sentence $(\...
owb's user avatar
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38 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why does the monster group exist?

Recently, I was watching an interview that John Conway did with Numberphile. By the end of the video, Brady Haran asked John: If you were to come back a hundred years after your death, what problem ...
Leibniz's Alien's user avatar
37 votes
2 answers
2k views

A group-theoretic perspective on Frankl's union closed problem

Here is a group theoretic phrasing of a special case of the union closed conjecture: Question: Given a finite group $G$, is there an element of prime power order which is contained in at most half ...
Gjergji Zaimi's user avatar
37 votes
0 answers
1k views

Groups whose complex irreducible representations are finite dimensional

By a complex irreducible representation of a group $G$, I mean a simple $\mathbb CG$-module. So my representations need not be unitary and we are working in the purely algebraic setting. It is easy ...
Benjamin Steinberg's user avatar
37 votes
5 answers
3k views

An explicit example of a finitely presented group containing a subgroup isomorphic to $(\mathbb Q,+)$.

A theorem (I do unfortunately not remember to whom it is due) states that there exists a finitely presented group containing a subgroup isomorphic to the additive group of rational numbers. Can ...
Roland Bacher's user avatar
37 votes
4 answers
6k views

For which $n$ is there only one group of order $n$?

Let $f(n)$ denote the number of (isomorphism classes of) groups of order $n$. A couple easy facts: If $n$ is not squarefree, then there are multiple abelian groups of order $n$. If $n \geq 4$ is even,...
Daniel Hast's user avatar
  • 1,806
36 votes
3 answers
2k views

The roots of unity in a tensor product of commutative rings

For $i\in\{1,2\}$ let $A_i$ be a commutative ring with unity whose additive group is free and finitely-generated. Assume that $A_i$ is connected in the sense that $0$ and $1$ are unique solutions of ...
Lviv Scottish Book's user avatar
36 votes
17 answers
6k views

Canonical examples of algebraic structures

Please list some examples of common examples of algebraic structures. I was thinking answers of the following form. "When I read about a [insert structure here], I immediately think of [example]." ...
35 votes
3 answers
1k views

Second Betti number of lattices in $\mathrm{SL}_3(\mathbf{R})$

We fix $G=\mathrm{SL}_3(\mathbf{R})$. Let $\Gamma$ be a torsion-free cocompact lattice in $G$. Is $b_2(\Gamma)=0$? Here the second Betti number $b_2(\Gamma)$ is both the dimension of the ...
YCor's user avatar
  • 60.1k
35 votes
7 answers
4k views

Applications of Frobenius theorem and conjecture

A theorem of Frobenius states that if $n$ divides the order of a finite group $G$, then the number of solutions to $x^n = 1$ in $G$ is a multiple of $n$. Frobenius conjectured that if the number of ...
Mikko Korhonen's user avatar
34 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is there any need to study Coxeter systems (W,S) with S infinite?

In their treatise Groupes et algebres de Lie, Bourbaki (no doubt heavily influenced by Tits) devoted Chapter IV (1968) to the general theory of what they dubbed "Coxeter systems" $(W,S)$ along with "...
Jim Humphreys's user avatar
33 votes
7 answers
4k views

What's a non-abelian totally ordered group?

Because I have heard the phrase "totally ordered abelian group", I imagine there should be non-abelian ones. By this I mean a group with a total ordering (not to be confused with a well-ordering) ...
Andrew Critch's user avatar
33 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is this conjecture strictly weaker than P=NP?

My three computability questions are related to the following group theory question (first asked by Bridson in 1996): For which real $\alpha\ge 2$ the function $n^\alpha$ is equivalent to the Dehn ...
user avatar
32 votes
9 answers
9k views

When does a subgroup H of a group G have a complement in G?

Let H be a subgroup of G. (We can assume G finite if it helps.) A complement of H in G is a subgroup K of G such that HK = G and |H∩K|=1. Equivalently, a complement is a transversal of H (a set ...
Will Orrick's user avatar
  • 2,110
32 votes
3 answers
3k views

morphism from a compact group to Z ?

I wonder if it there exists a topological compact group $G$ (by compact, I mean Hausdorff and quasi-compact) and a non-zero group morphism $\phi : G \to \mathbb{Z}$ (without assuming any topological ...
Florent MARTIN's user avatar
32 votes
1 answer
4k views

Do invariant measures maximize the integral?

Update: The negative answer to the following question has been provided by Matthew Daws, who won, but also rejected, the bounty of 100 euro that I set over the question. Let $\mathcal M(\mathbb Z)$ ...
Valerio Capraro's user avatar
31 votes
1 answer
2k views

Navigating $\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$

$\newcommand{\Z}{\mathbb{Z}}$Let's consider a silly-looking question first. Consider $\Z/p\Z$. Say I am allowed the two operations $x\mapsto x+1$ and $x\mapsto 2x$. Then, starting from $0$, I can ...
H A Helfgott's user avatar
  • 19.3k
31 votes
5 answers
5k views

Generating a finite group from elements in each conjugacy class

Is there a finite group such that, if you pick one element from each conjugacy class, these don't necessarily generate the entire group?
Jamie Vicary's user avatar
  • 2,433
30 votes
1 answer
588 views

Guess that group via product queries

Suppose someone (person B) knows a finite group $G$ of order $n$. You (person A) know only the order $n$, and that $1$ is the name of the identity element. The group elements are named $1,2,\ldots,n$ ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
29 votes
4 answers
2k views

Trees in groups of exponential growth

Question: Let $G$ be a finitely generated group with exponential growth. Is there a finite generating set $S \subset G$, such that the associated Cayley graph $Cay(G,S)$ contains a binary tree? ...
Andreas Thom's user avatar
  • 25.3k
29 votes
3 answers
3k views

The non-simplicity of $SO(4)$ and $A_4$

It is well known that the alternating group $A_n$ is simple unless $n=4$. It is likewise well known that the special orthogonal group $SO(n)$ is essentially simple unless $n=4$ (specifically, the ...
Drew Armstrong's user avatar
28 votes
0 answers
657 views

Mathieu group $M_{23}$ as an algebraic group via additive polynomials

An elegant description of the Mathieu group $M_{23}$ is the following: Let $C$ be the multiplicative subgroup of order $23$ in the field $F=\mathbb F_{2^{11}}$ with $2^{11}$ elements. Then $M_{23}$ is ...
Peter Mueller's user avatar
28 votes
8 answers
4k views

Is there a compact group of countably infinite cardinality?

Apologies for the very simple question, but I can't seem to find a reference one way or the other, and it's been bugging me for a while now. Is there a compact (Hausdorff, or even T1) (topological) ...
Harrison Brown's user avatar

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