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Questions tagged [computational-group-theory]

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47 votes
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Transitivity on $\mathbb{N}_0$ -- a 42 problem

Let $r(m)$ denote the residue class $r+m\mathbb{Z}$, where $0 \leq r < m$. Given disjoint residue classes $r_1(m_1)$ and $r_2(m_2)$, let the class transposition $\tau_{r_1(m_1),r_2(m_2)}$ be the ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
28 votes
5 answers
4k views

Are there any computational problems in groups that are harder than P?

There are several well known classes of groups for which the word problem, conjugacy etc. are solvable in polynomial time (hyperbolic, automatic). Then there are several classes of groups like ...
MSL's user avatar
  • 391
26 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is the cohomology ring of a finite group computable?

Is there an algorithm which halts on all inputs that takes as input a finite group ($p$-group if you like) and outputs a finite presentation of the cohomology ring (with trivial coefficients $\mathbb{...
Joshua Grochow's user avatar
22 votes
4 answers
1k views

Is there a way of canonically labelling permutation groups?

When working with large numbers of graphs, a canonical labelling routine is essential as, after the initial cost of canonically labelling each graph, it permits isomorphism checks to be replaced with ...
Gordon Royle's user avatar
  • 12.7k
17 votes
2 answers
3k views

God's number for the $n \times n \times n$-cube

This is a question about Rubik's Cube and generalizations of this puzzle, such as Rubik's Revenge, Professor's cube or in general the $n \times n \times n$ cube. Let $g(n)$ be the smallest number $m$, ...
Martin Brandenburg's user avatar
17 votes
0 answers
969 views

Groups generated by 3 involutions

Let $r(m)$ denote the residue class $r+m\mathbb{Z}$, where $0 \leq r < m$. Given disjoint residue classes $r_1(m_1)$ and $r_2(m_2)$, let the class transposition $\tau_{r_1(m_1),r_2(m_2)}$ be the ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
15 votes
4 answers
4k views

Program for computing group cohomology

Is there any computer program with which I can compute the group cohomology H^n(G,V) for a group G acting linearly on a vector space? I mainly care about infinite groups.
google's user avatar
  • 151
15 votes
1 answer
821 views

Conjugated subgroups in $\mathsf{GL}(m+n,\mathbb{Z})$ implies conjugated subgroups in $\mathsf{GL}(n,\mathbb{Z})$?

In my research I came up with the following question: Question: Let $H_1$ and $H_2$ be finite abelian subgroups of $\mathsf{GL}(n,\mathbb{Z})$. Define $$ H_1'=\left\{\begin{pmatrix} I_m &0\\0&...
Alejandro Tolcachier's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
1k views

The Simultaneous Conjugacy Problem in the symmetric group $S_N$

We are interested in the following notions in the case $G=S_N$, the symmetric group on $\{1,\dots,N\}$. Fix a group $G$ and a number $d$. For $(g_1,\dots,g_d)\in G^d$ and $x\in G$, define $$(g_1,\...
Boaz Tsaban's user avatar
  • 3,104
13 votes
2 answers
2k views

Generalization of a theorem of Øystein Ore in group theory

Theorem (Øystein Ore, 1938): A finite group $G$ is cyclic iff its lattice of subgroups $\mathcal{L}(G)$ is distributive. Proof: see below. Let $(H \subset G)$ be an inclusion of finite groups and $\...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
12 votes
0 answers
558 views

God's number for higher dimensional Rubik's cubes

In this MO question, user Martin Brandenburg asks about God's number for $n \times n \times n$-cubes for $n>3$. Here, God's number $g(n)$ was defined as the smallest number $m$ such that every ...
Max Lonysa Muller's user avatar
12 votes
0 answers
699 views

Solving a set of equations in a finite symmetric group

A standard way to find solutions to a finite set of equations in a finite symmetric group ${\rm S}_n$ is to take the equations as relators of a finitely presented group, to use the low index subgroups ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
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12 votes
0 answers
558 views

Possible orders of products of 2 involutions which interchange disjoint residue classes of the integers

Definition / Question Definition: Let $r(m)$ denote the residue class $r+m\mathbb{Z}$, where $0 \leq r < m$. Given disjoint residue classes $r_1(m_1)$ and $r_2(m_2)$, let the class transposition $...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
10 votes
2 answers
696 views

Computing a transversal of a subgroup $H$ of $G$ in expected $O(|G : H|^2 \log |G : H| + |H|)$ time

I have the book "Handbook of Computational Group Theory", by Derek Holt, and in it is a section on finding the transversal of a subgroup. Recall a transversal of a subgroup $H$ of $G$ is a single ...
Bryce Sandlund's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
639 views

Computing homology groups with GAP

I’m studying the homology groups of arithmetic groups such as $SL(5,\mathbb{Z})$. I saw in the answer to this post that we can use GAP to compute some of the homology groups for $SL(3,\mathbb{Z})$. Is ...
Noah B's user avatar
  • 545
10 votes
0 answers
194 views

Permutation groups with diameter $O(n \log n)$

I suspect that many permutation puzzles can be solved in $O(n \log n)$ moves, which has led me to the following question/conjecture: Suppose that 1. $P_i$ for $i<k=O(1)$ are permutations on an $n$ ...
Dmytro Taranovsky's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
811 views

Groups without factorization

A group G is said to have a factorization if there exist proper subgroups $A$ and $B$ such that $G = AB = \{ ab \ | \ a \in A, b \in B \}$. The paper Factorisations of sporadic simple groups (...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
3k views

How to generate all finite groups of order n? [closed]

I know how to generate all Abelian groups of order n, but how would I generate the others? I can't seem to find anything about this. By "generate", I mean produce the Cayley tables for all groups of ...
tlehman's user avatar
  • 193
9 votes
1 answer
193 views

Detecting/Characterising positive elements in free groups

Let $X$ be a set, and let $F(X)$ be the free group generated by $X$. I will say that an element of $F(X)$ is positive if it is in the monoid generated by all the conjugates in $F(X)$ of every member ...
user49822's user avatar
  • 2,178
9 votes
1 answer
650 views

A stronger version of a problem of Kenneth Brown using representations

Let $G$ be a finite group and $\mathcal{L}(G)$ its subgroup lattice. Let $\mu$ be the Möbius function on $\mathcal{L}(G)$. The reduced Euler characteristic of the order complex of the coset poset $\{ ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
235 views

Is a boolean interval of finite groups linearly primitive?

Let $[H,G]$ be an interval of finite groups. Definition: Let $W$ be a representation of $G$, and $X$ a subspace of $W$. Let the fixed-point subspace $W^{H}:=\{w \in W \ \vert \ kw=w \ , \forall h \...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
7k views

Computational algebra: where?

I'm on my last semester of a math B.Sc. and about to start studying for a math M.Sc in the same institute. It now seems like a good time to start thinking of a PhD. I'm interested in both algebra and ...
8 votes
3 answers
505 views

For which series of finite simple groups is it algorithmically decidable whether they contain a homomorphic image of a given finitely presented group?

Let $G$ be a group given by a finite presentation. On the one hand, it is easy to determine the abelian invariants of $G$, or in other words, it is algorithmically decidable whether $G$ surjects to a ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
8 votes
1 answer
1k views

GAP cannot solve Rubik's cube 4x4x4 and higher ? (Practical limits of Schreier–Sims algorithm)

According to our practical experiments and literature search - computer algebra system GAP cannot "solve" Rubik's cube 4x4x4 and higher. That means cannot decompose given random element of ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
455 views

Classes of groups with polynomial time isomorphism problem

It is known that the isomorphism problem for finitely presented groups is in general undecidable. What are some classes of groups whose isomorphism problem is known to be solvable in polynomial time? (...
Mithrandir's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
471 views

Is there a algorithm to compute the Schur multiplier of a finite group from a group presentation

Suppose we have a finite group $G$ whose presentation or Cayley table is given. Is there an algorithm (at least theoretically - without considering computational complexity) to compute the Cayley ...
Cloud jr's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
588 views

How hard is it to compute the diameter and the growth function of a finite permutation group of small degree?

Let $G \leq {\rm S}_n$ be a finite permutation group, and let $S = \{g_1, \dots, g_k\}$ be a generating set for $G$ which is closed under inversion and which does not contain the identity. The growth ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
8 votes
1 answer
338 views

How bad can the recursive properties of finitely presented groups be?

Any finitely presented group naturally gives rise to an edge-labeled graph (the Cayley graph) and I am considering paths through this graph. Paths correspond to infinite sequences of generators, so ...
Aubrey da Cunha's user avatar
8 votes
0 answers
435 views

A relation between intersection and product on Boolean interval of finite groups

Let $[H,G]$ be a Boolean interval of finite groups (i.e. the lattice of intermediate subgroups $H \subseteq K \subseteq G$, is Boolean). For any element $K \in [H,G]$, let $K^{\complement}$ be its ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
867 views

Research in applied algebra

I am in my final year of my doctoral study in Mathematics, where my research topic is $p$-groups, specifically classification of $p$-groups by coclass. My work involves a great deal of computation in ...
usermath's user avatar
  • 243
7 votes
2 answers
418 views

Catalogue of groups with short finite presentations

For various types of groups, there exist catalogues of those groups of the particular type which are "small" in a certain sense. — For example: The GAP Small Groups Library catalogizes ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
7 votes
1 answer
565 views

Are the distributive permutation groups linearly primitive?

An action of a group $G$ on a set $X \neq \emptyset$ is called transitive if $\forall x,y \in X$, $\exists g \in G$ such that $g.x = y$. It is called primitive if it is transitive and preserves no non-...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
302 views

Does this class of groups contain finitely generated infinite periodic groups?

Let $r(m)$ denote the residue class $r+m\mathbb{Z}$, where $0 \leq r < m$. Given disjoint residue classes $r_1(m_1)$ and $r_2(m_2)$, let the class transposition $\tau_{r_1(m_1),r_2(m_2)}$ be the ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
7 votes
0 answers
1k views

Example of a group with unsolvable word problem

Today I noticed that the last relator in the 27-relator presentation of a group with unsolvable word problem given in Donald J. Collins: A simple presentation of a group with unsolvable word problem. ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
6 votes
3 answers
872 views

An element $g$ in a group such that neither $g=1$ nor $g\ne 1$ can be proved.

Edited (this question contains two versions of a similar question) Is there some finitely presented group $G$ generated by $g_1,...,g_n$ such that there is an element $g\in G$ expressed as a finite ...
aglearner's user avatar
  • 14.3k
6 votes
1 answer
517 views

Using math software to show that the following groups are infinite?

I would like to show that the following finitely presented group in 3 generators $P, Q, R$ is infinite in certain cases: $$P^p, Q^q, R^r, (PQ)^2, (QR)^2, (PQR)^2, (QR^{r/2+1})^a (RQR^{r/2})^b$$ For ...
Matthias's user avatar
  • 656
6 votes
1 answer
562 views

Relations in a particular subgroup of the braid group.

I think this should be a 10 minute exercise in a decent computer algebra package - unfortunately I'm hopelessly ignorant of such things, so I'm putting it up here in the hope that someone will be kind ...
Ed Segal's user avatar
  • 460
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Generalization of the fundamental theorem of cyclic groups

Let $G$ be a finite group then the fundamental theorem of cyclic groups can be formulated as follows: Theorem: $G$ is cyclic iff it admits no two different subgroups with the same order. proof: see ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
837 views

Testing permutations to see if they generate $S_n$

Alright, so a similar question was recently asked about the theoretical bound for generating certain permutations in polynomial time. I had been thinking about a related problem in algorithms (with ...
dvitek's user avatar
  • 1,723
6 votes
1 answer
629 views

Positivity of the alternating sum of indices for boolean interval of finite groups

Let $G$ be a finite group and $H$ a subgroup such that the interval $[H,G]$ is a boolean lattice. Let $L_1, \dots , L_n$ be the maximal subgroups of $G$ containing $H$. Let the alternative sum ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
282 views

Questions about algorithms for permutation groups

Let $G < S_n$ be a permutation group of degree $n$, $\mathcal{P(n)}$ denote the set of all partitions of $n$, and $c: G \rightarrow \mathcal{P}(n)$, where $c(g)$ is the partition given by the ...
Victor Miller's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
411 views

Computability and complexity of computing $|Hom(G,H)|$ for finitely presented groups G, H.

In the general case, I want to say that determining $|Hom(G,H)|$ is incomputable, arguing that you could use the number to test for simplicity of a presentation, but I am new to this area and I keep ...
Edgar A. Bering IV's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
327 views

Is there a nonabelian finite simple group with Grothendieck ring of multiplicity one?

Let $G$ be a finite group. It admits finitely many irreducible complex representations $H_1, \dots, H_r$ which generate, for $\oplus$ and $\otimes$, the Grothendieck ring $\mathcal{G}(G)$ of $G$ (also ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
165 views

Can any finite distributive weighted lattice be realized by inclusion of groups?

By theorem 2.1 here, any finite distributive lattice $\mathcal{L}$ can be realized as an intermediate subgroups lattice. A weighted lattice $(\mathcal{L},\tau)$ is a lattice $\mathcal{L}$ with a ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
216 views

Tools for computing from group presentations

What are some tools -- either theoretical/by hand or algorithmic/by computer -- that are useful for doing computations in finitely presented groups? In my particular case, I'm working with a finitely ...
Ethan Dlugie's user avatar
  • 1,277
5 votes
0 answers
95 views

Is there an interval of finite groups, at index n, with strictly more elements than the subgroup lattice of any group, of order n?

Let $G$ be a finite group and $\mathcal{L}(G)$ its subgroup lattice. Let $s(n):= max\{|\mathcal{L}(G)| \text{ for } |G|=n \}$. There is an OEIS page for the sequence $s(n)$: A018216 1, 2, 2, 5, 2, ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
300 views

Uniqueness of the direct product decomposition of inclusions of finite groups

This post is a generalization of Uniqueness of the direct product decomposition of finite groups. Here we look inclusions of finite groups $(H \subset G)$ instead of just finite groups. Definition: ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
244 views

Finite groups generated by 3 involutions interchanging disjoint residue classes of the integers

Let $r(m)$ denote the residue class $r+m\mathbb{Z}$, where $0 \leq r < m$. Given disjoint residue classes $r_1(m_1)$ and $r_2(m_2)$, let the class transposition $\tau_{r_1(m_1),r_2(m_2)}$ be the ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
  • 19.6k
4 votes
2 answers
308 views

Another quotient of Hurwitz group

The paper An update on Hurwitz groups by Marston Conder seems to suggest that the Chevalley group $G(2,5)$ of order $5859000000$ is a quotient of $G := \langle a, b \ | \ a^2, b^3, (ab)^7, [a,b]^{10} \...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 2,811
4 votes
2 answers
544 views

Membership problem in monoids

What is the simplest example of a monoid with undecidable membership problem? In other words, I'm looking for a concrete monoid $S$ such that there is no algorithm which takes elements $s_1,...,s_n$ ...
dan's user avatar
  • 41