Questions tagged [conjugacy-classes]

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Conjugacy classes of $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z})$

I was wondering if there is some description known for the conjugacy classes of $$\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{Z})=\{A\in \mathrm{GL}_2(\mathbb{Z})|\;\;|\det(A)|=1\}.$$ I was not able to find anything about ...
Tom Ultramelonman's user avatar
34 votes
2 answers
2k views

Examples of finite groups with "good" bijection(s) between conjugacy classes and irreducible representations?

For symmetric group conjugacy classes and irreducible representation both are parametrized by Young diagramms, so there is a kind of "good" bijection between the two sets. For general finite groups ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
21 votes
2 answers
668 views

Does $\mathrm{SL}_{n}(\mathbb{Z}/p^{2})$ have the same number of conjugacy classes as $\mathrm{SL}_{n}(\mathbb{F}_{p}[t]/t^{2})$?

Let $p$ be a prime; $\mathbb{F}_{p}$ is the field with $p$ elements and $\mathbb{F}_{p}[t]$ the ring of polynomials in $t$ over $\mathbb{F}_{p}$. Does $\mathrm{SL}_{n}(\mathbb{Z}/p^{2})$ have the ...
A Stasinski's user avatar
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21 votes
2 answers
994 views

Is there a big solvable subgroup in every finite group?

Definition: Let $G$ be a group, and let $H \leq G$ be a subgroup. We say that $H$ is big in $G$ if for every intermediate subgroup $H \leq L \leq G$ there exists some $x \in L$ such that $\langle H \...
Pablo's user avatar
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16 votes
4 answers
3k views

Is there an infinite group with exactly two conjugacy classes?

Is there an infinite group with exactly two conjugacy classes?
Karoo Yang'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
12 votes
2 answers
333 views

Conjugacy classes as left Kan extension of forgetful functor

Let $\mathbf{Set}$, $\mathbf{Grp}$, and $\mathbf{Grp}^{\rm conj}$ denote the categories of sets and functions, groups and homomorphisms, and groups and homomorphisms up to conjugation, respectively. (...
David Corwin's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
475 views

Finite groups with lots of conjugacy classes, but only small abelian normal subgroups?

Denote the commuting probability (the probability that two randomly chosen elements commute) of a finite group $G$ by $\operatorname{cp}(G)$. By a result of Gustafson [2], $\operatorname{cp}(G)=\...
Alexander Bors's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
1k views

A subgroup intersects every conjugacy class

For a subgroup $H$ of a given group $G$, I say $H$ is "big" if it has nonempty intersection with each conjugacy class of $G$. I have known that, trivially, $G$ itself is "big". And if $H$ is a normal ...
Song Li's user avatar
  • 237
12 votes
1 answer
586 views

Why would dim primitive irrep divide size of some conjugacy class ?

From Isaacs et.al. 2005 Conjecture C. Let χ be a primitive irreducible character of an arbitrary finite group G. Then χ(1) divides | clG(g)| for some element g ∈ G. Here, of course, we ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
484 views

Constructing the largest finite group with a fixed number of conjugacy classes

It is known that there are finitely many finite groups with a given number of conjugacy classes. How can one construct (or get a character table for) the groups $G$ that realize the maximum possible ...
Christian Gaetz's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
574 views

What are the conjugacy classes of the category of ($\kappa$-small) sets?

$\newcommand{\unsim}{{\sim}}$The set of conjugacy classes of a group $G$ is the quotient of $G$ by the equivalence relation $\sim_1$ obtained by declaring $a\sim_1b$ if there exists some $g\in G$ such ...
Emily's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
693 views

Conjugacy classes in towers of groups

Let $\Gamma$ be a group and $\Gamma_1\supset\Gamma_2\supset\dots$ subgroups of finite index, such that $\bigcap_{j=1}^\infty \Gamma_j=\{1\}$. Let $1\ne\gamma\in\Gamma$ and let $[\gamma]=[\gamma]_\...
user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
434 views

existence of a finite group which is the union of self normalizing subgroups

Can a finite group G be the union of self normalizing subgroups such that the intersection between any two of these subgroups is equal to the unit of the group G? I don't think so but I can't prove ...
mondragon's user avatar
  • 101
9 votes
2 answers
837 views

What is natural about the well-known bijection between conjugacy classes and irreps of a symmetric group?

Symmetric groups possess a well-known bijection between conjugacy classes and irreducible representations. More precisely, both sets are indexed by Young diagrams. Question: To what extent is this ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

Product of conjugacy classes - is there an analog of Tanaka-Krein reconstruction ?

Consider a finite group G. The product of conjugacy classes can be defined in natural way just by multiplying the representatives and counting multiplicities (see e.g. MO 62088). So we get ring with ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
256 views

Need a good name for an algorithmic problem in groups that generalizes the conjugacy problem

I am looking for a good name for the following problem: Given elements $g_1,\dotsc,g_n$ in a (finitely generated) group $G$, determine if the product of their conjugacy classes $g_1^G\dotsb g_n^G$ ...
Alexey Muranov's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
893 views

Characters of p-groups

Berkovich mentioned the following result of Mann in his book on p-groups: The number of nonlinear irreducible characters of given degree in a p-group is divided by p-1. Do you know any reference for ...
Amin's user avatar
  • 307
7 votes
2 answers
520 views

Groups with three conjugacy classes that define an ordering

Consider the following property for a group $(\mathcal{G},\cdot,1)$: There are exactly three conjugacy classes $\{1\}$, $\mathcal{C}_1$, $\mathcal{C}_2$ in $\mathcal{G}$, and we have $\mathcal{C}_1 \...
nombre's user avatar
  • 2,307
7 votes
2 answers
393 views

Size of conjugacy classes in infinite groups

Let G be an infinite group wich is finitely generated. Is that true that the size of all finite conjugacy classes is bounded? What I know. If G is a finitely generated FC-group then it's true (follows ...
Andronick Arutyunov's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
429 views

Center of a monoid ring

According to the Wikipedia page the center of a group ring $R[G]$ is the set: $$ \{ p | \forall g,\, h \in G.\, p(g) = p(hgh^{-1}) \} $$ i.e. class functions which do not distinguish elements of the ...
user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
1k views

Maximum conjugacy class size in $S_n$ with fixed number of cycles

Context: It is well known that given a permutation in $S_n$ with $a_i$ $i$-cycles (when written as a product of disjoint cycles), the size of the conjugacy class is given by $$ \frac{n!}{\prod_{j=1}^...
metallicmural99's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
512 views

Variety of conjugacy classes

Consider a reductive group $G$ over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $0$. I would like to consider the space $X$ of all $G$-conjugacy classes in $G$. Does the space $X$ have some ...
mnr's user avatar
  • 1,190
4 votes
1 answer
251 views

A pair of non-conjugate subgroups: a simple proof

$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$Set \begin{equation} \begin{aligned} \Gamma_1 &= \left\{ I_{6}, \; \gamma_1:= \left( \begin{smallmatrix} 0&1\\ 1&0 \\ &&0&1\\ &&1&0\\ &...
emiliocba's user avatar
  • 2,321
4 votes
2 answers
658 views

Conjugacy classes in the automorphism group of a simple Lie algebra

A lower bound of the number of conjugacy classes in the automorphism group of a simple Lie algebra $\mathfrak{s}$, of finite dimension over an arbitrary field $\mathbb{F}$, can be the size of the ...
Youness EL KHARRAF's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
159 views

A probability problem in the conjugacy classes of symmetric group

Assume that $\sigma\in S_n$ has the cycle type $(p,.,p,1,..,1)$ where $p>2$ is a prime and the numbers of $1$ maybe $0$. If $\sigma_1$ and $\sigma_2$ are chosen uniformly in the conjugacy class of $...
constantine's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
188 views

Lower bound on size of largest conjugacy class of centreless perfect group

Problem 20.30 in the Kourovka Notebook asks whether the maximum size of a conjugacy class of a perfect and centreless finite group $G$ is bounded below by $|G|^{\frac{1}{2}}$. Clearly, there cannot be ...
Stefan Kohl's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
188 views

Almost conjugate subgroups of compact simple Lie groups

$\DeclareMathOperator\SU{SU}\DeclareMathOperator\Sp{Sp}\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$Let $G$ be a compact connected Lie group. Definition: Two finite subgroups $H_1,H_2$ of $G$ are said to be almost ...
emiliocba's user avatar
  • 2,321
4 votes
0 answers
152 views

Reference request - conjugacy classes over local fields

Is there a nice reference for reductive groups over local fields, which for example contains discussion of things such as: Given a semisimple element in $G(F)$, its $G(F)$-conjugacy class is closed in ...
Sasha's user avatar
  • 5,492
4 votes
0 answers
172 views

rational representants of sigma-conjugacy classes

Let $G$ be a connected reductive group over a local non-archimedean field $K$. Let $\widehat{K}^{nr}$ be the completion of the maximal unramified extension of $K$ and let $\sigma$ denote the Frobenius ...
AlexIvanov's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
95 views

$\mathrm{Sp}_n(q)$-conjugacy classes in $\mathrm{GL}_{2n}(q)$

The symplectic group $\mathrm{Sp}_n(q)$ acts on $\mathrm{GL}_{2n}(q)$ by conjugation. All the literature I have found concerning the orbits of action of this kind is "Unipotent conjugacy classes in ...
safak's user avatar
  • 287
4 votes
1 answer
298 views

Coxeter groups generated by one finite conjugacy class

Let $(W,S)$ be an arbitrary Coxeter system. We consider the following scenario: Let $\mathcal{O}$ be a conjugacy class of an element $w$ in $W$ which is finite and which generates the whole group $W$....
Christoph Mark's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
681 views

Rational Conjugacy Classes of Finite Groups

Suppose $G$ is a finite group and $A$ is the set of all character values of $G$. By character values, I mean entries of the character table of $G$. Let $\Gamma = \operatorname{Gal}({\mathbb{Q}(A)}/{\...
Ali Reza Ashrafi's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
108 views

Fusing conjugacy classes II

(Followup to this question) Consider a finite-dimensional Lie group $G$ and two conjugacy classes $H$ and $I$ of isomorphic subgroups of $G$. Question. Is there some finite-dimensional Lie overgroup ...
Daniel Sebald's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
289 views

Number of conjugacy classes of pairs of commuting elements

Let $G$ be a finite group and denote by $r_G$ the number of conjugacy classes of pairs of commuting elements, i.e. the cardinality of the following set $$ A_G = \{ c(a_1,a_2) \ | \ a_1,a_2 \in G \text{...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
190 views

Finite subgroup of $\operatorname{Sp}(2n,K)$

Let $G$ be the algebraic group $\operatorname{Sp}(2n, K)$ where $K$ is an algebraically closed field of characteristic not $2$. There is a quaternion subgroup $Q$ such that $Q/Z(G)$ is elementary ...
user488802's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
84 views

Are isomorphic maximal tori stably conjugate?

Let $F$ be a field and $G$ a reductive $F$-group. For various applications it is important to understand the "classes" of maximal ($F$-)tori of $G$. Here "class" can mean the ...
David Schwein's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
342 views

Torsion-free groups with finite conjugacy classes

Does there exist a finitely presented, torsion-free group $G$ which has conjugacy classes of finite size greater than one? This condition came up in a research project, and we would like to rule out ...
Mark Grant's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
224 views

Number of conjugacy classes of a semi-direct product of two finite groups

Let $G$ and $H$ be two finite groups. Let $r(G)$ be the order of the set of conjugacy classes of $G$. We know $$r(G\times H)=r(G)\times r(H).$$ My problem is: if there is a semi-direct product $G\...
gdre's user avatar
  • 71
2 votes
1 answer
114 views

Zeroes of characters of general linear group induced from certain characters of parabolic subgroups

$\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}\DeclareMathOperator\Ind{Ind}$My question is about the types of conjugacy classes of $\GL(n,q)$, the general linear group over the finite field with $q$ elements, on which ...
mathseeker's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
85 views

conjugacy in adjoint representation

Let $G$ be an adjoint algebraic group over $\mathbb{C}$, $\mathfrak{g}$ its Lie algebra. Let $\rho:G\rightarrow GL(\mathfrak{g})$ be the adjoint representation. Let $g,g'\in G$ be two semisimple ...
prochet's user avatar
  • 3,432
2 votes
1 answer
499 views

Conjugacy of elements in a parabolic subgroup

Let $G$ be a complex connected reductive group, and let $P \subseteq G$ be a parabolic subgroup. My question is the following: if $g$ and $h$ are elements of $P$ which are conjugate as elements of $G$,...
unknownymous's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
112 views

Elementary abelian 2-subgroups of $\mathrm{Aut}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$ (with and without choice)

Consider the absolute Galois group $G_{\mathbb{Q}} := \mathrm{Aut}(\overline{\mathbb{Q}}/\mathbb{Q})$. As I understand it, the only torsion elements have order $2$ (by Artin-Schreier), and they are ...
THC's user avatar
  • 4,313
2 votes
0 answers
130 views

Need for "minimal representation" of a symmetric group

I need to construct a representation of a symmetric group $S_n$, in which a character of the conjugacy class $(n)$ (a class of permutations, which are cycles of a maximal possible length $n$) would be ...
V. Asnin's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
144 views

Conjugacy class of upper triangular matrices over algebraically closed field: Reference request

We know that the conjugacy classes of $A\in M_n(\mathbb{C})$ are determined by the characteristic polynomial of $A$ and a partition of $n$. Is there an analogous statement for upper triangular ...
user300's user avatar
  • 215
1 vote
2 answers
383 views

Are the character degrees determined by the conjugacy class sizes?

The computation below (part 1) shows that if two finite groups of order at most $100$ have the same (ordered) list of conjugacy class sizes, then they also have the same (ordered) list of (irreducible)...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
77 views

What do conjugacy classes of involutions like in finite simple group $E_7(q)$?

Are there any refences for conjugacy classes of involutions in finite simple group $E_7(q)$?
Yi Wang's user avatar
  • 261
1 vote
0 answers
146 views

Which groups can be generated by a single conjugacy class?

How can we characterize the finite groups generated by a subset of a single conjugacy class? This post asks for well-known families of finitely generated groups generated by a single conjugacy class. ...
utx7563yu's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
49 views

A question on width vs covering of the subgroup generated by a conjugacy class in a finite group

Let $G$ be a finite group and $C$ be a conjugacy class of $G$. It is clear that there exists $k\in \mathbb{N}$, such that $1\cup C\cup C^2 \cup \cdots \cup C^k=\langle C \rangle$. Note that $\langle C ...
Riju's user avatar
  • 430
1 vote
0 answers
60 views

Choice of generators to make the centralisers connected

In $G=\operatorname{PGL}_{2n}(\textbf{C})$, WLG, we assume all the toral elementary abelian 2-subgroups in discussion are in $T$, the image in $G$ of the group of diagonal matrices in $\operatorname{...
user488802's user avatar