All Questions
Tagged with finite-groups co.combinatorics
190 questions
54
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How many square roots can a non-identity element in a group have?
Let $G$ be a finite group. Let $r_2\colon G \to \mathbb{N}$ be the square-root counting function, assigning to each $g\in G$ the number of $x\in G$ with $x^2=g$. Perhaps surprisingly, $r_2$ does not ...
- 805
50
votes
6
answers
11k
views
Generating finite simple groups with $2$ elements
Here is a very natural question:
Q: Is it always possible to generate a finite simple group with only $2$ elements?
In all the examples that I can think of the answer is yes.
If the answer is ...
- 7,609
40
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Orders of products of permutations
Let $p$ be a prime, $n\gg p$ not divisible by $p$ (say, $n>2^{2^p}$). Are there two permutations $a, b$ of the set $\{1,...,n\}$ which together act transitively on $\{1,2,...,n\}$ and such that all ...
user6976
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 ...
- 85.6k
35
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Does the hypergraph structure of the set of subgroups of a finite group characterize isomorphism type?
Question
Suppose there is a bijection between the underlying sets of two finite groups $G, H$, such that every subgroup of $G$ corresponds to a subgroup of $H$, and that every subgroup of $H$ ...
- 483
32
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Order of products of elements in symmetric groups
Let $n \in \mathbb{N}$. Is it true that for any $a, b, c \in \mathbb{N}$ satisfying
$1 < a, b, c \leq n-2$ the symmetric group ${\rm S}_n$ has elements of order $a$ and $b$
whose product has order $...
- 19.6k
31
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Does the symmetric group $S_{10}$ factor as a knit product of symmetric subgroups $S_6$ and $S_7$?
By knit product (alias: Zappa-Szép product), I mean a product $AB$ of subgroups for which $A\cap B=1$. In particular, note that neither subgroup is required to be normal, thus making this a ...
- 1,068
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 ...
- 20.2k
29
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Roots of permutations
Consider the equation $x^2=x_0$ in the symmetric group $S_n$, where $x_0\in S_n$ is fixed. Is it true that for each integer $n\geq 0$, the maximal number of solutions (the number of square roots of $...
- 109k
28
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Are there always more conjugacy classes in the kernel of a morphism to $Z_2$ than not?
Let $G$ be a finite group and let $\phi:G\to Z_2$ be a homomorphism to the group with two elements. Is it always the case that there are more conjugacy classes in the kernel of $\phi$ than conjugacy ...
- 513
28
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Multiplying all the elements in a group
Let $G = \{ g_i | i = 1, ...,n \}$ be a finite group and denote by $G!$ the multiset consisting of all the products of all different elements of $G$ in any order, that is
$$ G! = [ \prod_i g_{\sigma(i)...
- 943
28
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Number of irreducible representations of a finite group over a field of characteristic 0
Let $G$ be a finite group and $K$ a field with $\mathbb{Q} \subseteq K \subseteq \mathbb{C}$.
For $K=\mathbb{C}$ the number of irreducible representations of $KG$ is equal to the number of conjugacy ...
- 26.5k
26
votes
2
answers
997
views
Is $\varphi(n)/n$ the maximal portion of $n$-cycles in a degree $n$ group?
Let $G$ be a degree $n$ group, i.e., a subgroup of the symmetric group $S_n$. Let $p(G)$ be the number of $n$-cycles in $G$ divided by the size of $G$.
Examples:
If $G$ is a cyclic transitive ...
- 3,362
23
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Has any attempt been made to classify finite groupoids?
I recently stumbled upon the Mathieu groupoid and I found them fascinating.
It appears as a subset of $S_{13}$ which is not closed under multiplication, but it turns out to be a groupoid with 13 ...
- 2,040
21
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Generating random finite groups
I would like a method to efficiently generate a random finite group of a given order $n$.
If there are $g(n)$ non-isomorphic groups of order $n$,
ideally each group would occur with probability $1/g(n)...
- 151k
20
votes
1
answer
993
views
Proof of CFSG assuming every simple group is two-generated
It is well-known that one of the corollaries of the classification of finite simple groups (CFSG) is that every finite simple group can be generated by two elements. In a comment on an answer to an ...
20
votes
1
answer
586
views
$q$-(and other)-analogs for counting index-$n$ subgroups in terms of Homs to $S_n$?
The following formula of astonishing beauty and power (imho):
$$ \sum_{n \ge 0} \frac{| \mathrm{Hom}(G,S_n) | }{n! } z^n = \exp\left( \sum_{n \ge 1} \frac{|\text{Index}~n~\text{subgroups of}~ G|}nz^...
- 24.9k
18
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Number of isomorphism types of finite groups
Are there some good asymptotic estimations for the number $F(n)$ of non-isomorphic finite groups of size smaller than $n$?
- 1,281
18
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Lower bounds on the number of elements in Sylow subgroups
I posted this question on Math.SE (link), but it didn't get any answers so I'm going to ask here. This is an edited version of the question.
Let $p$ be a prime and $n \geq 1$ some integer. ...
- 2,217
17
votes
1
answer
798
views
Are There Always Group Generators Which Give Unimodal Growth?
Suppose $G$ is a $k$-generated finite group. Is there always a set of $k$ elements which generate the group and have a unimodal counting function?
Background:
The counting function, $f(n)$, is a ...
- 2,143
17
votes
0
answers
824
views
What's the big deal about $M_{13}$?
$M_{13}$ is the Mathieu groupoid defined by Conway in
Conway, J. H. $M_{13}$. Surveys in combinatorics, 1997 (London), 1–11,
London Math. Soc. Lecture Note Ser., 241, Cambridge Univ. Press, ...
- 11.2k
17
votes
0
answers
512
views
Maximum automorphism group for a 3-connected cubic graph
The following arose as a side issue in a project on graph reconstruction.
Problem: Let $a(n)$ be the greatest order of the automorphism group of a 3-connected cubic graph with $n$ vertices. Find a ...
- 37.7k
16
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Tensor power of the natural representation of Sn
The symmetric group $S_n$ acts over $V=\mathbb{R}^n$ by permuting the canonical basis.
So it acts over $V^{\otimes p}$ with a diagonal action (acts the same over each element of the tensor product).
...
- 583
16
votes
1
answer
395
views
Geometric interpretation of the exceptional isomorphism $PSp(4,3)=PSU(4,2^2)$
It is well-known that there is an isomorphism between $PSp(4,3)$ (the symplectic group of dimension $4$ over $\mathbb F_3$) and $PSU(4,2^2)$ (the unitary group defined by $4\times4$ unitary matrices ...
- 9,501
16
votes
1
answer
804
views
Existence of a faithful irreducible representation using Möbius function
Let $G$ be a finite group, $L(G)$ its subgroup lattice and $\mu$ the Möbius function.
Consider the Euler totient of $G$ defined as follows:
$$ \varphi(G) = \sum_{H \le G}\mu(H,G) |H| $$
Let $X=\{M_1, \...
15
votes
1
answer
679
views
Submodules of $({\mathbb Z}/6{\mathbb Z})^n$ intersecting $\{0,1\}^n$ trivially
$\newcommand{\F}{{\mathbb F}}$
$\newcommand{\Z}{{\mathbb Z}}$
Suppose that $\F$ is a finite field of prime order $p:=|\F|$, and let $n$ be a positive integer. I consider the regime where $\F$ is ...
- 23k
15
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Injective proof about sizes of conjugacy classes in S_n
It's not hard to count the number of permutations in a given conjugacy class of Sn. In particular, the number of permutations in Sn whose cycle decomposition has ci i-cycles is n!/(Πi=1n ci!ici). ...
- 1,975
14
votes
3
answers
660
views
Which partitions realise group algebras of finite groups?
Fix an algebraically closed field $K$ (maybe of characteristic zero first for simplicity, like $\mathbb{C}$).
Given a partition $p=[a_1,...,a_m]$ of an integer $n$. We can identify $p$ with the ...
- 26.5k
14
votes
1
answer
865
views
Enumeration of $0-1$ matrices with determinant $1$
Has the number $f(n)$ of $n \times n$, $0{-}1$ matrices whose determinant is $+1$
been enumerated?
E.g., for $n{=}2$, there are $f(2)=3$ such matrices:
$$
\left(
\begin{array}{cc}
1 & 0 \\
0 &...
- 151k
14
votes
0
answers
378
views
A hard Lefschetz theorem for nilCoxeter algebras
Let $W$ be a finite Coxeter group and $\mathcal{N}(W)$ its nilCoxeter
algebra (over the reals, say), as defined at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil-Coxeter_algebra. $\mathcal{N}(W)$ has
a natural ...
- 50.8k
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Number of commuting pairs (triples, n-tuples) in GL_n(F_q) (and other groups)?
Question 1 What is the number of pairs of commuting elements in GL_n(F_q) ?
I am aware of many results concerning commuting elements in Mat_n(F_q), but I am interested in GL i.e. non-degenerate ...
- 24.9k
13
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Number of positions of Rubik's cube grows with multiplier 13 with the distance - what are explanations and groups with similar growth pattern?
Rubik's cube and its generalizations attracts certain attention of mathematical community. It is somehow "noteworthy" that it has been proved that diameter of the Rubik's cube group is 20, i.e. ...
- 24.9k
13
votes
1
answer
651
views
The Möbius number of the nonabelian finite simple groups
Let $L$ be a finite lattice with minimum $\hat{0}$ and maximum $\hat{1}$. The Möbius function $\mu$ for $L$ is defined recursively by: for $\forall a,b \in L$ with $a<b$, $\mu(b,b) = 1$ and $\mu(...
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
The exceptional isomorphism between PGL(3,2) and PSL(2,7): geometric origin?
It is well-known there is an isomorphism between $GL(3,2)=PGL(3,2)$, the automorphism group of the Fano plane (i.e. the projective plane over the finite field with two elements), and $PSL(2,7)$, which ...
- 35.5k
12
votes
1
answer
450
views
abelian quotients of permutation groups
Let $G$ be a subgroup of the permutation group $S_n$, and let $H$ be a normal subgroup of $G$ such that the quotient group $G/H$ is abelian. What is the best known upper estimate for the cardinality $...
- 1,294
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Graph automorphism group
Let $A_w$ denote such set of positive integer $n$ that: for any two permutations $\pi_0,\pi_1\in S_n$, if $\pi_1$ is not a power of $\pi_0$, then there exists a (labeled non oriented) graph $G$ of ...
- 909
12
votes
1
answer
290
views
Largest subset of $GL_n(p)$ in which pairwise subtraction is also in $GL_n(p)$
Suppose $X\subset \mathrm{GL}_n(p)$ is a set of invertible matrices such that for every $A,B\in X$ then also $A-B\in \mathrm{GL}_n(p)\cup \{0\}$. (If anyone knows a name for such sets I would be ...
- 407
12
votes
2
answers
406
views
Does asymmetric fraction of finite groups tend to $0$?
Let’s define asymmetric fraction of a finite group $G$ as the number $$\mathrm{af}(G) = \frac{|\{(g, a) \in G \times \mathrm{Aut}(G)\mid a(g) = g\}|}{|G|\cdot|\mathrm{Aut}(G)|}.$$ Equivalently it can ...
- 2,618
12
votes
1
answer
682
views
A sum over characters of the symmetric group
Let $C_\mu$ be the size of the conjugacy class in $S_n$ of permutations whose cycletype is the partition $\mu\vdash n$. Let $\chi$ be the characters of the irreducible representations of $S_n$.
Let $\...
- 1,549
12
votes
2
answers
660
views
On shifted symmetric power sums
The functions $p^*_k(x)=\sum_{i=1}^N ((x_i-i)^k-(-i)^k)$ are analogues of power sum symmetric functions, called shifted symmetric by Okounkov and Olshanski. Define $p^*_{(k_1,k_2,...)}=p^*_{k_1}p^*_{...
- 2,552
12
votes
0
answers
191
views
Non-Boolean Eulerian interval of finite groups
An Eulerian subgroup lattice is Boolean (see here), so it is natural to wonder whether it is also true for an interval of finite groups. The smallest non-Boolean Eulerian lattice is the following:
It ...
11
votes
1
answer
550
views
Probability of words summing to $1$ in $S_n$ or $\mathrm{PGL}_2(n)$
$\DeclareMathOperator\PGL{PGL}\DeclareMathOperator\Conj{Conj}$Let $G$ be the symmetric group $S_n$ or the projective general linear group $\PGL_2(n)$.
Let $X$ be a cyclically reduced word in the ...
- 9,501
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
A cancellation property for permutations?
Let $S_n$ be the group of $n$-permutations. Denote the number of inversions of $\sigma\in S_n$ by $\ell(\sigma)$.
QUESTION. Assume $n>2$. Does this cancellation property hold true?
$$\sum_{\...
- 43.2k
10
votes
1
answer
906
views
Which finite groups are not the automorphism group of some rooted finite tree?
The question is as given in the title:
Which finite groups are not the automorphism group of some rooted finite tree?
A rephrasing could be: Is any finite group representable as the automorphism ...
- 1,306
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Number of faithful representations of a finite group
Is it known how many faithful linear representations a finite group G has on a complex vector space of given dimension? What if G is abelian?
I would even be interested in this special case: the ...
- 4,807
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 $n$ ...
- 7,545
9
votes
2
answers
403
views
Certain signed sum over $S_n$
The following question appeared in my research:
Let $G_1,G_2,G_3$ all be subgroups of $S_n$, and consider the sum
$$
\sum_{g_i \in G_i, g_1g_2g_3 = id} \epsilon(g_1)
$$
that is, we only consider ...
- 15.8k
9
votes
1
answer
357
views
Is there a way to prove, that $2$-generated groups are rare among finite groups?
Is there a way to prove, that $\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{\text{the number of all } 2 \text{-generated groups of order less than }n}{\text{the number of all groups of order less than } n} = 0$?
This ...
- 2,618
9
votes
2
answers
762
views
Solutions of $x^d=1$ in the symmetric group
L Moser and M Wyman, On solutions of $x^d = 1$ in symmetric groups, Canad. J. Math., 7 (1955), pages 159-168, explored asymptotic behavior of the cardinality of such permutations:
$$f_d(n):=\#\{\pi\in\...
- 43.2k
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 $\{ ...