All Questions
Tagged with gr.group-theory nt.number-theory
398 questions
115
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
$$\...
- 5,063
75
votes
5
answers
3k
views
When the automorphism group of an object determines the object
Let me start with three examples to illustrate my question (probably vague; I apologize in advance).
$\mathbf{Man}$, the category of closed (compact without boundary) topological manifold. For any $M,...
73
votes
2
answers
8k
views
The inverse Galois problem and the Monster
I have a slight interest in both the inverse Galois problem and in the Monster group. I learned some time ago that all of the sporadic simple groups, with the exception of the Mathieu group $M_{23}$, ...
- 4,994
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 ...
- 26.5k
55
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is there an odd-order group whose order is the sum of the orders of the proper normal subgroups?
For a finite group G, let |G| denote the order of G and write $D(G) = \sum_{N \triangleleft G} |N|$, the sum of the orders of the normal subgroups. I would like to call G "perfect" if D(G) = 2|G|, ...
- 27.7k
51
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Which philosophy for reductive groups?
I am just beginning to look further into trace formulas and automorphic forms in a quite general setting. For long I have noticed that the natural assumption on the group $G$ we work on is to be ...
- 5,424
47
votes
1
answer
2k
views
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 ...
- 19.6k
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 ...
user6976
33
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Is every (finite-dimensional, complex) representation of a finite group defined over the algebraic integers?
Is every (finite-dimensional, complex) representation of a finite group defined over the algebraic integers?
Apologies in advance if this is obvious.
Edit, 5/31/24: Since this question is getting some ...
- 118k
33
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Is there any theory why (for Bitcoin) the discrete logarithm problem is so hard to solve?
Note I am an active member and contributor at the sister site https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com while studying Bitcoin and as a person who studied mathematics 10 years ago there is one thing I kept ...
- 439
32
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is there a nice explanation for this curious fact about cyclic subgroups?
Here's something that I noticed that quite surprised me.
Let $G$ be a finite abelian group. Consider the following expression.
$$
\nu(G) = \sum_{\substack{H \leq G \\ H \text{ is cyclic}}} |H|
$$
It ...
- 6,290
31
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Fixed points of $x\mapsto 2^{2^{2^{2^x}}} \mod p$
Let $p$ be a prime. For how many elements $x$ of $\{0,1,\dotsc,p-1\}$ can it be the case that
$$2^{2^{2^{2^x}}} = x \mod p?$$
In particular, can you find a simple proof (or, even better, several ...
- 20.2k
31
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Navigating $\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$
$\newcommand{\Z}{\mathbb{Z}}$Let's consider a silly-looking question first. Consider $\Z/p\Z$. Say I am allowed the two operations $x\mapsto x+1$ and $x\mapsto 2x$. Then, starting from $0$, I can ...
- 20.2k
30
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How strong is this conjecture? $(Z/nZ)^*$ is generated by "small" elements
Conjecture: There are constants $c,k$ such that every $(Z/nZ)^*$ is generated by its elements smaller than $k (\log n)^c$.
Where $(Z/nZ)^*$ is the multiplicative group of integers mod $n$. My main ...
- 4,529
30
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Fractal-like structures arising from the action of a group on $\mathbb{Z}^2$
Let $G := \langle a, b, c \rangle < {\rm Sym}(\mathbb{Z}^2)$ be the group
generated by the permutation
$$
a: \ (m,n) \ \mapsto \ (m-n,m)
$$
of order $6$ and the involutions
$$
b: \ (m,n) \ \...
- 19.6k
29
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Galois theory timeline
A recent question on the history of Galois theory wasn't the most satisfactory. But the historical issues do seem quite attractive. They relate to innovation, and to exposition. There is a perspective ...
- 12.6k
29
votes
0
answers
989
views
Non-linear expanders?
Recall that a family of graphs (indexed by an infinite set, such as the primes, say) is called an expander family if there is a $\delta>0$ such that, on every graph in the family, the discrete ...
- 20.2k
27
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Are there any nontrivial ring homomorphisms $M_{n+1}(R)\rightarrow M_n(R)$?
Let $R$ be a finitely generated ring with identity, $M_n(R)$ the set of $n\times n$ matrices. Are there any nontrivial ring homomorphisms $M_{n+1}(R)\rightarrow M_n(R)$? This should be an elementary ...
- 1,373
27
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Monstrous Moonshine for Thompson group $Th$?
I. As a background, in Traces of Singular Moduli (p.2), Zagier defines the modular form of weight 3/2,
$$g(\tau) = \frac{\eta^2(\tau)}{\eta(2\tau)}\frac{E_4(4\tau)}{\eta^6(4\tau)}=\vartheta_4(\tau)\, ...
- 12.6k
23
votes
12
answers
3k
views
Statements in group theory which imply deep results in number theory
Can we name some examples of theorems in group theory which imply (in a relatively straight-forward way) interesting theorems or phenomena in number theory?
Here are two examples I thought of:
The ...
23
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why is $(\mathbb{Z}/3\mathbb{Z})^3$ not a class group of an imaginary quadratic number field ?
In general, it seems not known which finite abelian groups are class groups of quadratic number fields.
For imaginary quadratic number fileds, I read that $(\mathbb{Z}/3\mathbb{Z})^3$ is the smallest ...
- 12.1k
23
votes
2
answers
2k
views
divisors of $p^4+1$ of the form $kp+1$
In group theory the number of Sylow $p$-subgroups of a finite group $G$, is of the form $kp+1$.
So it is interesting to discuss about the divisors of this form. As I checked it seems that for an odd ...
- 1,168
22
votes
2
answers
1k
views
$GL_n(\Bbb Z_p)$ conjugacy classes in a $GL_n(\Bbb Q_p)$ conjugacy class
It is easy to classify conjugacy classes in $GL_n(\mathbb Q_p)$ by linear algebra. How to classify $GL_n(\Bbb Z_p)$ conjugacy classes in a $GL_n(\Bbb Q_p)$ conjugacy class? For example, for general ...
- 6,622
22
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Monstrous moonshine for $M_{24}$ and K3?
An important piece of Monstrous moonshine is the j-function,
$$j(\tau) = \frac{1}{q}+744+196884q+21493760q^2+\dots\tag{1}$$
In the paper "Umbral Moonshine" (2013), page 5, authors Cheng, Duncan, and ...
- 12.6k
22
votes
1
answer
668
views
For which $n$ is it true that all surjections $SL_2(\mathbb{Z})\rightarrow SL_2(\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z})$ have kernel $\Gamma(n)$?
For which integers $n$ does every surjection $SL_2(\mathbb{Z})\twoheadrightarrow SL_2(\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z})$ have kernel $\Gamma(n)$?
(this is the usual kernel, ie, the subgroup of matrices ...
- 7,527
20
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Galois Bicentennial?
The 200-th anniversary of the birth of Galois will be on October 25th, 2011. For Abel's bicentennial birth year in 2002, Norway had a big conference and initiated the Abel prize. A cursory web search ...
- 50.6k
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How to prove that every polynomial in an infinite family is irreducible over Q?
Consider the bivariate polynomial $$p(X,Y) = X^5 - (2 Y + 1) X^3 - (Y^2 + 2) X^2 + Y (Y-1) X + Y^3.$$ For every integer $y \ge 4$, I conjecture that $p(X,y)$ is irreducible in $\mathbb{Q}[X]$. How can ...
- 563
20
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Sums of powers mod p
For prime $p > 7$ with $p-1=rs$, $r>1$, $s>1$, let $A=\{x^r|x \in \mathbb{Z}_p\}$ and $B = \{x^s|x \in \mathbb{Z}_p\}$. If $g$ is a primitive root mod $p$ then $A = \{0\} \cup \{g^{ir}|0 \leq ...
- 619
20
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Could unramified Galois groups satisfy a version of property tau?
This is an experiment: there is a question I want to mention in an article I'm writing, and I am not sure it's a sensible question, so I will ask it here first, in the hopes that if it's insensible ...
- 19.2k
18
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Assistance with understanding parent/child relationships in Pythagorean Triples
I want to start by apologising for what is probably a weak attempt at a question on a site like this, but I'm having trouble understand a concept that doesn't seem to be properly explained elsewhere - ...
- 283
18
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How to add two numbers from a group theoretic perspective?
It is known that adding two numbers and looking at the carrying operation has a link with cocycles in group theory. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3072368?origin=crossref)
When we add two numbers by ...
user6671
18
votes
3
answers
745
views
Number of primitive $n$th roots with positive versus negative real parts
Does anyone know a reference to the following results, which I can prove, but I suspect may be known. Let $R(n)$ denote the number of primitive $n$th roots of unity with positive real part, and $L(n)$ ...
- 1,991
18
votes
0
answers
2k
views
$G$ a group, with $p$ a prime number, and $|G|=2^p-1$, is it abelian?
During my research I came across this question, I proposed it in the chat, but nobody could find a counterexample, so I allow myself to ask you :
$G$ a group, with $p$ a prime number, and $|G|=2^p-1$, ...
- 4,074
18
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Definition of Pin groups?
When looking into the definition of a Pin group, it turns out that there are - at least - three different ones in the literature, and they do not agree --- but thankfully all yield the same Spin ...
- 339
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 ...
- 19.6k
16
votes
1
answer
731
views
Transitive actions of finite subgroups of ${\rm GL}(n,\Bbb Z)$ on projective geometries
For any $n$, the group ${\rm GL}(n,\Bbb Z)$ has a natural action on $\Bbb Z^n$. Modding out a prime $p$ yields an action on the vector space $F_p^n$, where $F_p$ is the finite field with $p$ elements. ...
- 163
16
votes
2
answers
2k
views
One question on linear combinations of roots of unity
For $n \geq 1$, I want to find all solutions $x_i$ of the equation
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}l
x_i \in \mathbb{Z}, i=0,1,2\dotsc,n-1 \\
x_i^2 = 1, i=0,1,2\dotsc,n-1 \\
\...
- 696
15
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Subgroups of $SL_2(\mathbb R)$ which contain $SL_2(\mathbb Z)$ as a finite index subgroup
Let $G\subset \mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb R)$ be a subgroup such that $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb Z)\subset G$.
What are the possible groups such that $\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb Z)\subset G$ is of finite index? Is $...
- 195
15
votes
1
answer
474
views
Dirichlet's unit theorem for reductive schemes
Let $O_{K,S}$ be the ring of $S$-integers in a number field $K$. Dirichlet's unit theorem implies that the group of units in $O_{K,S}$ is a finitely generated group. In other words, the group $\mathbb ...
- 151
15
votes
0
answers
745
views
Galois theory: Generalization of Abel's Theorem?
Let $L$ stand for the field obtained by adjoining to
${\Bbb Q}$ all roots of all polynomials of the
form $x^n+ax+b$, $a,b\in {\Bbb Q}$.
What polynomials $p$ don't split over $L$? In particular, ...
- 17.6k
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
$n!$ divides a product: Part I
Question. The following is always an integer. Is it not?
$$\frac{(2^n-1)(2^n-2)(2^n-4)(2^n-8)\cdots(2^n-2^{n-1})}{n!}.$$
John Shareshian has supplied a cute proof. I'm encouraged to ask:
...
- 43.2k
14
votes
1
answer
1k
views
A nice problem by Peter Cameron on subsets of $\{1,\dots,n\}$
Recently Professor Peter Cameron posed a number theory problem which is related to graphs of groups. The problem is:
Problem:
Let $n$ be a positive integer. Show that there exist subsets $A_1, A_2, …,...
- 4,784
14
votes
2
answers
634
views
Non-congruence normal subgroups of $SL_2(\mathbb{Z}[1/2])$
Let $G=SL_2(\mathbb{Z}[1/2])$, i.e., the modular group (if you wish) over the ring $\mathbb{Z}[1/2]$ consisting of rationals whose denominators are powers of $2$. Unlike $SL_2(\mathbb{R})$, $G$ is ...
- 20.2k
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Deformations of p-divisible groups
Given a p-divisible group over $\mathbb{F}_p$, Grothendieck-Messing theory tells us that deforming the group to $\mathbb{Z}_p$ is the same as finding an admissible filtration of the Dieudonne-module ...
- 143
14
votes
2
answers
962
views
Groups which are only defined up to conjugation
I'm trying to understand what the right way is to think about "groups which are only well-defined up to conjugation." Since this is somewhat vague let me clarify it by pointing out the main examples ...
- 28.1k
14
votes
1
answer
695
views
$\mathbb{Z}$-module structure of the subring generated by an algebraic number
Let $a$ and $b$ be algebraic numbers which are not necessarily algebraic integers. Is there some invariant that allows us to determine whether $\mathbb Z[a]$ and $\mathbb Z[b]$ are isomorphic as $\...
- 151
14
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Is there an infinite field of characteristic 2 whose multiplicative group is torsion free and (direct-sum) indecomposable?
Let $F$ be a infinite field of characteristic 2 whose multiplicative group $F^*$ is torsion free. I would like to conclude that $F^*$ is decomposable or find an example where $F^*$ is indecomposable.
...
- 575
13
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Which groups are Galois over some p-adic field?
Suppose I have some finite $p$-group $G$, or a little extension of it.
How do I know if there exists a prime $l$ and a finite extension $K$ of $\mathbb{Q}_l$ such that $G$ is the Galois group of ...
- 11.3k
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Action of SL(2,Z) on upper triangular primitive integer matrices of determinant N, from the right. Is it transitive?
I am porting this question across from StackExchange, since it has received no answers and perhaps is sufficiently deep to fit here.
I am considering the set of upper triangular matrices
$$D_N=\left\...
- 133
13
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Hilbert's 10th problem and nilpotent groups
I am asking this question on behalf of a colleague of mine who does not have an MO account. Nevertheless I am also interested in the answer.
The question concerns relationships between Hilbert's ...
- 65.4k