All Questions
Tagged with reference-request gr.group-theory
215 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
32
votes
0
answers
993
views
Is there a Mathieu groupoid M_31?
I have read something which said that the large amount of common structure between the simple groups $SL(3,3)$ and $M_{11}$ indicated to Conway the possibility that the Mathieu groupoid $M_{13}$ might ...
- 3,645
30
votes
0
answers
999
views
Follow-up to Steinberg's problem (12) in his 1966 ICM talk?
Steinberg's lecture at the 1966 ICM in Moscow here surveyed his work on regular elements of semisimple algebraic groups, while also formulating a number of then-open questions as "problems" (...
- 52.9k
19
votes
0
answers
604
views
How is this group theoretic construct called?
Let $G$ be a finite group, $S\subset G$ a generating set, $|g| = |g|_S = $ word length with respect to $S$. Define the "defect" of $g,h$ to be
$$\psi(g,h) = |g|+|h|-|gh|$$
Then $\psi:G\times G \...
user6671
18
votes
0
answers
734
views
How boundedly generated is $SL_3(\mathbb{Z})$?
The group $G = \mathrm{SL}_3(\mathbb{Z})$ is known to be boundedly generated, that is, there exists some $m \in \mathbb{N}$, and $g_1, \dots, g_m \in G$ such that we have the following equality of ...
- 11.3k
15
votes
0
answers
716
views
Is this "Homology" useful to study?
In the usual singular homology of a topological space $X$, one consider the free abelian group generated by all continuous maps from the standard simplex $\Delta^{n}$ to $X$.
Now we can ...
- 356
15
votes
0
answers
573
views
Relation Between Truncated Braid Groups and Regular Tilings of the Complex and Hyperbolic Plane
This is perhaps a vague question, but hopefully there exists literature on the subject. The question is motivated by an answer I gave to this question on math.SE.
There exists a rather remarkable ...
- 715
14
votes
0
answers
552
views
Who conjectured that a transitive projective plane is Desarguesian?
The only known finite projective plane with a transitive automorphism group is the Desarguesian plane $PG(2,q)$ and it seems likely that there are no others, although this is not (quite) proved.
...
- 12.7k
13
votes
0
answers
182
views
What do we call a functor of orbits and isomorphisms?
If $G$ is a finite group, then inside the category of $G$-sets and $G$-maps there is the subcategory whose objects are the orbits (transitive $G$-sets) and whose morphisms are the isomorphisms. I have ...
- 55.9k
12
votes
0
answers
558
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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 ...
- 4,829
12
votes
0
answers
424
views
Reference for class of involutions containing longest element of finite Coxeter group?
Consider a finite (say irreducible) Coxeter group $W$ with a fixed generator set $S$ and rank $n$. This is the same thing as a finite real reflection group, generated by a set of “simple” ...
- 52.9k
11
votes
0
answers
486
views
Roadmap to homotopical group theory
I have been lurking here for a long time just enjoying the scenery from my beginner's viewpoint. I have a math.SE account but I think this question is appropriate here based on the nature of the ...
- 211
11
votes
0
answers
382
views
Ascending chain condition for 1-element normal closures in a free group
Let $F$ be a free group of finite rank. Does $F$ satisfy the ascending chain condition on normal subgroups each of which is a normal closure of one element?
In other words, can there exist elements $...
- 3,181
11
votes
0
answers
345
views
Status of questions in "Group Actions on $\mathbb{R}$-trees"?
Culler and Morgan's "Group Actions on $\mathbb{R}$-trees" lists four questions at the end of the introduction. A few have been famously resolved by work of Rips, Bestvina–Feighn and others.
I'm ...
- 1,996
11
votes
0
answers
269
views
Proving a group with two generators is not free that uses the Brahamagupta-Pell equation
Hello I encountered the following while reading a set of notes on free groups. It's not a homework question.
"Does there exist a rational number $\alpha$ with $0 <|\alpha| < 2$ such that the ...
- 111
11
votes
0
answers
379
views
Amalgamated product of automatic groups
In Gersten's "Problems on Automatic Groups", Problem 14, he asks the following question: Let $G=A\ast_{C}B$ where $A$ and $B$ are automatic and $C$ is infinite cyclic. Is $G$ automatic?
Is this ...
- 525
9
votes
0
answers
254
views
An identity for characters of the symmetric group
I am looking for a reference for the identity
$$\chi_\lambda(C)=\frac{\dim(V_\lambda)}{|C|}\sum_{p\in P_\lambda,\,q\in Q_\lambda,\,pq\in C}\operatorname{sgn}(q)$$
for the irreducible characters of the ...
- 2,306
9
votes
0
answers
275
views
Is “simplicity is elementary” still hard? (Felgner’s 1990 theorem on simple groups, and subsequent work)
I came across a reference in this MathOverflow answer to an intriguing result of Ulrich Felgner [1]: among finite non-Abelian groups, the property of being simple is first-order definable. According ...
- 21.3k
9
votes
0
answers
456
views
Hopficity of Baumslag-Solitar groups
I am struggling to find the exact source (with proofs) of the following ''well-known'' statement:
the Baumslag-Solitar group $BS(m,n)=\langle a,t \mid ta^m t^{-1}=a^n\rangle$ is Hopfian if and only if ...
- 3,181
9
votes
0
answers
254
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Decomposition of linear groups into free products
I recently learnt about Nagao's theorem which states $SL_2(k[t])\cong SL_2(k)\ast_{B(k)}B(k[t])$ for a field $k$. I read in "A.W. Mason, Serre's generalization of Nagao's theorem" that a theorem of ...
- 5,901
9
votes
0
answers
230
views
Using Property (T) to approximate invertible matrices
In the wikipedia article for Kazhdan's Property (T), there's an intriguing application:
Similarly, groups with property (T) can be used to construct finite sets of invertible matrices which can ...
9
votes
0
answers
329
views
'Infinitesimal' elements of a topological group
Let $G$ be a topological group, and let $M$ be the intersection of all conjugacy-invariant neighbourhoods of the identity in $G$ (in other words, the set of elements that can be taken arbitarily close ...
- 4,728
8
votes
0
answers
137
views
Group presentations where discarding generators always yields a subgroup
Consider a group presentation $ \left< G= \left\lbrace \text{generators}\right\rbrace \, \middle|\, R = \left\lbrace \text{relators}\right\rbrace \right>$ (no finiteness assumptions). Given $S\...
- 1,005
8
votes
0
answers
125
views
The conjugacy problem for two-relator groups
Is the conjugacy problem for two-relator groups known to be undecidable?
The word problem for two-relator groups is a famous open problem (appearing e.g. as Question 9.29 in the Kourovka notebook), ...
8
votes
0
answers
346
views
A generalization of Feit–Thompson conjecture, for square-free integers
I asked the following question with my account that I have for these sites Mathematics Stack Exchange and MathOverflow. The bounty that I offered in MSE expired without answers. The post that I refer ...
8
votes
0
answers
545
views
What are the character tables of the finite unitary groups?
I need to know the (complex) character table of the finite unitary group $U_n(q)$. Lusztig and Srinivasan (1977) provide an abstract description, but parsing it requires a stronger background in ...
- 7,633
8
votes
0
answers
252
views
Amenability versus the ideal of wandering sets
Let $G$ be a finitely generated group acting on a set $S$ (on the right). Define the heirarchy of "marginal sets" as follows:
The emptyset is 0-marginal.
A set E is $(k+1)$-marginal if $E$ can be ...
- 3,547
7
votes
0
answers
405
views
How can I get my hands on McKay's "Finite p-groups" lecture notes?
How can we find Susan McKay's "Finite $p$-groups" lecture notes?
The notes I'm talking about are these.
I emailed Peter Cameron, but he has since moved to a different university, and has no ...
- 4,425
7
votes
0
answers
229
views
Computation of $H^2(S_n,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})$
Do you have a nice modern reference where I could find the computation of $H^2(S_n,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})$, where the action is trivial ?
I have looked at the very few books on cohomology of groups ...
- 1,766
7
votes
0
answers
329
views
A basic question on a base change of a homogeneous space of a linear algebraic group
I asked this basic question in MSE and got a comment "This belongs to Mathoverflow", so I ask my question here.
Let $G$ be a linear algebraic group over a field $k$, and $H\subset G$ be a $k$-...
- 14.2k
7
votes
0
answers
1k
views
A "direct" proof that hyperbolic groups are not amenable
I am looking for a proof that a finitely generated hyperbolic groups is non-amenable [unless it is virtually cyclic] which is as "metric/combinatoric" as possible.
Here are the two proofs I am aware ...
- 4,432
7
votes
0
answers
252
views
A conjecture of Lubotzky on ranks of subgroups of special linear groups over the integers
In a 1985 paper named "Dimension function for discrete groups" Lubotzky conjectured that:
For any integer $n \geq 3$ the group $\mathrm{SL}_n(\mathbb{Z})$
contains infinitely many finite index ...
- 11.3k
7
votes
0
answers
407
views
Linear vs smooth actions of finite groups on spheres, euclidean spaces and closed disks
I would like to know examples (with references, if possible) of the following:
(1) a finite group $G$ acting effectively and smoothly on a sphere $S^n$ (any $n$) but admitting no effective linear ...
7
votes
0
answers
430
views
The maximal order of an element in orthogonal groups over finite fields of characteristic 2
Let $q$ be a power of $2$ and let $(V,Q)$ be a
quadratic space of dimension $2m$ over $\mathbb{F}_q$. Up to isometry, we know that we have exactly two classes of such quadratic spaces: the plus type ...
- 7,609
6
votes
0
answers
138
views
Equation in a nilpotent group
Let $G$ be a nilpotent group of class at most $r$
(that is, $\gamma^{r+1}G=1$).
Let elements $g_1,\dotsc,g_n\in G$ be fixed.
We are interested in the set $V\subseteq\mathbb Z^n$ of solutions $x=(x_1,\...
- 809
6
votes
0
answers
121
views
Sylow subgroups of the restricted Burnside group $\mathrm{RB}(d,n)$?
$\DeclareMathOperator\RB{RB}$What is known about the Sylow subgroups of the restricted Burnside groups $\RB(d,n)$ ?
I am looking for a reference.
In fact my question is slightly more general. Recall ...
- 61
6
votes
0
answers
236
views
Group homomorphism from $\mathrm{GL}_p$ to $\mathrm{SL}_p$ in characteristic $p$
If $k$ is a commutative field of characteristic $p>0$, then the map
$$ \theta \colon \mathrm{GL}_p(k) \to \mathrm{SL}_p(k) \colon A = (a_{ij}) \mapsto (\det A)^{-1} (a_{ij}^p) $$
is a group ...
- 6,614
6
votes
0
answers
245
views
A group action on another group action quotient: how to best describe the resulting structure and does it have a name?
Suppose I have an action $\alpha:G\times X\to X$ of a group $G$ on a set $X$ and, on top of that, an action $\beta:H\times(X/G)\to(X/G)$ of another group $H$ on the set of $G$-orbits.
Is there a nice ...
- 18.4k
6
votes
0
answers
234
views
Nascent formal group law
$\DeclareMathOperator\FGL{FGL}$The formal group law (cf. Wikipedia, Ex. 1.6 of nLab, Hazewinkel) derived from an analytic function or formal series $f(x) = x + a_2 x^2 + a_3 x^3 + ...$ and its formal ...
- 10.5k
6
votes
0
answers
164
views
Is a presentation of the hyperbolic orthogonal group of rank 2 over the integers known?
The hyperbolic orthogonal group $O_{g,g}(\mathbb{Z})$ often appears in the study of high-dimensional manifolds, see e.g. work of Kreck or Galatius and Randal-Williams. Let $H$ denote the lattice $\...
- 8,167
6
votes
0
answers
225
views
Parshin's buildings for higher local fields
What is the status of the theory of buildings for higher local fields?
I know that there are some papers of Parshin, in which he describes some examples, like $PGL_2$ and $PGL_3$ over two-...
- 17.4k
6
votes
0
answers
276
views
Walter Feit's program for characterizing $S_5$.
In Jacobson's Algebra Vol. I, there is a long, 10 part exercise which characterizes $S_5$ as isomorphic to any finite group having precisely two conjugacy classes, such that the centralizers of the ...
- 61
6
votes
1
answer
236
views
Class number of Burnside groups
Let $B(m,n)$ be the Burnside group on $m$ generators of exponent $n$. Suppose the class number - the number of conjugacy classes - of $B(m,n)$ is finite. Does it imply that $B(m,n)$ is finite?
- 2,118
5
votes
0
answers
140
views
Classification of visible actions for *reducible* representations?
Is there a classification of the pairs $(G,V)$ such that $G$ is reductive [and connected, if you like], and $G$ acts faithfully and visibly on $V$ - crucially, including all cases where $V$ is ...
- 3,230
5
votes
0
answers
108
views
Non-monotileable amenable groups
This is crossposted from MSE.
We say a subset $A$ of a group $G$ is a monotile for $G$ if $G$ is a disjoint union of right translates of $A$.
In his article Monotileable Amenable Groups, B. Weiss ...
- 10.6k
5
votes
0
answers
200
views
Virtual fibring of $\mathrm{Out}(F_2\times F_2)$
A finitely generated group $G$ is said to virtually fibre if there is a finite index subgroup $H\leq G$ and a non-trivial map $\varphi:H\to\mathbb{Z}$ with $\ker(\varphi)$ finitely generated.
I want ...
- 911
5
votes
0
answers
351
views
Adjoint identity on finite nilpotent groups
Let $G$ be a finite nilpotent group. Consider the following (adjoint) identity from [BuPa, Theorem 9.6]:
$$\left(\prod_{\chi \in \mathrm{Irr}(G)} \frac{\chi}{\chi(1)} \right)^2 =\frac{|Z(G)|}{|G|}\...
5
votes
0
answers
172
views
Finitely generated nilpotent groups with hyperbolic automorphisms
$\DeclareMathOperator\Out{Out}\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}$
Let $G$ be a finitely generated nilpotent group.
We call an automorphism of $G$ hyperbolic if the induced automorphism of the free part of ...
- 8,529
5
votes
0
answers
266
views
Character tables of finite groups and isomorphism
I'd like to ask the following question:
Let $G$ and $H$ be finite groups.
Is there a useful criterion involving the ordinary character table which assures that $G$ and $H$ are isomorphic as groups?...
- 1,755
5
votes
0
answers
228
views
Automorphism groups of cocompact Fuchsian groups as mapping class groups
Let $\Gamma$ be a cocompact Fuchsian group. So it has presentation $$\langle x_1,y_1, \dots, x_g,y_g,z_1, \ldots, z_r \mid [x_1,y_1] \cdots [x_g,y_g]z_1 \cdots z_r=1, \ z_i^{m_i}=1 \rangle$$
for some $...
- 8,401
5
votes
0
answers
169
views
In the literature on infinite graphs, are there results on "periodizable" graphs?
Let $G=(V,E)$ be a connected countably infinite $k$-regular simple graph (no loops or multiple edges). For $A$ a finite subset of $V$, let me denote by $G_A=(A,E_A)$ the induced subgraph with vertex ...
