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0 votes
0 answers
95 views

Class multiplication coefficients of symmetric groups

My question is that I was working with some counting problems, and finally the answer should be $$ \nu_{\mu_1,\mu_2,\mu_3}=\#\{(\sigma_1,\sigma_2,\sigma_3): \sigma_1\sigma_2\sigma_3=1, \sigma_1\in C_{\...
3 votes
2 answers
220 views

Factorizations of an $n$-cycle in $S_n$ into a product $xy$ where $|x| = 2, |y| = 3$

Let $S_n$ be the symmetric group on $n$ letters. When (and how) can an $n$-cycle in $S_n$ be factored into a product $xy$, where $x,y$ have orders 2,3 respectively? More precisely, I'd like to ...
1 vote
0 answers
130 views

Relationship between the symmetric group representation (Specht module) of a Young diagram and the Young diagram obtained by deleting one row

Suppose $\lambda$ is a Young diagram, and $\lambda'$ is obtained by deleting one particular row of $\lambda$. Is there any relationship between the symmetric group representation (Specht module) ...
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 $...
0 votes
0 answers
116 views

Multivariate polynomial representations of the infinite dihedral group

The presentation given in Wikipedia for the infinite dihedral group is $$\langle r,s\mid s^2 =1, srs = r^{-1}\rangle.$$ Let $[R]$ denote the infinite set of reciprocal partition polynomials $R_n(u_1,...
4 votes
1 answer
216 views

Representation of $\mathrm{AGL}(V)$ on the homology of the poset of affine subspaces of $V$

Let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional vector space over a finite field $F$ (of order $q$). Denote by $\mathrm{AGL}(V)$ the group of invertible affine transformations of $V$; so $\mathrm{AGL}(V)$ consists of ...
0 votes
1 answer
302 views

Lower bound of the largest irreducible character degree of alternating group $A_n$

$\newcommand\cd{\mathrm{cd}}$Let $A_m$ and $A_n$ be two alternating groups and $15\le m+2 \le n$. Denote $\cd_m$ and $\cd_n$ as the largest irreducible character degree of $A_m$ and $A_n$, ...
20 votes
0 answers
451 views

Row of the character table of symmetric group with most negative entries

The row of the character table of $S_n$ corresponding to the trivial representation has all entries positive, and by orthogonality clearly it is the only one like this. Is it true that for $n\gg 0$, ...
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 ...
4 votes
1 answer
197 views

Moment integrals and determinants

Let $USp(2n)$ be the compact symplectic group of size $2n$, $dA$ its Haar measure of total mass one, and $\det(1−A)$ being computed for the standard representation of $A\in USp(2n)$ as a matrix of ...
14 votes
1 answer
388 views

Identity involving zonal polynomials and $\operatorname O(N)$ irrep dimensions

$\DeclareMathOperator\U{U}\DeclareMathOperator\O{O}$Schur functions $s_\lambda(x)$ with $\lambda\vdash n$ are simultaneously the irreducible characters of the unitary group $\U(N)$ and proportional to ...
5 votes
2 answers
390 views

Dimensions of Jordan blocks associated to representations

Given a linear representation $\rho$ of $SL_n(\mathbb C)$ of finite dimension $m$, the image $\rho(U)$ of a maximal unipotent Jordan block $U\in SL_n$ decomposes into generally several Jordan blocks ...
7 votes
2 answers
713 views

Total sum of squares of characters of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$

In my earlier MO post, I proposed the double sum $\sum_{\mu\vdash n}\sum_{\lambda\vdash n}\chi_{\mu}^{\lambda}$ regarding characters of the symmetric group $\mathfrak{S}_n$. Soon after, I started ...
9 votes
1 answer
683 views

Is $\operatorname{PSL}(2,q)$ the most quasirandom group?

Is the following statement true? Every finite group $G$ has a non-trivial irreducible representation of dimension $O(\lvert G\rvert^{1/3})$. Context: Groups with no small irreducible representations ...
7 votes
1 answer
326 views

Independent vectors in the permuting coordinates action of $S_n$ on $\mathbb{R}^n$

Let $V$ be the hyperplane in $\mathbb{R}^n$ with equation $\sum_i x_i=0$. The symmetric group $S_n$ acts on $V$ by $s\cdot (v_1,\ldots,v_n)=(v_{s^{-1}(1)},\ldots,v_{s^{-1}(n)})$. Consider those $v\in ...
1 vote
1 answer
312 views

On the number of structure of $F_p[G]$-modules

Let $A$ be an abelian group and $G$ be a group. A short exact sequence of groups like $1\longrightarrow A\longrightarrow E\longrightarrow G\longrightarrow 1$ is called an extension. We say that $E$ is ...
10 votes
2 answers
598 views

Product of two reflections lying in a parabolic subgroup of a Coxeter group

Let $(W,S)$ be a Coxeter group, $I\subseteq S$ a subset of simple reflections, and $W_I \subseteq W$ the corresponding parabolic subgroup (we could also assume $|W_I|<\infty$, if needed). Let also ...
3 votes
0 answers
210 views

How many conjugacy classes of elementary abelian subgroups of order $p^2$ does $\operatorname{GL}_{4}(\Bbb Z / p\Bbb Z)$ have?

$\DeclareMathOperator\Hom{Hom}\DeclareMathOperator\GL{GL}\DeclareMathOperator\Aut{Aut}$Let $f\in \Hom((\Bbb Z/p\Bbb Z)^2,\GL_{4}(\Bbb Z / p\Bbb Z))$ be an injective homomorphism. What is the number of ...
8 votes
0 answers
247 views

Computing the number of elementary abelian p-subgroups of rank 2 in $GL_{n}(\mathbb{F}_{p})$

Let $p$ be a prime number, and let $\mathbb{F}_{p}$ be a finite field of order $p$. Let $GL_{n}(\mathbb{F}_{p})$ denote the general linear group and $U_{n}$ denote the unitriangular group of $n\times ...
2 votes
0 answers
77 views

roots and embeddings

Let $G$ be a connected reductive group over an algebraically closed field, can we always find an embedding let $\rho:G\rightarrow GL_n$, that sends a Borel pair $(B_G,T_G)$ to $(B,T)$ and center to ...
11 votes
1 answer
569 views

Counting symmetric subgroups of symmetric groups

This question is related to, but much more specific than, this one. For $k \leq n$, let $a(k,n)$ denote the number of conjugacy classes of subgroups of the symmetric group $S_n$ which are isomorphic ...
10 votes
0 answers
436 views

Commuting matrix variety $[A,B]=0$ - can one geometrically explain divisibility of $F_ q$ point count by high powers of $q$?

$\DeclareMathOperator\Comm{Comm}\DeclareMathOperator\Id{Id}$Consider the variety $\Comm$ of commuting matrices $[A,B]=0$ over some field $K$. It is much studied, and interesting for various reasons. ...
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 ...
-1 votes
1 answer
438 views

Subgroup of the semidirect product of two subgroups with coprime orders [closed]

It is well known that if $\gcd (|H|,|K|)=1$ then all subgroups of $H\times K$ are of the form $H^{\prime }\times K^{\prime }$ such that $H^{\prime}$ is a subgroup of $H$ and $K^{\prime}$ is a subgroup ...
16 votes
2 answers
818 views

Decomposing $(\mathbb C^n)^{\otimes m}$ as a representation of $S_n\times S_m$

$V=\mathbb C^n$ is a $\mathbb CS_n$-module, where $S_n$ is the symmetric group of degree $n$, via the representation sending a permutation to the corresponding permutation matrix. The tensor power $V^...
0 votes
1 answer
283 views

Is any abelian subgroup of a semidirect product isomorphic to a direct product of abelian subgroups? [closed]

Let $H$ and $K$ be groups and $V$ an abelian subgroup of the semidirect product $\ H\rtimes K$. Do there exist abelian subgroups $H^{\prime }\leq H$ \ and $K^{\prime }\leq K$ \ such that $V\cong H^{\...
4 votes
0 answers
531 views

How many non-isomorphic groups share the same character table?

I have been thinking for a while about how to enumerate all finite groups. The classical way e.g. here would be to go via latin squares and then try to calculate how many of those obey associativity. ...
10 votes
1 answer
199 views

Examples of differential towers of groups

For $r \in \mathbb{Z}_{>0}$, we say that a tower $1=G_0 \subseteq G_1 \subseteq \cdots$ of finite groups is an $r$-differential tower if for all $n$ the branching rules for restriction of ...
2 votes
0 answers
255 views

Summing Characters of the Symmetric Group over Derangements (Enumerative Combinatorics: Vol. II Ex. 7.63)

The following exercise is out of Stanley's Enumerative Combinatorics: Vol. II (Ex. 7.63): For $\lambda \vdash n$ define $d_\lambda = \sum_{w \in D_n} \chi^\lambda(w)$ where $D_n$ is the set of all ...
4 votes
0 answers
153 views

partial sum over characters of symmetric group

It is well known that irreducible characters of the symmetric group satisfy orthogonality relations, $$ \sum_{\mu \in P(n)} \chi_\mu^\lambda\chi_\mu^\omega=z_\lambda\delta_{\lambda,\omega},\quad \...
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). ...
5 votes
2 answers
292 views

Field with one element look at counting index-$n$ subgroups in terms of Homs to $S_n$, generalization to $F_{1^k}$?

Main idea shortly: As we discussed recently MO272045, there is beautiful fomula which counts index-n subgroups in terms of homomorphisms to $S_n$. Let me give "field with one element" interpretation ...
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 ...
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^...
12 votes
0 answers
513 views

Converse of Frobenius

Enumerate the elements of a finite group $G$ as follows: $g_1,g_2,\dots,g_n$. Introduce $n$ variables indexed by the elements of $G$: $x_{g_1},\dots,x_{g_n}$. Consider the matrix $X_G$ with entries $...
3 votes
1 answer
100 views

Exponent of unit group of Dynkin quiver algebras

Let kQ be the path algebra of a Dynkin quiver over a finite field with $q=p^n$ elements. Let $f(Q,p^n)$ denote the exponent of the unit group of kQ. Is there an explicit formula for $f(Q,q)$?
9 votes
0 answers
275 views

pattern-avoiding permutations vs multi-core partitions

Let $\mathfrak{S}_n$ be the permutation group on $[n]$. Given the pattern $\sigma=k(k-1)\cdots321$, let $I_n(\sigma)$ be the number of involutions in $\mathfrak{S}_n$ that avoid the pattern $\sigma$. ...
7 votes
0 answers
239 views

Combinatorial Avatar of Irrep Dimensions Dividing the Order of the Group

Suppose $G$ is a finite group and $V$ a complex irreducible representation. Let $v\in V$ be a sufficiently generic vector, and consider its orbit, $O(v)=\{gv|g\in G\}$. As a naive attempt to ...
6 votes
1 answer
208 views

Sum identities with immanants

For $\chi$ being an irreducible character of the symmetric group $S_n$ and being $M$ a complex $n\times n$-matrix, I would like to show $$ \sum_{\sigma, \rho \in S_n} \overline{\chi(\sigma)} \chi(...
1 vote
1 answer
511 views

Actions of $Z_n$ and actions of $Z_{n-1}$

I am playing with some questions concerning connections between certain poset partitions and their linear extensions. This is not my usual playground, I just happened to stumble upon something. When ...
14 votes
4 answers
778 views

Largest permutation group without 2-cycles or 3-cycles

The largest permutation group without 2-cycles is $A_n$, which has size $n!/2$. I think the largest permutation group without 2-cycles or 3-cycles is much smaller, but I can't figure out if it should ...
1 vote
2 answers
557 views

Is there formula name and proof for this theorem ? [closed]

The formula answers: how many tuples $(\sigma_1,\sigma_2,...,\sigma_n)$ of elements of a given group G such that (1) $\sigma_i\in C_i$ , where $C_i$ stands for conjugacy class. (2) $\sigma_1\...
2 votes
2 answers
533 views

elements in the weyl group

Let W be the Weyl a group of a semisimple simply connected group over C. Let I={1,...,r} the set of simple roots. For $w\in W$, I denote by supp(w) the subset of I corresponding to the simple ...
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

numbering the squares of a rectangular grid, was: counting sequences of pairs

Hi, Barry Cipra has rephrased my question in far superior clarity and brevity in an addendum to his answer below. I quote: "If you number the squares of an $m×n$ grid, you can let three groups act ...
0 votes
1 answer
280 views

Homotopy Equivalence of Posets for the Weyl Group

How do I go about proving Quillen's Homotopy Equivalence of Chevalley (subgroups of) automorphism groups of finite classical Lie algebras. Given $\sigma$ , such that Chevalley’s construction $GU$$n$($...
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

If you take a standard representation of a symmetric group, take an alternating tensor power of it, what groups appear as stabilizers of vectors?

I'm particularly interested in the case $\Lambda^3 \mathbb{F}_3^n$, and specifically, just stabilizers of vectors that satisfy the two conditions (i) there are no zero coordinates (in the basis ...
4 votes
2 answers
634 views

Bits and orbits

I know this title makes what I am about to ask sound like an off topic CS theory question but please bear with me because I assure you that it is not! (Well mostly, actually I am about ~90% certain ...
5 votes
1 answer
264 views

Group not leaving subset invariant

Let $Y,X$ be two sets of size n,m. Let $Y\subset X$. What is the maximal group(in size) $G< Sym(X)$ such that gY=Y imply that $g=1$? Here I mean that the only permutation which permutes elements of ...