All Questions
286 questions
55
votes
5
answers
6k
views
How much of the ATLAS of finite groups is independently checked and/or computer verified?
In a recent talk Finite groups, yesterday and today Serre made some comments about proofs that rely on the classification of finite simple groups (CFSG) and on the ATLAS of Finite Groups. Namely, he ...
- 35.5k
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
52
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Class function counting solutions of equation in finite group: when is it a virtual character?
Let $w=w(x_1,\dots,x_n)$ be a word in a free group of rank $n$. Let $G$ be a finite group. Then we may define a class function $f=f_w$ of $G$ by
$$ f_w(g) = |\{ (x_1,\dots, x_n)\in G^n\mid w(x_1,\dots,...
- 6,919
45
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Square roots of elements in a finite group and representation theory
Let $G$ be a finite group. In an an earlier question, Fedor asked whether the square root counting function $r_2:G\rightarrow \mathbb{N}$, which assigns to $g\in G$ the number of elements of $G$ that ...
- 13k
44
votes
10
answers
11k
views
The finite subgroups of SL(2,C)
Books can be written about the finite subgroups of $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb C)$ (and their immediate family, like the polyhedral groups...) I am about to start writing notes for a short course about ...
- 47.3k
43
votes
3
answers
10k
views
Feit-Thompson theorem: the Odd order paper
For reference, the Feit-Thompson Theorem states that every finite group of odd order is necessarily solvable. Equivalently, the theorem states that there exist no non-abelian finite simple groups of ...
- 1,993
42
votes
7
answers
10k
views
Bijection between irreducible representations and conjugacy classes of finite groups
Is there some natural bijection between irreducible representations and conjugacy classes of finite groups (as in case of $S_n$)?
- 1,318
37
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Is this generalized character always a character?
Let $G$ be a finite group, and $p$ be a prime. Then there is a generalized character $\Psi$ of $G$ which takes value $0$ on all elements of order divisible by $p$, and has $\Psi(y)$ equal to the ...
- 44.4k
35
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Character-free proof that Frobenius kernel is a normal subgroup?
The question is in the title, but here is some background/reminders:
A subgroup $H\neq\{1\}$ of a finite group $G$ is called a Frobenius complement if $H\cap H^g = \{1\}$ for all $g\in G\backslash H$....
- 13k
35
votes
2
answers
3k
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 ...
- 24.9k
35
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Being a subgroup: proof by character theory
Let me first cite a theorem due to Frobenius:
Let $G$ be a finite group, with $H$ a proper subgroup ($H\ne (1)$ and $G$). Suppose that for every $g\not\in H$, we have $H\cap gHg^{-1}=(1)$. Then
$...
- 52.3k
33
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Richness of the subgroup structure of p-groups
Given a prime $p$ and $n \in \mathbb{N}$, let $f_p(n)$ be the smallest
number such that there is a group of order $p^{f_p(n)}$ which all groups of
order $p^n$ embed into. What is the asymptotic growth ...
- 19.6k
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
29
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Does $S_4$ inject into $SL(2,R)$ for some commutative ring $R$?
$\newcommand{\Z}{\mathbf{Z}}$
Given a nice infinite collection of groups, for example the symmetric groups, one can ask whether any finite group is a subgroup of one of them. Of course any finite ...
- 41.4k
29
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What determines the maximal dimension of the irreps of a (finite) group?
I am chemist and ask for apologies for all my mathematical inabilities when asking this question in advance, but after quite a bit of searching I found that this problem could be "open" or ...
25
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Number of 2-dimensional irreducible representations of a finite group ?
Question: What is the number of two-dimensional irreducible representations of a finite group ? How it can be expressed in groups-theoretic terms ? (Number of 1-dimensional irreps is |G/[G,G]| ).
...
- 24.9k
25
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How does one compute invariants of certain Grassmannians inside the regular representation?
Barry Mazur and I have come across the question below, motivated by (but independent
of) issues regarding the Leopoldt conjecture.
Suppose that $\mathbf{C}$ is the complex numbers.
Let $H$ be a ...
user631
23
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Orbit structures of conjugacy class set and irreducible representation set under automorphism group
let G be a finite group. Suppose C is the set of conjugacy classes of G and R is the set of (equivalence classes of) irreducible representations of G over the complex numbers.
The automorphism group ...
- 7,320
21
votes
2
answers
2k
views
A new combinatorial property for the character table of a finite group?
Let $G$ be a finite group and $\Lambda = (\lambda_{i,j})$ its character table with $\lambda_{i,1}$ the degree of the ith character.
Consider the following combinatorial property of $\Lambda$: for ...
21
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Number of n-th roots of elements in a finite group and higher Frobenius-Schur indicators
This is the second follow-up to this question on square roots of elements in symmetric groups and is concerned with generalisations to $n$-th roots. Let $G$ be a finite group and let $r_n(g)$ be the ...
- 13k
21
votes
2
answers
679
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 ...
- 3,813
21
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Okounkov-Vershik approach to representation theory of $S_n$
This is a rather soft question. I was wondering if someone could explain on a fundamental and intuitive level, what the Okounkov-Vershik approach to representation theory of $S_n$ is all about. It's ...
- 291
21
votes
1
answer
1k
views
McKay conjecture for finite groups in the simplest case G=GL(2,F_p) ( puzzle: Borel knows about cuspidals)
The McKay conjecture and related (Alperin, Issacs-Navarro) are one of the "main problems in the representation theory of finite groups" (G.Navarro pdf).
Statement of the McKay conjecture is quite ...
- 24.9k
21
votes
0
answers
473
views
Is there a "direct" proof of the Galois symmetry on centre of group algebra?
Let $G$ be a finite group, and $n$ an integer coprime to $|G|$. Then we have the following map, which is clearly not a morphism of groups in general: $$g\mapsto g^n.$$
This induces a linear ...
- 1,949
20
votes
3
answers
940
views
What did Frobenius prove about $M_{12}$?
I am interested in this paper which I can't read because it's in German:
Frobenius, G., Über die Charaktere der mehrfach transitiven Gruppen., Berl. Ber. 1904, 558-571 (1904). ZBL35.0154.02.
A free ...
- 11.2k
20
votes
2
answers
948
views
The finite groups with a zero entry in each column of its character table (except the first one)
$\DeclareMathOperator\PSL{PSL}\DeclareMathOperator\Aut{Aut}$Consider the class of finite groups $G$ having a zero entry in each column of its character table (except the first one), i.e. for all $g \...
20
votes
1
answer
586
views
$q$-(and other)-analogs for counting index-$n$ subgroups in terms of Homs to $S_n$?
The following formula of astonishing beauty and power (imho):
$$ \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
19
votes
4
answers
1k
views
The number of commuting m-tuples is divisible by order of group: Improvements?
The number of commuting pairs of elements in finite group G is equal to the product $k(G)*|G|$ (see MO271757 ) where $k(G)$ is the number of conjugacy classes. Thus it is is divisible by $|G|$ (the ...
- 24.9k
19
votes
3
answers
2k
views
A character identity
This is related to my question, but it concerns a specific point of the proof of Schur's Theorem.
Let $G$ be a finite group and $\chi$ an irreducible character of $G$. Is it true that
$$\forall g\in ...
- 52.3k
19
votes
4
answers
3k
views
determinant of the table of characters
I am certain that the answer to this question exists somewhere. It might be a classical exercise.
Let $G$ be a finite group. Its table of characters is a square matrix, whose rows are indexed by the ...
- 52.3k
19
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Almost squared finite groups
Definition. A finite group $G$ is called squared (resp. almost squared) if there exists a subset $A\subseteq G$ such that $G=\{ab:a,b\in A\}$ and $|G|=|A|^2$ (resp. $|G|=|A|^2-1$). Such a set $A$ will ...
- 41.9k
19
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What can be said about Schur indices, given only the character table?
Let $\chi$ be an irreducible (complex) character of a finite group, $G$. The Schur index $m_{K}(\chi)$ of $\chi$ over the field $K$ is the smallest positive integer $m$ such that $m\chi$ is afforded ...
- 6,919
18
votes
2
answers
1k
views
The mysterious significance of local subgroups in finite group theory
EDIT 21/12: Even if there are no conclusive answers to these questions, I would very much like to know if anyone has noted and attempted to explain the mysterious significance of local subgroups: are ...
- 1,433
18
votes
1
answer
885
views
Why is Klein's representation of $PSL_2(\mathbb{F}_7)$ hard to obtain?
In his famous article [1] Klein constructs a representation of $G=PSL_2(\mathbb{F}_7)$ in $\mathbb{C}^3$ (of which the first invariant polynomial of three variables gives rise to the famous Klein's ...
- 3,242
18
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Dimensions of irreducible representations of $GL(n,F_q)$ are polynoms in q having roots ONLY at roots of unity and zero?
Consider the group $GL(n,F_q)$ for finite field $F_q$,
consider its irreducible representations over complex numbers.
Questions Is my understanding correct that the dimensions of all such irreps are ...
- 24.9k
18
votes
0
answers
524
views
Applications of the surjectivity of Brauer's decomposition map over arbitrary fields?
Recently I've been going over some of Serre's reformulation of Brauer theory with a student, following the influential treatment in Part III of Serre's lectures (revised 1971 French edition) later ...
- 52.9k
17
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Reference for this theorem in representation theory?
Let $G$ be a finite group and $\chi$ be an irreducible character of
$G$ (characteristic zero algebraically closed base field). If $H$ is
the kernel of $\chi$ then the irreducible representations of $G/...
- 887
17
votes
2
answers
860
views
The sum (with multiplicity) of the cubes of irreducible character degrees of a finite group
Throughout $G$ is a finite, non-abelian group.
$\DeclareMathOperator\Irr{Irr}\DeclareMathOperator\AD{AD}\DeclareMathOperator\cp{cp}\newcommand\card[1]{\lvert#1\rvert}$
Let $\Irr(G)$ be the set of ...
- 25.8k
17
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why do these two Monster-related calculations yield $163$?
Fact 1: (1979, Conway and Norton)$^{1}$
"There are $194-22-9=\color{blue}{163\,}$ $\mathbb{Z}$-independent McKay-Thompson series for the Monster."
Note: There are 194 (linear) irreducible ...
- 12.6k
17
votes
0
answers
692
views
Monstrous Langlands-McKay or what is bijection between conjugacy classes and irreducible representation for sporadic simple groups?
Context: The number of conjugacy classes equals to the number of irreducuble representations (over C) for any finite group. Moreover for the symmetric group and some other groups there is "good ...
- 24.9k
16
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How to compute all irreducible representations of a finite group ? (how GAP is doing this?)
Let us "take" a finite group G. Here "take" I mean any type of group-theoretic description you prefer: e.g. as an explicit subset of GL (or other group) or Cayley table, whatever.
Question: How ...
- 24.9k
16
votes
2
answers
992
views
Maximal number of maximal subgroups
Let $G$ be a finite group. I want to find an upper bound on the number of the maximal subgroups. My questions is does it possible to prove that the number of maximal subgroups of any finite group $G$ ...
- 2,179
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
2
answers
2k
views
Decomposition of induced representations / Refinement of Mackey's criterion
There are already some questions with almost the same title, but they are more restrictive.
Let $G$ be a finite group, $H$ a subgroup, $V$ an irreducible representation of $H$,
and $W=Ind_H^G V$ the ...
- 26k
15
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Algorithm to check is representation irreducible ? Algorithm to decompose the reducible one ?
Question 1 Given a representation of a finite group, what algorithm can be used to check is it irreducible or not ?
(Main case - complex numbers, comments on other cases are also welcome. "Given" ...
- 24.9k
15
votes
2
answers
666
views
Analogy between product of conjugacy classes and irreps: is there analog of Thompson conjecture ?
The Thompson conjecture: in a finite simple non-abelian group, there exists a conjugacy class such that every element of the group can be expressed as a product of two elements from that conjugacy ...
- 24.9k
15
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Finite groups in which every character has real values: grading the representations
Let $G$ be a finite group. Then the irreducible complex representations of $G$ come in three sorts: real, complex and symplectic=quaternionic. The type of an irreducible character $\chi$ can be read ...
- 6,919
15
votes
2
answers
838
views
factorization of the regular representation of the symmetric group
Let $\mathbb{C}[S_n]$ be the regular representation of the symmetric group $S_n$, and let $\mathbb{C}^n$ be the vector representation.
Question: Does there exist a representation $V$ (of dimension $(...
- 2,537
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Which finite groups have no irreducible representations other than characters?
A classical result states that all the irreducible representations of a finite group over $\mathbb{C}$ are characters if and only if $G$ is abelian. I would like to know what happens if we consider a ...
- 11.3k
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
On the finite simple groups with an irreducible complex representation of a given dimension
This answer of Geoff Robinson shows that a finite simple group admits an irreducible complex representation (irrep) of dimension $3$ if and only if it is isomorphic to $A_5$ or $\mathrm{PSL}(2,7)$.
...