The Classification of Finite Simple Groups: a Progress Report
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Classification of Finite Abelian Groups
Math 317 C1 John Sullivan Spring 2003 Classification of Finite Abelian Groups (Notes based on an article by Navarro in the Amer. Math. Monthly, February 2003.) The fundamental theorem of finite abelian groups expresses any such group as a product of cyclic groups: Theorem. Suppose G is a finite abelian group. Then G is (in a unique way) a direct product of cyclic groups of order pk with p prime. Our first step will be a special case of Cauchy’s Theorem, which we will prove later for arbitrary groups: whenever p |G| then G has an element of order p. Theorem (Cauchy). If G is a finite group, and p |G| is a prime, then G has an element of order p (or, equivalently, a subgroup of order p). ∼ Proof when G is abelian. First note that if |G| is prime, then G = Zp and we are done. In general, we work by induction. If G has no nontrivial proper subgroups, it must be a prime cyclic group, the case we’ve already handled. So we can suppose there is a nontrivial subgroup H smaller than G. Either p |H| or p |G/H|. In the first case, by induction, H has an element of order p which is also order p in G so we’re done. In the second case, if ∼ g + H has order p in G/H then |g + H| |g|, so hgi = Zkp for some k, and then kg ∈ G has order p. Note that we write our abelian groups additively. Definition. Given a prime p, a p-group is a group in which every element has order pk for some k. -
Mathematics 310 Examination 1 Answers 1. (10 Points) Let G Be A
Mathematics 310 Examination 1 Answers 1. (10 points) Let G be a group, and let x be an element of G. Finish the following definition: The order of x is ... Answer: . the smallest positive integer n so that xn = e. 2. (10 points) State Lagrange’s Theorem. Answer: If G is a finite group, and H is a subgroup of G, then o(H)|o(G). 3. (10 points) Let ( a 0! ) H = : a, b ∈ Z, ab 6= 0 . 0 b Is H a group with the binary operation of matrix multiplication? Be sure to explain your answer fully. 2 0! 1/2 0 ! Answer: This is not a group. The inverse of the matrix is , which is not 0 2 0 1/2 in H. 4. (20 points) Suppose that G1 and G2 are groups, and φ : G1 → G2 is a homomorphism. (a) Recall that we defined φ(G1) = {φ(g1): g1 ∈ G1}. Show that φ(G1) is a subgroup of G2. −1 (b) Suppose that H2 is a subgroup of G2. Recall that we defined φ (H2) = {g1 ∈ G1 : −1 φ(g1) ∈ H2}. Prove that φ (H2) is a subgroup of G1. Answer:(a) Pick x, y ∈ φ(G1). Then we can write x = φ(a) and y = φ(b), with a, b ∈ G1. Because G1 is closed under the group operation, we know that ab ∈ G1. Because φ is a homomorphism, we know that xy = φ(a)φ(b) = φ(ab), and therefore xy ∈ φ(G1). That shows that φ(G1) is closed under the group operation. -
Math 412. Simple Groups
Math 412. Simple Groups DEFINITION: A group G is simple if its only normal subgroups are feg and G. Simple groups are rare among all groups in the same way that prime numbers are rare among all integers. The smallest non-abelian group is A5, which has order 60. THEOREM 8.25: A abelian group is simple if and only if it is finite of prime order. THEOREM: The Alternating Groups An where n ≥ 5 are simple. The simple groups are the building blocks of all groups, in a sense similar to how all integers are built from the prime numbers. One of the greatest mathematical achievements of the Twentieth Century was a classification of all the finite simple groups. These are recorded in the Atlas of Simple Groups. The mathematician who discovered the last-to-be-discovered finite simple group is right here in our own department: Professor Bob Greiss. This simple group is called the monster group because its order is so big—approximately 8 × 1053. Because we have classified all the finite simple groups, and we know how to put them together to form arbitrary groups, we essentially understand the structure of every finite group. It is difficult, in general, to tell whether a given group G is simple or not. Just like determining whether a given (large) integer is prime, there is an algorithm to check but it may take an unreasonable amount of time to run. A. WARM UP. Find proper non-trivial normal subgroups of the following groups: Z, Z35, GL5(Q), S17, D100. -
Chapter 25 Finite Simple Groups
Chapter 25 Finite Simple Groups Chapter 25 Finite Simple Groups Historical Background Definition A group is simple if it has no nontrivial proper normal subgroup. The definition was proposed by Galois; he showed that An is simple for n ≥ 5 in 1831. It is an important step in showing that one cannot express the solutions of a quintic equation in radicals. If possible, one would factor a group G as G0 = G, find a normal subgroup G1 of maximum order to form G0/G1. Then find a maximal normal subgroup G2 of G1 and get G1/G2, and so on until we get the composition factors: G0/G1,G1/G2,...,Gn−1/Gn, with Gn = {e}. Jordan and Hölder proved that these factors are independent of the choices of the normal subgroups in the process. Jordan in 1870 found four infinite series including: Zp for a prime p, SL(n, Zp)/Z(SL(n, Zp)) except when (n, p) = (2, 2) or (2, 3). Between 1982-1905, Dickson found more infinite series; Miller and Cole showed that 5 (sporadic) groups constructed by Mathieu in 1861 are simple. Chapter 25 Finite Simple Groups In 1950s, more infinite families were found, and the classification project began. Brauer observed that the centralizer has an order 2 element is important; Feit-Thompson in 1960 confirmed the 1900 conjecture that non-Abelian simple group must have even order. From 1966-75, 19 new sporadic groups were found. Thompson developed many techniques in the N-group paper. Gorenstein presented an outline for the classification project in a lecture series at University of Chicago in 1972. -
The Theory of Finite Groups: an Introduction (Universitext)
Universitext Editorial Board (North America): S. Axler F.W. Gehring K.A. Ribet Springer New York Berlin Heidelberg Hong Kong London Milan Paris Tokyo This page intentionally left blank Hans Kurzweil Bernd Stellmacher The Theory of Finite Groups An Introduction Hans Kurzweil Bernd Stellmacher Institute of Mathematics Mathematiches Seminar Kiel University of Erlangen-Nuremburg Christian-Albrechts-Universität 1 Bismarckstrasse 1 /2 Ludewig-Meyn Strasse 4 Erlangen 91054 Kiel D-24098 Germany Germany [email protected] [email protected] Editorial Board (North America): S. Axler F.W. Gehring Mathematics Department Mathematics Department San Francisco State University East Hall San Francisco, CA 94132 University of Michigan USA Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109 [email protected] USA [email protected] K.A. Ribet Mathematics Department University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720-3840 USA [email protected] Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 20-01, 20DXX Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kurzweil, Hans, 1942– The theory of finite groups: an introduction / Hans Kurzweil, Bernd Stellmacher. p. cm. — (Universitext) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-387-40510-0 (alk. paper) 1. Finite groups. I. Stellmacher, B. (Bernd) II. Title. QA177.K87 2004 512´.2—dc21 2003054313 ISBN 0-387-40510-0 Printed on acid-free paper. © 2004 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. -
Quasi P Or Not Quasi P? That Is the Question
Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal Volume 3 Issue 2 Article 2 Quasi p or not Quasi p? That is the Question Ben Harwood Northern Kentucky University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/rhumj Recommended Citation Harwood, Ben (2002) "Quasi p or not Quasi p? That is the Question," Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal: Vol. 3 : Iss. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/rhumj/vol3/iss2/2 Quasi p- or not quasi p-? That is the Question.* By Ben Harwood Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY 41099 e-mail: [email protected] Section Zero: Introduction The question might not be as profound as Shakespeare’s, but nevertheless, it is interesting. Because few people seem to be aware of quasi p-groups, we will begin with a bit of history and a definition; and then we will determine for each group of order less than 24 (and a few others) whether the group is a quasi p-group for some prime p or not. This paper is a prequel to [Hwd]. In [Hwd] we prove that (Z3 £Z3)oZ2 and Z5 o Z4 are quasi 2-groups. Those proofs now form a portion of Proposition (12.1) It should also be noted that [Hwd] may also be found in this journal. Section One: Why should we be interested in quasi p-groups? In a 1957 paper titled Coverings of algebraic curves [Abh2], Abhyankar conjectured that the algebraic fundamental group of the affine line over an algebraically closed field k of prime characteristic p is the set of quasi p-groups, where by the algebraic fundamental group of the affine line he meant the family of all Galois groups Gal(L=k(X)) as L varies over all finite normal extensions of k(X) the function field of the affine line such that no point of the line is ramified in L, and where by a quasi p-group he meant a finite group that is generated by all of its p-Sylow subgroups. -
A STUDY on the ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURE of SL 2(Zpz)
A STUDY ON THE ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURE OF SL2 Z pZ ( ~ ) A Thesis Presented to The Honors Tutorial College Ohio University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation from the Honors Tutorial College with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics by Evan North April 2015 Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Background 5 2.1 Group Theory . 5 2.2 Linear Algebra . 14 2.3 Matrix Group SL2 R Over a Ring . 22 ( ) 3 Conjugacy Classes of Matrix Groups 26 3.1 Order of the Matrix Groups . 26 3.2 Conjugacy Classes of GL2 Fp ....................... 28 3.2.1 Linear Case . .( . .) . 29 3.2.2 First Quadratic Case . 29 3.2.3 Second Quadratic Case . 30 3.2.4 Third Quadratic Case . 31 3.2.5 Classes in SL2 Fp ......................... 33 3.3 Splitting of Classes of(SL)2 Fp ....................... 35 3.4 Results of SL2 Fp ..............................( ) 40 ( ) 2 4 Toward Lifting to SL2 Z p Z 41 4.1 Reduction mod p ...............................( ~ ) 42 4.2 Exploring the Kernel . 43 i 4.3 Generalizing to SL2 Z p Z ........................ 46 ( ~ ) 5 Closing Remarks 48 5.1 Future Work . 48 5.2 Conclusion . 48 1 Introduction Symmetries are one of the most widely-known examples of pure mathematics. Symmetry is when an object can be rotated, flipped, or otherwise transformed in such a way that its appearance remains the same. Basic geometric figures should create familiar examples, take for instance the triangle. Figure 1: The symmetries of a triangle: 3 reflections, 2 rotations. The red lines represent the reflection symmetries, where the trianlge is flipped over, while the arrows represent the rotational symmetry of the triangle. -
17 Lagrange's Theorem
Arkansas Tech University MATH 4033: Elementary Modern Algebra Dr. Marcel B. Finan 17 Lagrange's Theorem A very important corollary to the fact that the left cosets of a subgroup partition a group is Lagrange's Theorem. This theorem gives a relationship between the order of a finite group G and the order of any subgroup of G(in particular, if jGj < 1 and H ⊆ G is a subgroup, then jHj j jGj). Theorem 17.1 (Lagrange's Theorem) Let G be a finite group, and let H be a subgroup of G: Then the order of H divides the order of G: Proof. By Theorem 16.1, the right cosets of H form a partition of G: Thus, each element of G belongs to at least one right coset of H in G; and no element can belong to two distinct right cosets of H in G: Therefore every element of G belongs to exactly one right coset of H. Moreover, each right coset of H contains jHj elements (Lemma 16.2). Therefore, jGj = njHj; where n is the number of right cosets of H in G: Hence, jHj j jGj: This ends a proof of the theorem. Example 17.1 If jGj = 14 then the only possible orders for a subgroup are 1, 2, 7, and 14. Definition 17.1 The number of different right cosets of H in G is called the index of H in G and is denoted by [G : H]: It follows from the above definition and the proof of Lagrange's theorem that jGj = [G : H]jHj: Example 17.2 6 Since jS3j = 3! = 6 and j(12)j = j < (12) > j = 2 then [S3; < (12) >] = 2 = 3: 1 The rest of this section is devoted to consequences of Lagrange's theorem; we begin with the order of an element. -
The Thompson-Lyons Transfer Lemma for Fusion Systems
Submitted exclusively to the London Mathematical Society doi:10.1112/0000/000000 The Thompson-Lyons transfer lemma for fusion systems Justin Lynd Abstract A generalization of the Thompson transfer lemma and its various extensions, most recently due to Lyons, is proven in the context of saturated fusion systems. A strengthening of Alperin’s fusion theorem is also given in this setting, following Alperin’s own “up and down” fusion. The classical Thompson transfer lemma appeared as Lemma 5.38 in [12]; for a 2-perfect group G with S ∈ Syl2(G), it says that if T is a maximal subgroup of S and u is an involution in S − T , then the element u has a G-conjugate in T . Thompson’s lemma has since been generalized in a number of ways. Harada showed [9, Lemma 16] that the same conclusion holds provided one takes u to be of least order in S − T . Unpublished notes of Goldschmidt [6] extended this to show that one may find an G-conjugate of u in T which is extremal under the same conditions. An element t ∈ S is said to be extremal in S with respect to G if CS(t) is a Sylow subgroup of CG(t). In other words, hti is fully FS(G)-centralized, where FS(G) is the fusion system of G. Later, Thompson’s result and its extensions were generalized to all primes via an argument of Lyons [7, Proposition 15.15]. We prove here a common generalization of Lyons’ extension and his similar transfer result [8, Chapter 2, Lemma 3.1] (which relaxes the requirement that S/T be cyclic) in the context of saturated fusion systems. -
Order (Group Theory) 1 Order (Group Theory)
Order (group theory) 1 Order (group theory) In group theory, a branch of mathematics, the term order is used in two closely-related senses: • The order of a group is its cardinality, i.e., the number of its elements. • The order, sometimes period, of an element a of a group is the smallest positive integer m such that am = e (where e denotes the identity element of the group, and am denotes the product of m copies of a). If no such m exists, a is said to have infinite order. All elements of finite groups have finite order. The order of a group G is denoted by ord(G) or |G| and the order of an element a by ord(a) or |a|. Example Example. The symmetric group S has the following multiplication table. 3 • e s t u v w e e s t u v w s s e v w t u t t u e s w v u u t w v e s v v w s e u t w w v u t s e This group has six elements, so ord(S ) = 6. By definition, the order of the identity, e, is 1. Each of s, t, and w 3 squares to e, so these group elements have order 2. Completing the enumeration, both u and v have order 3, for u2 = v and u3 = vu = e, and v2 = u and v3 = uv = e. Order and structure The order of a group and that of an element tend to speak about the structure of the group. -
The Mathieu Groups (Simple Sporadic Symmetries)
The Mathieu Groups (Simple Sporadic Symmetries) Scott Harper (University of St Andrews) Tomorrow's Mathematicians Today 21st February 2015 Scott Harper The Mathieu Groups 21st February 2015 1 / 15 The Mathieu Groups (Simple Sporadic Symmetries) Scott Harper (University of St Andrews) Tomorrow's Mathematicians Today 21st February 2015 Scott Harper The Mathieu Groups 21st February 2015 2 / 15 1 2 A symmetry is a structure preserving permutation of the underlying set. A group acts faithfully on an object if it is isomorphic to a subgroup of the 4 3 symmetry group of the object. Symmetry group: D4 The stabiliser of a point in a group G is Group of rotations: the subgroup of G which fixes x. ∼ h(1 2 3 4)i = C4 Subgroup fixing 1: h(2 4)i Symmetry Scott Harper The Mathieu Groups 21st February 2015 3 / 15 A symmetry is a structure preserving permutation of the underlying set. A group acts faithfully on an object if it is isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetry group of the object. The stabiliser of a point in a group G is Group of rotations: the subgroup of G which fixes x. ∼ h(1 2 3 4)i = C4 Subgroup fixing 1: h(2 4)i Symmetry 1 2 4 3 Symmetry group: D4 Scott Harper The Mathieu Groups 21st February 2015 3 / 15 A group acts faithfully on an object if it is isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetry group of the object. The stabiliser of a point in a group G is Group of rotations: the subgroup of G which fixes x. -
Daniel Gorenstein 1923-1992
Daniel Gorenstein 1923-1992 A Biographical Memoir by Michael Aschbacher ©2016 National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. DANIEL GORENSTEIN January 3, 1923–August 26, 1992 Elected to the NAS, 1987 Daniel Gorenstein was one of the most influential figures in mathematics during the last few decades of the 20th century. In particular, he was a primary architect of the classification of the finite simple groups. During his career Gorenstein received many of the honors that the mathematical community reserves for its highest achievers. He was awarded the Steele Prize for mathemat- New Jersey University of Rutgers, The State of ical exposition by the American Mathematical Society in 1989; he delivered the plenary address at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Helsinki, Finland, in 1978; Photograph courtesy of of Photograph courtesy and he was the Colloquium Lecturer for the American Mathematical Society in 1984. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American By Michael Aschbacher Academy of Arts and Sciences. Gorenstein was the Jacqueline B. Lewis Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University and the founding director of its Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. He served as chairman of the universi- ty’s mathematics department from 1975 to 1982, and together with his predecessor, Ken Wolfson, he oversaw a dramatic improvement in the quality of mathematics at Rutgers. Born and raised in Boston, Gorenstein attended the Boston Latin School and went on to receive an A.B.