arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to David A. Craven.
Let $G$ be a finite group and $\mathcal{C}$ a normal subset of $G$. The Gill-Guillot graph has vertex set $\mathcal C$ with distinct $x, y \in \mathcal C$ adjacent if and only if $x$ and $y$ commute and $\{xy^{-1},x^{-1}y\} \cap \mathcal C$ is non-empty. We study the connectivity of this graph for quasisimple groups with $G/Z(G)$ a sporadic simple group and for certain simple groups with exceptional Schur multiplier.
This paper almost classifies the maximal subgroups of $E_7(q)$ for general $q$ a power of a prime $p$. Only four potential maximal subgroups are missing: $PSL_2(7)$ (unknown for $p\neq 2,3,7$), $PSL_2(8)$ ($p=2$) and $PSL_2(9)=A_6$ ($p\neq 2,3$). In addition, there is one issue with the precise structure with the positive-dimensional maximal subgroup of type $A_2$. We are able to give a complete determination of the maximal subgroups for $E_7(q)$ for $q$ an arbitrary power of $3$ and $q=4$.
The Ingleton inequality first appeared in matroid theory, where Ingleton proved in 1971 that every rank function coming from a representable matroid on four subsets satisfies a particular inequality. Because this inequality is not implied by submodularity, Shannon-type axioms alone, it and various analogues play a central role in separately linear and non-linear phenomena in a variety of areas of mathematics. The Ingleton inequality for finite groups concerns the various intersections of four subgroups. It holds for many quadruples of subgroups of finite groups, but not all, the smallest example being four subgroups of $S_5$, of order 120. Open questions are whether the Inlgeton inequality always holds for metacycle and nilpotent groups. (There is a proof in the literature due to Oggier and Stancu, but there is an already known issue with their proof, which we address in this article.) In this paper we prove that the Ingleton inequality always holds for metacycle groups, but that it fails for supersoluble groups, a class of groups only a little larger than nilpotent groups. Although we do not resolve the nilpotent case here we do make some reductions, and also prove that there are no nilpotent violators of the Ingleton inequality of order less than 1024. We end with a list of Ingleton inequality violating groups of order at most 1023. The article comes with a Magma package that allows reproduction of all results in the paper and for the reader to check the Ingleton inequality for any given finite group.
This article produces a complete list of all maximal subgroups of the finite simple groups of type $F_4$, $E_6$, and twisted $E_6$ over all finite fields. Along the way, we determine the collection of Lie primitive almost simple subgroups of the corresponding algebraic groups. We give the stabilizers under the actions of outer automorphisms, from which one can obtain complete information about the maximal subgroups of all almost simple groups with socle one of these groups. We also provide a new maximal subgroup of ${}^2\!F_4(8)$, correcting the maximal subgroups for that group from the list of Malle. This provides the first new exceptional groups of Lie type to have their maximal subgroups enumerated for three decades. The techniques are a mixture of algebraic groups, representation theory, computational algebra, and use of the trilinear form on the 27-dimensional minimal module for $E_6$. We provide a collection of auxiliary Magma files that prove the author's computational claims, yielding existence and the number of conjugacy classes of all maximal subgroups mentioned in the text.
We consider problems concerning the largest degrees of irreducible characters of symmetric groups, and the multiplicities of character degrees of symmetric groups. Using evidence from computer experiments, we posit several new conjectures or extensions of previous conjectures, and prove a number of results. One of these is that, if $n\geq 21$, then there are at least eight irreducible characters of $S_n$, all of which have the same degree, and which have irreducible restriction to $A_n$. We explore similar questions about unipotent degrees of $\mathrm{GL}_n(q)$. We also make some remarks about how the experiments here shed light on posited algorithms for finding the largest irreducible character degree of $S_n$.
We study embeddings of groups of Lie type $H$ in characteristic $p$ into exceptional algebraic groups $\mathbf G$ of the same characteristic. We exclude the case where $H$ is of type $\mathrm{PSL}_2$. A subgroup of $\mathbf G$ is \emph{Lie primitive} if it is not contained in any proper, positive-dimensional subgroup of $\mathbf G$. With a few possible exceptions, we prove that there are no Lie primitive subgroups $H$ in $\mathbf G$, with the conditions on $H$ and $\mathbf G$ given above. The exceptions are for $H$ one of $\mathrm{PSL}_3(3)$, $\mathrm{PSU}_3(3)$, $\mathrm{PSL}_3(4)$, $\mathrm{PSU}_3(4)$, $\mathrm{PSU}_3(8)$, $\mathrm{PSU}_4(2)$, $\mathrm{PSp}_4(2)'$ and ${}^2\!B_2(8)$, and $\mathbf G$ of type $E_8$. No examples are known of such Lie primitive embeddings. We prove a slightly stronger result, including stability under automorphisms of $\mathbf G$. This has the consequence that, with the same exceptions, any almost simple group with socle $H$, that is maximal inside an almost simple exceptional group of Lie type $F_4$, $E_6$, ${}^2\!E_6$, $E_7$ and $E_8$, is the fixed points under the Frobenius map of a corresponding maximal closed subgroup inside the algebraic group. The proof uses a combination of representation-theoretic, algebraic group-theoretic, and computational means.
We develop a theory of Ennola duality for subgroups of finite groups of Lie type, relating subgroups of twisted and untwisted groups of the same type. Roughly speaking, one finds that subgroups $H$ of $\mathrm{GU}_d(q)$ correspond to subgroups of $\mathrm{GL}_d(-q)$, where $-q$ is interpreted modulo $|H|$. Analogous results for types other than $\mathrm A$ are established, including for exceptional types where the maximal subgroups are known, although the result for type $\mathrm D$ is still conjectural. Let $M$ denote the Gram matrix of a non-zero orthogonal form for a real, irreducible representation of a finite group, and consider $α=\sqrt{\det(M)}$. If the representation has twice odd dimension, we conjecture that $α$ lies in some cyclotomic field. This does not hold for representations of dimension a multiple of $4$, with a specific example of the Janko group $\mathrm J_1$ in dimension $56$ given. (This tallies with Ennola duality for representations, where type $\mathrm D_{2n}$ has no Ennola duality with ${}^2\mathrm D_{2n}$.)
We prove the existence and uniqueness of a new maximal subgroup of the algebraic group of type $E_8$ in characteristic $3$. This has type $F_4$, and was missing from previous lists of maximal subgroups produced by Seitz and Liebeck--Seitz. We also prove a result about the finite group $H={}^3\!D_4(2)$, that if $H$ embeds in $E_8$ (in any characteristic $p$) and has two composition factors on the adjoint module then $p=3$ and $H$ lies in this new maximal $F_4$ subgroup.
We study embeddings of $\mathrm{PSL}_2(p^a)$ into exceptional groups $G(p^b)$ for $G=F_4,E_6,{}^2\!E_6,E_7$, and $p$ a prime with $a,b$ positive integers. With a few possible exceptions, we prove that any almost simple group with socle $\mathrm{PSL}_2(p^a)$, that is maximal inside an almost simple exceptional group of Lie type $F_4$, $E_6$, ${}^2\!E_6$ and $E_7$, is the fixed points under the Frobenius map of a corresponding maximal closed subgroup of type $A_1$ inside the algebraic group. Together with a recent result of Burness and Testerman for $p$ the Coxeter number plus one, this proves that all maximal subgroups with socle $\mathrm{PSL}_2(p^a)$ inside these finite almost simple groups are known, with three possible exceptions ($p^a=7,8,25$ for $E_7$). In the three remaining cases we provide considerable information about a potential maximal subgroup.
This document is the first iteration of an attempt to collate information about small-rank groups of Lie type over small fields, and their representation theory over the defining field. This information is important in the author's work on subgroup structure of exceptional groups of Lie type. The most important information in that work is information about $\mathrm{Ext}^1$ between simple modules, and so in Version 1 of this document, that data is almost all of the data available. In addition, a lot of information about the dimensions of the simple and Weyl modules is included. More generally, one may expect to include details about the socle structure of the projective modules, Jordan block structure of the action of unipotent elements, decompositions of symmetric and exterior powers of simple modules, and tensor products of modules, traces of semisimple elements and so on. The ideal place for such information is a dedicated website, connected to a database that could be queried to produce the information required. This document, while imperfect, will have to suffice for now.
In this paper we complete the determination of the Brauer trees of unipotent blocks (with cyclic defect groups) of finite groups of Lie type. These trees were conjectured by the first author. As a consequence, the Brauer trees of principal $\ell$-blocks of finite groups are known for $\ell>71$.
We determine the group of endotrivial modules (as an abstract group) for $G$ a (quasi)simple group of sporadic type, extending previous results in the literature. In many sporadic cases we directly construct the subgroup of trivial-source endotrivial modules. We also resolve the question of whether certain simple modules for sporadic groups are endotrivial, posed by Lassueur, Malle and Schulte, in the majority of open cases. The results rely heavily on a recent description of the group of trivial-source endotrivial modules due to Grodal.
Let $p$ be an odd prime, and let $S$ be a $p$-group with a unique elementary abelian subgroup $A$ of index $p$. We classify the simple fusion systems over all such groups $S$ in which $A$ is essential. The resulting list, which depends on the classification of finite simple groups, includes a large variety of new, exotic simple fusion systems.
In this paper we examine embeddings of alternating groups and symmetric groups into almost simple groups of exceptional type. In particular, we prove that unless the alternating or symmetric group has degree 6 or 7, there is no maximal subgroup of any almost simple group with socle an exceptional group of Lie type that is an alternating or symmetric group. Furthermore, in the remaining open cases we give considerable information about the possible embeddings. Note that no maximal alternating or symmetric subgroups are known in the remaining cases. This is the first in a sequence of papers aiming to substantially improve the state of knowledge about the maximal subgroups of exceptional groups of Lie type.
This article gives the structure of all projective indecomposable modules in blocks with non-cyclic defect group for $n\leq 11$, and almost all in the case of $n=12$, leaving four simple modules for $p=2$ and one simple module for $p=3$.
In this short note we prove that, if $p$ is an odd prime dividing the order of a sporadic simple group, then with the exception of four groups for $p=3$, all sporadic simple groups are generated by an involution and an element of order $p$.
In this article we determine the Brauer trees of the unipotent blocks with cyclic defect group in the `groups' $I_2(n,q)$, $H_3(q)$ and $H_4(q)$. The degrees of the unipotent characters of these objects were given by Lusztig, and using the general theory of perverse equivalences we can reconstruct the Brauer trees that would be consistent with Deligne--Lusztig theory and the geometric version of Broué's conjecture. We construct the trees using standard arguments whenever possible, and check that the Brauer trees predicted by Broué's conjecture are consistent with both the mathematics and philosophy of blocks with cyclic defect groups.
In this paper, we present a conjecture on the degree of unipotent characters in the cohomology of particular Deligne-Lusztig varieties for groups of Lie type, and derive consequences of it. These degrees are a necessary piece of data in the geometric version of Broué's abelian defect group conjecture, and can be used to verify this geometric conjecture in new cases. The geometric version of Broué's conjecture should produce a more combinatorially defined derived equivalence, called a perverse equivalence. We prove that our conjectural degree is an integer (which is not obvious) and has the correct parity for a perfect isometry, and verify that it induces a perverse equivalence for all unipotent blocks of groups of Lie type with cyclic defect groups, whenever the shape of the Brauer tree is known (i.e., not E7 and E8). It has also been used to find perverse equivalences for some non-cyclic cases. This paper is a contribution to the conjectural description of the exact form of a derived equivalence proving Broué's conjecture for groups of Lie type.