arXiv subjects

Robert Guralnick

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Guralnick.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Permutation polytopes and indecomposable elements in permutation groups

Each group G of nxn permutation matrices has a corresponding permutation polytope, P(G):=conv(G) in R^{nxn}. We relate the structure of P(G) to the transitivity of G. In particular, we show that if G has t nontrivial orbits, then min{2t,floor(n/2)} is a sharp upper bound on the diameter of the graph of P(G); so if G is transitive, the diameter is at most 2. We also show that P(G) achieves its maximal dimension of (n-1)^2 precisely when G is 2-transitive. We then extend results of I. Pak on mixing times for a random walk on P(G). Our work depends on a new result for permutation groups involving writing permutations as products of indecomposable permutations.

math.CO↗

arXiv2003

Conjugacy Class Properties of the Extension of GL(n,q) Generated by the Inverse Tranpose Involution

Letting tau denote the inverse transpose automorphism of GL(n,q), a formula is obtained for the number of g in GL(n,q) so that gg^{tau} is equal to a given element h. This generalizes a result of Gow and Macdonald for the special case that h is the identity. We conclude that for g random, gg^{tau} behaves like a hybrid of symplectic and orthogonal groups. It is shown that our formula works well with both cycle index generating functions and asymptotics, and is related to the theory of random partitions. The derivation makes use of models of representation theory of GL(n,q) and of symmetric function theory, including a new identity for Hall-Littlewood polynomials. We obtain information about random elements of finite symplectic groups in even characteristic, and explicit bounds for the number of conjugacy classes and centralizer sizes in the extension of GL(n,q) generated by the inverse transpose automorphism. We give a second approach to these results using the theory of bilinear forms over a field. The results in this paper are key tools in forthcoming work of the authors on derangements in actions of almost simple groups, and we give a few examples in this direction.

math.GR↗

arXiv2002

Derangements in simple and primitive groups

We investigate the proportion of fixed point free permutations (derangements) in finite transitive permutation groups. This article is the first in a series where we prove a conjecture of Shalev that the proportion of such elements is bounded away from zero for a simple finite group. In fact, there are much stronger results. This article focuses on finite Chevalley groups of bounded rank. We also discuss derangements in algebraic groups and in more general primitive groups. These results have applications in questions about probabilistic generation of finite simple groups and maps between varieties over finite fields.

math.GR↗

arXiv2000

Indecomposable set-theoretical solutions to the Quantum Yang-Baxter Equation on a set with prime number of elements

In this paper we show that all indecomposable nondegenerate set-theoretical solutions to the Quantum Yang-Baxter equation on a set of prime order are affine, which allows us to give a complete and very simple classification of such solutions. This result is a natural application of the general theory of set-theoretical solutions to the quantum Yang-Baxter equation. It is also a generalization of the corresponding statement for involutive set-theoretical solutions proved in an earlier paper of P.E. and A.S. with T.Schedler. In order to prove our main result, we use the classification theory developed by the third author (based on the ideas of Lu, Yan, and Zhu) to reduce the problem to a group-theoretical statement: a finite group with trivial center generated by a conjugacy class of prime order is a subgroup of the affine group. Unfortunalely, we did not find an elementary proof of this statement, and our proof relies on the classification of outer automorphisms of finite simple groups.

math.QA↗

arXiv1999

Biperfect Hopf Algebras

Recall that a finite group is called perfect if it does not have non-trivial 1-dimensional representations (over the field of complex numbers C). By analogy, let us say that a finite dimensional Hopf algebra H over C is perfect if any 1-dimensional H-module is trivial. Let us say that H is biperfect if both H and H^* are perfect. Note that, H is biperfect if and only if its quantum double D(H) is biperfect. It is not easy to construct a biperfect Hopf algebra of dimension >1. The goal of this note is to describe the simplest such example we know. The biperfect Hopf algebra H we construct is based on the Mathiew group of degree 24, and it is semisimple. Therefore, it yields a negative answer to Question 7.5 from a previous paper of the first two authors (math.QA/9905168). Namely, it shows that Corollary 7.4 from this paper stating that a triangular semisimple Hopf algebra over C has a non-trivial group-like element, fails in the quasitriangular case. The counterexample is the quantum double D(H).

math.QA↗

arXiv1994

On the Picard group: torsion and the kernel

For a homomorphism f: A --> B of commutative rings, let D(A,B) denote Ker[Pic(A) --> Pic(B)]. Let k be a field and assume that A is a f.g. k-algebra. We prove a number of finiteness results for D(A,B). Here are four of them. 1: Suppose B is a f.g. and faithfully flat A-algebra which is geometrically integral over k. If k is perfect, we find that D(A,B) is f.g. (In positive characteristic, we need resolution of singularities to prove this.) For an arbitrary field k of positive characteristic p, we find that modulo p-power torsion, D(A,B) is f.g. 2: Suppose B = A tensor k^sep. We find that D(A,B) is finite. 3: Suppose B = A tensor L, where L is a finite, purely inseparable extension. We give examples to show that D(A,B) may be infinite. 4: Assuming resolution of singularities, we show that if K/k is any algebraic extension, there is a finite extension E/k contained in K/k such that D(A tensor E,A tensor K) is trivial. The remaining results are absolute finiteness results for Pic(A). 5: For every n prime to char(k), Pic(A) has only finitely many elements of order n. 6: Structure theorems are given for Pic(A), in the case where k is absolutely f.g. All of these results are proved in a more general form, valid for schemes. Hard copy is available from the authors.

alg-geom↗