We study Frobenius groups acting on curves.

While the classification project for the simple groups of finite Morley rank is unlikely toproduce a classification of the simple groups of finite Morley rank, the enterprise has already arrived at a considerably closer approximation to that ideal goal than could have been realistically anticipated, with a mix of results of several flavors, some classificatory and others more structural, which can be combined when the stars are suitably aligned to produce results at a level of generality which, in parallel areas of group theory, would normally require either some additional geometric structure, or an explicit classification. And Bruno Poizat is generally awesome, though sometimes he goes too far.

In this note we first prove that, for a positive integer n>1 with n≠p or p2 where p is a prime, there exists a transitive group of degree n without regular subgroups. Then we look at 2-closed transitive groups without regular subgroups, and pose two questions and a problem for further study.

Let k be an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic p. We consider which finite groups G have the property that every faithful action of G on a connected smooth projective curve over k lifts to characteristic zero. Oort conjectured that cyclic groups have this property. We show that if a cyclic-by-p group G has this property, then G must be either cyclic or dihedral, with the exception of A4 in characteristic two. This proves one direction of a strong form of the Oort conjecture.

A simpleundirected graph is said to be semisymmetric if it is regular and edge-transitive but not vertex-transitive. Let p be a prime. It was shown by Folkman [J. Folkman, ‘Regular line-symmetric graphs’, J. Combin. Theory3 (1967), 215–232] that a regular edge-transitive graph of order 2p or 2p2 is necessarily vertex-transitive. In this paper an extension of his result in the case of cubic graphs is given. It is proved that every cubic edge-transitive graph of order 8p2 is vertex-transitive.

Group actions on ℝ-trees may be split into different types, and in Section 1 of this paper five distinct types are defined, with one type splitting into two sub-types. For a group G acting as a group of isometries on an ℝ-tree, conditions are considered under which a subgroup or a factor group may inherit the same type of action as G. In Section 2 subgroups of finite index are considered, and in Section 3 normal subgroups and also factor groups are considered. The results obtained here, Theorems 2.1 and 3.4, allow restrictions on possible types of actions for hypercentral, hypercyclic and hyperabelian groups to be given in Theorem 3.6. In Section 4 finitely generated subgroups are considered, and this gives rise to restrictions on possible actions for groups with certain local properties. The results throughout are stated in terms of group actions on trees. Using Chiswell's construction in [3], they could equally be stated in terms of restrictions on possible types of Lyndon length functions.

In [7] S. Pride gave a family of examples of finitely presented groups of cohomological dimension 2 having no non-trivial action on a simplicial tree. We show here that his examples have no non-trivial action on a Λ-tree, for any ordered abelian group Λ. This provides further slight evidence for an affirmative answer to Question A in §3.1 of [8]. We also give another similar family of examples.