Skew left braces arise naturally from the study of non-degenerate set-theoretic solutions of the Yang–Baxter equation. To understand the algebraic structure of skew left braces, a study of the decomposition into minimal substructures is relevant. We introduce chief series and prove a strengthened form of the Jordan–Hölder theorem for finite skew left braces. A characterization of right nilpotency and an application to multipermutation solutions are also given.

Let G be a p-group for some prime p. Recall that the Hughes subgroup of G is the subgroup generated by all of the elements of G with order not equal to p. In this paper, we prove that if the Hughes subgroup of G is cyclic, then G has exponent p or is cyclic or is dihedral. We also prove that if the Hughes subgroup of G is generalised quaternion, then G must be generalised quaternion. With these results in hand, we classify the tidy p-groups.

For a finite abelian p-group A and a subgroup $\Gamma \le \operatorname {\mathrm {Aut}}(A)$, we say that the pair $(\Gamma ,A)$ is fusion realizable if there is a saturated fusion system ${\mathcal {F}}$ over a finite p-group $S\ge A$ such that $C_S(A)=A$, $\operatorname {\mathrm {Aut}}_{{\mathcal {F}}}(A)=\Gamma $ as subgroups of $\operatorname {\mathrm {Aut}}(A)$, and . In this paper, we develop tools to show that certain representations are not fusion realizable in this sense. For example, we show, for $p=2$ or $3$ and $\Gamma $ one of the Mathieu groups, that the only ${\mathbb {F}}_p\Gamma $-modules that are fusion realizable (up to extensions by trivial modules) are the Todd modules and in some cases their duals.

Let G denote a possibly discrete topological group admitting an open subgroup I which is pro-p. If H denotes the corresponding Hecke algebra over a field k of characteristic p, then we study the adjunction between H-modules and k-linear smooth G-representations in terms of various model structures. If H is a Gorenstein ring, we single out a full subcategory of smooth G-representations which is equivalent to the category of all Gorenstein projective H-modules via the functor of I-invariants. This applies to groups of rational points of split connected reductive groups over finite and over non-Archimedean local fields, thus generalizing a theorem of Cabanes. Moreover, we show that the Gorenstein projective model structure on the category of H-modules admits a right transfer. On the homotopy level, the right derived functor of I-invariants then admits a right inverse and becomes an equivalence when restricted to a suitable subcategory.

A classical result of Baer states that a finite group G which is the product of two normal supersoluble subgroups is supersoluble if and only if Gʹ is nilpotent. In this article, we show that if G = AB is the product of supersoluble (respectively, w-supersoluble) subgroups A and B, A is normal in G and B permutes with every maximal subgroup of each Sylow subgroup of A, then G is supersoluble (respectively, w-supersoluble), provided that Gʹ is nilpotent. We also investigate products of subgroups defined above when $ A\cap B=1 $ and obtain more general results.

Let G be a finite group and $\mathrm {Irr}(G)$ the set of all irreducible complex characters of G. Define the codegree of $\chi \in \mathrm {Irr}(G)$ as $\mathrm {cod}(\chi ):={|G:\mathrm {ker}(\chi ) |}/{\chi (1)}$ and denote by $\mathrm {cod}(G):=\{\mathrm {cod}(\chi ) \mid \chi \in \mathrm {Irr}(G)\}$ the codegree set of G. Let H be one of the $26$ sporadic simple groups. We show that H is determined up to isomorphism by cod$(H)$.

We consider rational representations of a connected linear algebraic group $\mathbb {G}$ over a field $k$ of positive characteristic $p > 0$. We introduce a natural extension $M \mapsto \Pi (\mathbb {G})_M$ to $\mathbb {G}$-modules of the $\pi$-point support theory for modules $M$ for a finite group scheme $G$ and show that this theory is essentially equivalent to the more ‘intrinsic’ and ‘explicit’ theory $M \mapsto \mathbb {P}\mathfrak{C}(\mathbb {G})_M$ of supports for an algebraic group of exponential type, a theory which uses $1$-parameter subgroups $\mathbb {G}_a \to \mathbb {G}$. We extend our support theory to bounded complexes of $\mathbb {G}$-modules, $C^\bullet \mapsto \Pi (\mathbb {G})_{C^\bullet }$. We introduce the tensor triangulated category $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$, the Verdier quotient of the bounded derived category $D^b(\mathit {Mod}(\mathbb {G}))$ by the thick subcategory of mock injective modules. Our support theory satisfies all the ‘standard properties’ for a theory of supports for $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$. As an application, we employ $C^\bullet \mapsto \Pi (\mathbb {G})_{C^\bullet }$ to establish the classification of $(r)$-complete, thick tensor ideals of $\mathit {stmod}(\mathbb {G})$ in terms of locally $\mathit {stmod}(\mathbb {G})$-realizable subsets of $\Pi (\mathbb {G})$ and the classification of $(r)$-complete, localizing subcategories of $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$ in terms of locally $\mathit {StMod}(\mathbb {G})$-realizable subsets of $\Pi (\mathbb {G})$.

Let H be a subgroup of a finite group G and let $\alpha $ be a complex-valued $2$-cocycle of $G.$ Conditions are found to ensure there exists a nontrivial element of H that is $\alpha $-regular in $G.$ However, a new result is established allowing a prime by prime analysis of the Sylow subgroups of $C_G(x)$ to determine the $\alpha $-regularity of a given $x\in G.$ In particular, this result implies that every $\alpha _H$-regular element of a normal Hall subgroup H is $\alpha $-regular in $G.$

Let $\alpha $ be a complex-valued $2$-cocycle of a finite group $G.$ A new concept of strict $\alpha $-regularity is introduced and its basic properties are investigated. To illustrate the potential use of this concept, a new proof is offered to show that the number of orbits of G under its action on the set of complex-valued irreducible $\alpha _N$-characters of N equals the number of $\alpha $-regular conjugacy classes of G contained in $N,$ where N is a normal subgroup of $G.$

Let k be an algebraically closed field of prime characteristic p. Let $kGe$ be a block of a group algebra of a finite group G, with normal defect group P and abelian $p'$ inertial quotient L. Then we show that $kGe$ is a matrix algebra over a quantised version of the group algebra of a semidirect product of P with a certain subgroup of L. To do this, we first examine the associated graded algebra, using a Jennings–Quillen style theorem.

As an example, we calculate the associated graded of the basic algebra of the nonprincipal block in the case of a semidirect product of an extraspecial p-group P of exponent p and order $p^3$ with a quaternion group of order eight with the centre acting trivially. In the case of $p=3$ , we give explicit generators and relations for the basic algebra as a quantised version of $kP$ . As a second example, we give explicit generators and relations in the case of a group of shape $2^{1+4}:3^{1+2}$ in characteristic two.

A generating set S for a group G is independent if the subgroup generated by $S\setminus \{s\}$ is properly contained in G for all $s \in S.$ We describe the structure of finite groups G such that there are precisely two numbers appearing as the cardinalities of independent generating sets for G.

A subset Y of the general linear group $\text{GL}(n,q)$ is called t-intersecting if $\text{rk}(x-y)\le n-t$ for all $x,y\in Y$ , or equivalently x and y agree pointwise on a t-dimensional subspace of $\mathbb{F}_q^n$ for all $x,y\in Y$ . We show that, if n is sufficiently large compared to t, the size of every such t-intersecting set is at most that of the stabiliser of a basis of a t-dimensional subspace of $\mathbb{F}_q^n$ . In case of equality, the characteristic vector of Y is a linear combination of the characteristic vectors of the cosets of these stabilisers. We also give similar results for subsets of $\text{GL}(n,q)$ that intersect not necessarily pointwise in t-dimensional subspaces of $\mathbb{F}_q^n$ and for cross-intersecting subsets of $\text{GL}(n,q)$ . These results may be viewed as variants of the classical Erdős–Ko–Rado Theorem in extremal set theory and are q-analogs of corresponding results known for the symmetric group. Our methods are based on eigenvalue techniques to estimate the size of the largest independent sets in graphs and crucially involve the representation theory of $\text{GL}(n,q)$ .

We develop a method based on the Burau matrix to detect conditions on the linking numbers of braid strands. Our main application is to iterated exchanged braids. Unless the braid permutation fixes both braid edge strands, we establish under some fairly generic conditions on the linking numbers a ‘subsymmetry’ property; in particular at most two such braids can be mutually conjugate. As an addition, we prove that the Burau kernel is contained in the commutator subgroup of the pure braid group. We discuss also some properties of the Burau image.

We prove that if a solvable group A acts coprimely on a solvable group G, then A has a relatively ‘large’ orbit in its corresponding action on the set of ordinary complex irreducible characters of G. This improves an earlier result of Keller and Yang [‘Orbits of finite solvable groups on characters’, Israel J. Math. 199 (2014), 933–940].

In this paper, the nilspace approach to higher-order Fourier analysis is developed in the setting of vector spaces over a prime field $\mathbb {F}_p$, with applications mainly in ergodic theory. A key requisite for this development is to identify a class of nilspaces adequate for this setting. We introduce such a class, whose members we call p-homogeneous nilspaces. One of our main results characterizes these objects in terms of a simple algebraic property. We then prove various further results on these nilspaces, leading to a structure theorem describing every finite p-homogeneous nilspace as the image, under a nilspace fibration, of a member of a simple family of filtered finite abelian p-groups. The applications include a description of the Host–Kra factors of ergodic $\mathbb {F}_p^\omega $-systems as p-homogeneous nilspace systems. This enables the analysis of these factors to be reduced to the study of such nilspace systems, with central questions on the factors thus becoming purely algebraic problems on finite nilspaces. We illustrate this approach by proving that for $k\leq p+1$ the kth Host–Kra factor is an Abramov system of order at most k, extending a result of Bergelson–Tao–Ziegler that holds for $k< p$. We illustrate the utility of p-homogeneous nilspaces also by showing that the structure theorem yields a new proof of the Tao–Ziegler inverse theorem for Gowers norms on $\mathbb {F}_p^n$.

Let G be a finite group. Let $H, K$ be subgroups of G and $H \backslash G / K$ the double coset space. If Q is a probability on G which is constant on conjugacy classes ( $Q(s^{-1} t s) = Q(t)$ ), then the random walk driven by Q on G projects to a Markov chain on $H \backslash G /K$ . This allows analysis of the lumped chain using the representation theory of G. Examples include coagulation-fragmentation processes and natural Markov chains on contingency tables. Our main example projects the random transvections walk on $GL_n(q)$ onto a Markov chain on $S_n$ via the Bruhat decomposition. The chain on $S_n$ has a Mallows stationary distribution and interesting mixing time behavior. The projection illuminates the combinatorics of Gaussian elimination. Along the way, we give a representation of the sum of transvections in the Hecke algebra of double cosets, which describes the Markov chain as a mixture of Metropolis chains. Some extensions and examples of double coset Markov chains with G a compact group are discussed.

We show that the only finite quasi-simple non-abelian groups that can faithfully act on rationally connected threefolds are the following groups: ${\mathfrak{A}}_5$ , ${\text{PSL}}_2(\textbf{F}_7)$ , ${\mathfrak{A}}_6$ , ${\text{SL}}_2(\textbf{F}_8)$ , ${\mathfrak{A}}_7$ , ${\text{PSp}}_4(\textbf{F}_3)$ , ${\text{SL}}_2(\textbf{F}_{7})$ , $2.{\mathfrak{A}}_5$ , $2.{\mathfrak{A}}_6$ , $3.{\mathfrak{A}}_6$ or $6.{\mathfrak{A}}_6$ . All of these groups with a possible exception of $2.{\mathfrak{A}}_6$ and $6.{\mathfrak{A}}_6$ indeed act on some rationally connected threefolds.

In their renowned paper (2011, Inventiones Mathematicae 184, 591–627), I. Vollaard and T. Wedhorn defined a stratification on the special fiber of the unitary unramified PEL Rapoport–Zink space with signature $(1,n-1)$ . They constructed an isomorphism between the closure of a stratum, called a closed Bruhat–Tits stratum, and a Deligne–Lusztig variety which is not of classical type. In this paper, we describe the $\ell $ -adic cohomology groups over $\overline {{\mathbb Q}_{\ell }}$ of these Deligne–Lusztig varieties, where $\ell \not = p$ . The computations involve the spectral sequence associated with the Ekedahl–Oort stratification of a closed Bruhat–Tits stratum, which translates into a stratification by Coxeter varieties whose cohomology is known. Eventually, we find out that the irreducible representations of the finite unitary group which appear inside the cohomology contribute to only two different unipotent Harish-Chandra series, one of them belonging to the principal series.

Let n be a nonnegative integer. For each composition $\alpha $ of n, Berg, Bergeron, Saliola, Serrano and Zabrocki introduced a cyclic indecomposable $H_n(0)$ -module $\mathcal {V}_{\alpha }$ with a dual immaculate quasisymmetric function as the image of the quasisymmetric characteristic. In this paper, we study $\mathcal {V}_{\alpha }$ s from the homological viewpoint. To be precise, we construct a minimal projective presentation of $\mathcal {V}_{\alpha }$ and a minimal injective presentation of $\mathcal {V}_{\alpha }$ as well. Using them, we compute $\mathrm {Ext}^1_{H_n(0)}(\mathcal {V}_{\alpha }, \mathbf {F}_{\beta })$ and $\mathrm {Ext}^1_{H_n(0)}( \mathbf {F}_{\beta }, \mathcal {V}_{\alpha })$ , where $\mathbf {F}_{\beta }$ is the simple $H_n(0)$ -module attached to a composition $\beta $ of n. We also compute $\mathrm {Ext}_{H_n(0)}^i(\mathcal {V}_{\alpha },\mathcal {V}_{\beta })$ when $i=0,1$ and $\beta \le _l \alpha $ , where $\le _l$ represents the lexicographic order on compositions.

In this paper, we study the supercharacter theories of elementary abelian $p$-groups of order $p^{2}$. We show that the supercharacter theories that arise from the direct product construction and the $\ast$-product construction can be obtained from automorphisms. We also prove that any supercharacter theory of an elementary abelian $p$-group of order $p^{2}$ that has a non-identity superclass of size $1$ or a non-principal linear supercharacter must come from either a $\ast$-product or a direct product. Although we are unable to prove results for general primes, we do compute all of the supercharacter theories when $p = 2,\, 3,\, 5$, and based on these computations along with particular computations for larger primes, we make several conjectures for a general prime $p$.