We study the problem of determining, for a polynomial function $f$ on a vector space $V$, the linear transformations $g$ of $V$ such that $f\circ g=f$. When $f$ is invariant under a simple algebraic group $G$ acting irreducibly on $V$, we note that the subgroup of $\text{GL}(V)$ stabilizing $f$ often has identity component $G$, and we give applications realizing various groups, including the largest exceptional group $E_{8}$, as automorphism groups of polynomials and algebras. We show that, starting with a simple group $G$ and an irreducible representation $V$, one can almost always find an $f$ whose stabilizer has identity component $G$, and that no such $f$ exists in the short list of excluded cases. This relies on our core technical result, the enumeration of inclusions $G<H\leqslant \text{SL}(V)$ such that $V/H$ has the same dimension as $V/G$. The main results of this paper are new even in the special case where $k$ is the complex numbers.

In this paper we analyse the structure of a finite group of minimal order among the finite non-supersoluble groups possessing a triple factorization by supersoluble subgroups of pairwise relatively prime indices. As an application we obtain some sufficient conditions for a triple factorized group by supersoluble subgroups of pairwise relatively prime indices to be supersoluble. Many results appear as consequences of our analysis.

From the mid-1990s onwards, the main focus of L. G. Kovács’ research was on Lie powers. This brief survey presents some of the key results on Lie powers obtained by Kovács and his collaborators, and discusses some subsequent developments and applications of this work.

There exist infinite finitely presented torsion-free groups G such that Aut(G) and Out(G) are torsion free but G has an automorphism sending some non-trivial element to its inverse.

Let $R$ be a large field of characteristic $p$. We classify the supersingular simple modules of the pro-$p$-Iwahori Hecke $R$-algebra ${\mathcal{H}}$ of a general reductive $p$-adic group $G$. We show that the functor of pro-$p$-Iwahori invariants behaves well when restricted to the representations compactly induced from an irreducible smooth $R$-representation $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$ of a special parahoric subgroup $K$ of $G$. We give an almost-isomorphism between the center of ${\mathcal{H}}$ and the center of the spherical Hecke algebra ${\mathcal{H}}(G,K,\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C})$, and a Satake-type isomorphism for ${\mathcal{H}}(G,K,\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C})$. This generalizes results obtained by Ollivier for $G$ split and $K$ hyperspecial to $G$ general and $K$ special.

Let $\mathbb{A}=(A,+)$ be a (possibly non-commutative) semigroup. For $Z\subseteq A$, we define $Z^{\times }:=Z\cap \mathbb{A}^{\times }$, where $\mathbb{A}^{\times }$ is the set of the units of $\mathbb{A}$ and

$$\begin{eqnarray}{\it\gamma}(Z):=\sup _{z_{0}\in Z^{\times }}\inf _{z_{0}\neq z\in Z}\text{\text{ord}}(z-z_{0}).\end{eqnarray}$$

${\it\gamma}(\cdot )$

$\mathbb{A}$

$X,Y\subseteq A$

$$\begin{eqnarray}|X+Y|\geqslant \min ({\it\gamma}(X+Y),|X|+|Y|-1).\end{eqnarray}$$

$\mathbb{A}$

${\it\gamma}(X+Y)$

$|S|$

$S$

$\mathbb{A}$

This is a short account of some of the work of L. G. (Laci) Kovács on varieties of groups.

Let $X$ be a simple, connected, $p$-valent, $G$-arc-transitive graph, where the subgroup $G\leq \text{Aut}(X)$ is solvable and $p\geq 3$ is a prime. We prove that $X$ is a regular cover over one of the three possible types of graphs with semi-edges. This enables short proofs of the facts that $G$ is at most 3-arc-transitive on $X$ and that its edge kernel is trivial. For pentavalent graphs, two further applications are given: all $G$-basic pentavalent graphs admitting a solvable arc-transitive group are constructed and an example of a non-Cayley graph of this kind is presented.

Let $F$ be a non-Archimedean local field, and let $G^{\sharp }$ be the group of $F$-rational points of an inner form of $\text{SL}_{n}$. We study Hecke algebras for all Bernstein components of $G^{\sharp }$, via restriction from an inner form $G$ of $\text{GL}_{n}(F)$.

For any packet of L-indistinguishable Bernstein components, we exhibit an explicit algebra whose module category is equivalent to the associated category of complex smooth $G^{\sharp }$-representations. This algebra comes from an idempotent in the full Hecke algebra of $G^{\sharp }$, and the idempotent is derived from a type for $G$. We show that the Hecke algebras for Bernstein components of $G^{\sharp }$ are similar to affine Hecke algebras of type $A$, yet in many cases are not Morita equivalent to any crossed product of an affine Hecke algebra with a finite group.

Podoski and Szegedy [‘On finite groups whose derived subgroup has bounded rank’, Israel J. Math.178 (2010), 51–60] proved that for a finite group $G$ with rank $r$, the inequality $[G:Z_{2}(G)]\leq |G^{\prime }|^{2r}$ holds. In this paper we omit the finiteness condition on $G$ and show that groups with finite derived subgroup satisfy the same inequality. We also construct an $n$-capable group which is not $(n+1)$-capable for every $n\in \mathbf{N}$.

We determine the set of connected components of minuscule affine Deligne–Lusztig varieties for hyperspecial maximal compact subgroups of unramified connected reductive groups. Partial results are also obtained for non-minuscule closed affine Deligne–Lusztig varieties. We consider both the function field case and its analog in mixed characteristic. In particular, we determine the set of connected components of unramified Rapoport–Zink spaces.

Efficient methods for computing with matrices over finite fields often involve randomised algorithms, where matrices with a certain property are sought via repeated random selection. Complexity analyses for such algorithms require knowledge of the proportion of relevant matrices in the ambient group or algebra. We introduce a method for estimating proportions of families $N$ of elements in the algebra of all $d\times d$ matrices over a field of order $q$, where membership of a matrix in $N$ depends only on its ‘invertible part’. The method is based on the availability of estimates for proportions of certain non-singular matrices depending on $N$, so that existing estimation techniques for non-singular matrices can be used to deal with families containing singular matrices. As an application, we investigate primary cyclic matrices, which are used in the Holt–Rees MEATAXE algorithm for testing irreducibility of matrix algebras.

Let $G$ be a finite abelian group and $A\subseteq G$. For $n\in G$, denote by $r_{A}(n)$ the number of ordered pairs $(a_{1},a_{2})\in A^{2}$ such that $a_{1}+a_{2}=n$. Among other things, we prove that for any odd number $t\geq 3$, it is not possible to partition $G$ into $t$ disjoint sets $A_{1},A_{2},\dots ,A_{t}$ with $r_{A_{1}}=r_{A_{2}}=\cdots =r_{A_{t}}$.

For each prime $p$ we construct a family $\{G_{i}\}$ of finite $p$-groups such that $|\text{Aut}(G_{i})|/|G_{i}|$ tends to zero as $i$ tends to infinity. This disproves a well-known conjecture that $|G|$ divides $|\text{Aut}(G)|$ for every nonabelian finite $p$-group $G$.

Hughes has defined a class of groups that we call finite similarity structure (FSS) groups. Each FSS group acts on a compact ultrametric space by local similarities. The best-known example is Thompson’s group V. Guided by previous work on Thompson’s group, we show that many FSS groups are of type F∞. This generalizes work of Ken Brown from the 1980s.

We present a computer algebra package based on Magma for performing computations in rational Cherednik algebras with arbitrary parameters and in Verma modules for restricted rational Cherednik algebras. Part of this package is a new general Las Vegas algorithm for computing the head and the constituents of a module with simple head in characteristic zero, which we develop here theoretically. This algorithm is very successful when applied to Verma modules for restricted rational Cherednik algebras and it allows us to answer several questions posed by Gordon in some specific cases. We can determine the decomposition matrices of the Verma modules, the graded $G$-module structure of the simple modules, and the Calogero–Moser families of the generic restricted rational Cherednik algebra for around half of the exceptional complex reflection groups. In this way we can also confirm Martino’s conjecture for several exceptional complex reflection groups.

Supplementary materials are available with this article.

Here we determine up to conjugacy all the maximal subgroups of the finite exceptional group of Lie-type $E_{7}(2)$.

Supplementary materials are available with this article.

In this paper, we combine group-theoretic and combinatorial techniques to study $\wedge$-transitive digraphs admitting a cartesian decomposition of their vertex set. In particular, our approach uncovers a new family of digraphs that may be of considerable interest.

Let $w_{1}$ and $w_{2}$ be nontrivial words in free groups $F_{n_{1}}$ and $F_{n_{2}}$, respectively. We prove that, for all sufficiently large finite nonabelian simple groups $G$, there exist subsets $C_{1}\subseteq w_{1}(G)$ and $C_{2}\subseteq w_{2}(G)$ such that $|C_{i}|=O(|G|^{1/2}\log ^{1/2}|G|)$ and $C_{1}C_{2}=G$. In particular, if $w$ is any nontrivial word and $G$ is a sufficiently large finite nonabelian simple group, then $w(G)$ contains a thin base of order $2$. This is a nonabelian analog of a result of Van Vu [‘On a refinement of Waring’s problem’, Duke Math. J. 105(1) (2000), 107–134.] for the classical Waring problem. Further results concerning thin bases of $G$ of order $2$ are established for any finite group and for any compact Lie group $G$.

We prove that the groups presented by finite convergent monadic rewriting systems with generators of finite order are exactly the free products of finitely many finite groups, thereby confirming Gilman’s conjecture in a special case. We also prove that the finite cyclic groups of order at least three are the only finite groups admitting a presentation by more than one finite convergent monadic rewriting system (up to relabelling), and these admit presentation by exactly two such rewriting systems.