This note is devoted to the question of deciding whether or not a subring of a finite-dimensional algebra over the rationals, with additive group a Butler group, is the endomorphism ring of a Butler group (a Butler group is a pure subgroup of a finite direct sum of rank-1 torsion-free abelian groups). A complete answer is given for subrings of division algebras. Several applications are included.

A group G is called normally (subnormally) detectable if the only normal (subnormal) subgroups in any direct product G1 × … × Gn of copies of G are just the direct factors Gi. We give an internal characterization of finite subnormally detectable groups and obtain analogous results for associative rings and for Lie algebras. The main part of the paper deals with a study of normally detectable groups, where we verify a conjecture of T. O. Hawkes in a number of special cases.

Whilst the Mal'cev product of completely regular varieties need not again be a variety, it is shown that in many important instances a variety is in fact obtained. However, unlike the product of group varieties this product is nonassociative.

Two important operators introduced by Reilly are studied in the context of Mal'cev products. These operators are shown to generate from any given variety one of the networks discovered by Pastijn and Trotter, enabling identities to be provided for the varieties in the network. In particular the join O V BG of the varieties of orthogroups and of bands of groups is determined, answering a question of Petrich.

In this paper the question is considered of when the wreath product of a nilpotent group with a CLT group G is a CLT group. It is shown that if the field with Pr elements is a splitting field of a Hall P1–subgroup of G, then P wr G is a CLT group for all p–groups P with |P/P1|≥ pr. Moreover, the class of all groups G having the property that N wr G is a CLT group for every nilpotent group N is shown to be quite large. For exmple, every group of odd order can be embedded as a subgroup of a group belonging to this class.

Miller's group of order 64 is a smallest example of a nonabelian group with an abelian automorphism group, and is the first in an infinite family of such groups formed by taking the semidirect product of a cyclic group of order 2m (m ≥ 3) with a dihedral group of order 8. This paper gives a method for constructing further examples of non abelian 2-groups which have abelian automorphism groups. Such a 2-group is the semidirect product of a cyclic group and a special 2-group (satisfying certain conditions). The automorphism group of this semidirect product is shown to be isomorphic to the central automorphism group of the corresponding direct product. The conditions satisfied by the special 2-group are determined by establishing when this direct product has an abelian central automorphism group.

We discuss intersections of subnormal subgroups and formation projectors in finite (not necessarily soluble) groups.

The class of abundant semigroups originally arose from ‘homological’ considerations in the theory of S-systems: they are the semigroup theoretic counterparts of PP-rings. Cancellative monoids, full subsemigroups of regular semigroups as well as the multiplicative semigroups of PP-rings are abundant. In this paper we investigate the properties of Rees matrix semigroups over abundant semigroups. Some of our results generalise McAlister's work on regular Rees matrix semigroups.

A technique is described for calculating the number of block ideals of FG, where F is a algebraically closed field of characteristic p, and where G is a p-soluble finite group. Among its consequences are the following: if U is a G-invariant irreducible FOp′(G)-module, then there is a unique block ideal of FG whose restriction to Op′(G) has all its composition factors isomorphic to U; and if G has p′-length 1, the number of block ideals of FG is the number of G-conjugacy classes of Op′(G)

The purpose of this paper is to construct a class of groups which properly contains the class of N-constrained groups, and which is such that all groups in this class have N-injectors.

The paper is devoted to showing that if the factorized group G = AB is almost solvable, if A and B are π-subgroups with min-p for some prime p in π and also if the hypercenter factor group A/H(A) or B/H(B) has min p for the prime p. then G is a π-group with min-p for the prime p.

For any group G, we introduce the subset S(G) of elements g which are conjugate to for some positive integer k. We show that, for any bounded representation π of G any g in S(G), either π(g) = 1 or the spectrum of π(g) is the full unit circle in C. As a corollary, S(G) is in the kernel of any homomorphism from G to the unitary group of a post-liminal C*-algebra with finite composition series.

Next, for a topological group G, we consider the subset of elements approximately conjugate to 1, and we prove that it is contained in the kernel of any uniformly continuous bounded representation of G, and of any strongly continuous unitary representation in a finite von Neumann algebra.

We apply these results to prove triviality for a number of representations of isotropic simple algebraic groups defined over various fields.

In this paper two theorems are proved that give a partial answer to a question posed by G. Behrendt and P. Neumann. Firstly, the existence of a group of cardinality ℵ1 with exactly ℵ1 normal subgroups, yet having a subgroup of index 2 with 2ℵ1 normal subgroups, is consistent with ZFC (the Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms for set theory together with the Axiom of Choice). Secondly, the statement “Every metabelian-by-finite group of cardinality ℵ1 has 2ℵ1 normal subgroups” is consistent with ZFC.

An infinite family of 2-groups is produced. These groups have no direct factors and have a non-abelian automorphism group in which all automorphisms are central.

Using the theory of the Satake diagrams associated with the non-compact simple Lie algebras over the real number field R, we shall construct a family of simple groups over a field K which are called the simple groups associated with the Satake diagrams. The list of these simple groups includes all Chevalley groups and twisted groups, and all simple algebraic groups of adjoint type defined over R if K is the complex number field C (except two types given by Table II′). Furthermore, the simple groups associated with the Satake diagrams of type AIII, BI, DI are identified with the simple groups obtained from the unitary or orthogonal groups of non-zero indices. The quasi-Bruhat decomposition of the “non-split” simple groups associated with the Satake diagrams which are not Chevalley groups or twisted groups will be given in this paper.

It is shown that if {Gn: n = 1, 2,…} is a countable family of Hausdorff kω-topological groups with a common closed subgroup A, then the topological amalgamated free product *AGn exists and is a Hausdorff kω-topological group with each Gn as a closed subgroup. A consequence is the theorem of La Martin that epimorphisms in the category of kω-topological groups have dense image.

We give a survey of some of the realisations that have been given of monogenic inverse semigroups and discuss their relation to one another. We then analyse the representations by bijections, combined under composition, of monogenic inverse semigroups, and classify these into isomorphism types. This provides a particularly easy way of classifying monogenic inverse semigroups into isomorphism types. Of interest is that we find two quite distinct representations by bijections of free monogenic inverse semigroups and show that all such representations must contain one of these two representations. We call a bijection of the form ai ↦ ai+1, i = 1,2,…, r − 1, a finite link of length r, and one of the form ai ↦ ai+1, i = 1,2…, a forward link. The inverse of a forward link we call a backward link. Two bijections u: A → B and r: C → D are said to be strongly disjoint if A ∩ C, A ∩ D, B ∩ C and B ∩ D are each empty. The two distinct representations of a free monogenic inverse semigroup, that we have just referred to, are first, such that its generator is the union of a counbtable set os finite links that are pairwise storongly disjoint part of any representation of a free monogenic inverse semigroup, the remaining part not affecting the isomorphism type. Each representation of a monogenic inverse semigroup that is not free contains a strongly disjoint part, determining it to within isomorphism, that is generated by either the strongly disjoint union of a finite link and a permutation or the strongly disjoint union of a finite and a forward link.

Let G be a finite group and let Aut(G) be its automorphism group. Then G is called a k-orbit group if G has k orbits (equivalence classes) under the action of Aut(G). (For g, hG, we have g ~ h if ga = h for some Aut(G).) It is shown that if G is a k-orbit group, then kGp + 1, where p is the least prime dividing the order of G. The 3-orbit groups which are not of prime-power order are classified. It is shown that A5 is the only insoluble 4-orbit group, and a structure theorem is proved about soluble 4-orbit groups.

We characterize rings whose multiplicative subsemigroups containing 0 and the additive inverse of each element are subrings. In addition we consider commutative rings for which every non-constant multiplicative endormorphism that preserves additive inverses is a ring endomorphism, and we show that they belong to one of three easily-described classes of rings.

Let G be a group acting faithfully on a homogeneous tree of order p + 1, p > 1. Let be the space of functions on the Poission boundary ω, of zero mean on ω. When p is a prime. G is a discrete subgroup of PGL2(Qp) of finite covolume. The representations of the special series of PGL2(Qp), Which are irreducible and unitary in an appropriate completion of , are shown to be reducible when restricted to G. It is proved that these representations of G are algebraically reducible on and topologically irreducible on endowed with the week topology.

Generalised wreath products of permutation groups were discussed in a paper by Bailey and us. This note determines the orbits of the action of a generalised wreath product group on m–tuples (m ≥ 2) of elements of the product of the base sets on the assumption that the action on each component is m–transitive. Certain related results are also provided.