Finite p-groups with a Frobenius group of automorphisms whose kernel is a cyclic p-group

Suppose that a finite p-group G admits a Frobenius group of automorphisms FH with kernel F that is a cyclic p-group and with complement H. It is proved that if the fixed-point subgroup CG(H) of the complement is nilpotent of class c, then G has a characteristic subgroup of index bounded in terms of c, jCG(F)j, and jFj whose nilpotency class is bounded in terms of c and jHj only. Examples show that the condition of F being cyclic is essential. The proof is based on a Lie ring method and a theorem of the authors and P. Shumyatsky about Lie rings with a metacyclic Frobenius group of automorphisms FH. It is also proved that G has a characteristic subgroup of (jCG(F)j; jFj)-bounded index whose order and rank are bounded in terms of jHj and the order and rank of CG(H), respectively, and whose exponent is bounded in terms of the exponent of CG(H)

Finite groups and Lie rings with an automorphism of order 2n2^n

Suppose that a finite group $G$ admits an automorphism $\varphi$ of order $2^n$ such that the fixed-point subgroup $C_G(\varphi ^{2^{n-1}})$ of the involution $\varphi ^{2^{n-1}}$ is nilpotent of class $c$. Let $m=|C_G(\varphi)|$ be the number of fixed points of $\varphi$. It is proved that $G$ has a characteristic soluble subgroup of derived length bounded in terms of $n,c$ whose index is bounded in terms of $m,n,c$. A similar result is also proved for Lie rings.Comment: minor corrections and addition

Frobenius groups of automorphisms and their fixed points

Suppose that a finite group $G$ admits a Frobenius group of automorphisms $FH$ with kernel $F$ and complement $H$ such that the fixed-point subgroup of $F$ is trivial: $C_G(F)=1$. In this situation various properties of $G$ are shown to be close to the corresponding properties of $C_G(H)$. By using Clifford's theorem it is proved that the order $|G|$ is bounded in terms of $|H|$ and $|C_G(H)|$, the rank of $G$ is bounded in terms of $|H|$ and the rank of $C_G(H)$, and that $G$ is nilpotent if $C_G(H)$ is nilpotent. Lie ring methods are used for bounding the exponent and the nilpotency class of $G$ in the case of metacyclic $FH$. The exponent of $G$ is bounded in terms of $|FH|$ and the exponent of $C_G(H)$ by using Lazard's Lie algebra associated with the Jennings--Zassenhaus filtration and its connection with powerful subgroups. The nilpotency class of $G$ is bounded in terms of $|H|$ and the nilpotency class of $C_G(H)$ by considering Lie rings with a finite cyclic grading satisfying a certain `selective nilpotency' condition. The latter technique also yields similar results bounding the nilpotency class of Lie rings and algebras with a metacyclic Frobenius group of automorphisms, with corollaries for connected Lie groups and torsion-free locally nilpotent groups with such groups of automorphisms. Examples show that such nilpotency results are no longer true for non-metacyclic Frobenius groups of automorphisms.Comment: 31 page

Length-type parameters of finite groups with almost unipotent automorphisms

Let $\alpha$ be an automorphism of a finite group $G$. For a positive integer $n$, let $E_{G,n}(\alpha )$ be the subgroup generated by all commutators $[...[[x,\alpha ], \alpha ],\dots ,\alpha ]$ in the semidirect product $G\langle\alpha \rangle$ over $x\in G$, where $\alpha$ is repeated $n$ times. By Baer's theorem, if $E_{G,n}(\alpha )=1$, then the commutator subgroup $[G,\alpha ]$ is nilpotent. We generalize this theorem in terms of certain length parameters of $E_{G,n}(\alpha )$. For soluble $G$ we prove that if, for some $n$, the Fitting height of $E_{G,n}(\alpha )$ is equal to $k$, then the Fitting height of $[G,\alpha ]$ is at most $k+1$. For nonsoluble $G$ the results are in terms of the nonsoluble length and generalized Fitting height. The generalized Fitting height $h^*(H)$ of a finite group $H$ is the least number $h$ such that $F^*_h(H)=H$, where $F^*_0(H)=1$, and $F^*_{i+1}(H)$ is the inverse image of the generalized Fitting subgroup $F^*(H/F^*_{i}(H))$. Let $m$ be the number of prime factors of the order $|\alpha |$ counting multiplicities. It is proved that if, for some $n$, the generalized Fitting height of $E_{G,n}(\alpha )$ is equal to $k$, then the generalized Fitting height of $[G,\alpha ]$ is bounded in terms of $k$ and $m$. The nonsoluble length~$\lambda (H)$ of a finite group~$H$ is defined as the minimum number of nonsoluble factors in a normal series each of whose factors either is soluble or is a direct product of nonabelian simple groups. It is proved that if $\lambda (E_{G,n}(\alpha ))=k$, then the nonsoluble length of $[G,\alpha ]$ is bounded in terms of $k$ and $m$. We also state conjectures of stronger results independent of $m$ and show that these conjectures reduce to a certain question about automorphisms of direct products of finite simple groups

Unsolved Problems in Group Theory. The Kourovka Notebook

This is a collection of open problems in group theory proposed by hundreds of mathematicians from all over the world. It has been published every 2-4 years in Novosibirsk since 1965. This is the 19th edition, which contains 111 new problems and a number of comments on about 1000 problems from the previous editions.Comment: A few new solutions and references have been added or update

Finite groups and Lie rings with an automorphism of order 2n

Abstract. Suppose that a finite group G admits an automorphism ϕ of order 2n such that the fixed-point subgroup CG (ϕ2n−1) of the involution ϕ2n−1 is nilpotent of class c. Let m = |CG (ϕ)| be the number of fixed points of ϕ. It is proved that G has a characteristic soluble subgroup of derived length bounded in terms of n, c whose index is bounded in terms of m, n, c. A similar result is also proved for Lie rings

Locally finite groups containing a 22-element with Chernikov centralizer

Suppose that a locally finite group $G$ has a $2$-element $g$ with Chernikov centralizer. It is proved that if the involution in $\langle g\rangle$ has nilpotent centralizer, then $G$ has a soluble subgroup of finite index