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A classification of the prime graphs of pseudo-solvable groups

  • Ziyu Huang , Thomas Michael Keller ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Shane Kissinger , Wen Plotnick , Maya Roma and Yong Yang ORCID logo
Published/Copyright: July 19, 2023

Abstract

The prime graph Γ ( G ) of a finite group 𝐺 (also known as the Gruenberg–Kegel graph) has as its vertices the prime divisors of | G | , and p - q is an edge in Γ ( G ) if and only if 𝐺 has an element of order p q . Since their inception in the 1970s, these graphs have been studied extensively; however, completely classifying the possible prime graphs for larger families of groups remains a difficult problem. For solvable groups, such a classification was found in 2015. In this paper, we go beyond solvable groups for the first time and characterize the prime graphs of a more general class of groups we call pseudo-solvable. These are groups whose composition factors are either cyclic or isomorphic to A 5 . The classification is based on two conditions: the vertices { 2 , 3 , 5 } form a triangle in Γ ̄ ( G ) or { p , 3 , 5 } form a triangle for some prime p 2 . The ideas developed in this paper also lay the groundwork for future work on classifying and analyzing prime graphs of more general classes of finite groups.

Award Identifier / Grant number: DMS-1757233

Funding source: National Security Agency

Award Identifier / Grant number: H98230-21-1-0333

Funding statement: This research was conducted at Texas State University under NSF-REU grant DMS-1757233 and NSA grant H98230-21-1-0333 during the summer of 2021.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank NSF and NSA for the financial support. The first, third, fourth, and fifth thank Texas State University for running the REU online during this difficult period of social distancing and providing a welcoming and supportive work environment. Those authors also thank their mentor, the second author Dr. Thomas Michael Keller, for his invaluable advice and guidance throughout this project. The sixth author, the director of the REU program, is recognized for conducting an inspired and successful research program. The results in this paper were mainly discovered by the first author under the guidance of the second author.

  1. Communicated by: Hung Tong-Viet

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Received: 2023-02-07
Revised: 2023-06-01
Published Online: 2023-07-19
Published in Print: 2024-01-01

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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