Fixed-point-free elements in two-orbit permutation groups
Group Theory
2026-07-13 v1 Combinatorics
Abstract
Let be a two-orbit permutation group on points. We show that contains either a derangement or an element of prime-power order with a unique fixed point. As a corollary, if the orbits of have length and and , then contains a derangement. The special case was recently conjectured by Ellis and Harper and proved under various restrictive hypotheses. We prove our result by reducing to the case of simple groups and leveraging the classification of normal -coverings of simple groups due to Bubboloni, Spiga, and Weigel.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2607.11543,
title = {Fixed-point-free elements in two-orbit permutation groups},
author = {Jessica Anzanello and Sean Eberhard},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.11543},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
9 pages