English

Isomorphism of relative holomorphs and matrix similarity

Group Theory 2025-03-19 v3

Abstract

Let VV be a finite-dimensional vector space over the field with pp elements, where pp is a prime number. Given arbitrary α,βGL(V)\alpha,\beta\in \mathrm{GL}(V), we consider the semidirect products VαV\rtimes\langle \alpha\rangle and VβV\rtimes\langle \beta\rangle, and show that if VαV\rtimes\langle \alpha\rangle and VβV\rtimes\langle \beta\rangle are isomorphic, then α\alpha must be similar to a power of β\beta that generates the same subgroup as β\beta; that is, if HH and KK are cyclic subgroups of GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V) such that VHVKV\rtimes H\cong V\rtimes K, then HH and KK must be conjugate subgroups of GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V). If we remove the cyclic condition, there exist examples of non-isomorphic, let alone non-conjugate, subgroups HH and KK of GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V) such that VHVKV\rtimes H\cong V\rtimes K. Even if we require that non-cyclic subgroups HH and KK of GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V) be abelian, we may still have VHVKV\rtimes H\cong V\rtimes K with HH and KK non-conjugate in GL(V)\mathrm{GL}(V), but in this case, HH and KK must at least be isomorphic. If we replace VV by a free module UU over Z/pmZ{\mathbf Z}/p^m{\mathbf Z} of finite rank, with m>1m>1, it may happen that UHUKU\rtimes H\cong U\rtimes K for non-conjugate cyclic subgroups of GL(U)\mathrm{GL}(U). If we completely abandon our requirements on VV, a sufficient criterion is given for a finite group GG to admit non-conjugate cyclic subgroups HH and KK of Aut(G)\mathrm{Aut}(G) such that GHGKG\rtimes H\cong G\rtimes K. This criterion is satisfied by many groups.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2405.10147,
  title  = {Isomorphism of relative holomorphs and matrix similarity},
  author = {Volker Gebhardt and Alberto J. Hernandez Alvarado and Fernando Szechtman},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.10147},
  year   = {2025}
}