Related papers: Primitive flag-transitive generalized hexagons and…
This paper studies flag-transitive point-primitive non-symmetric $2$-($v,k,2$) designs. We prove that if $\mathcal{D}$ is a non-trivial non-symmetric $2$-$(v,k,2)$ design admitting a flag-transitive point-primitive automorphism group $G$…
A central problem in the study of generalized quadrangles is to classify finite generalized quadrangles satisfying certain symmetry conditions. It is known that an automorphism group of a finite thick generalized quadrangle $\mathcal{S}$…
In this article, we study symmetric $(v, k, \lambda)$ designs admitting a flag-transitive and point-primitive automorphism group $G$ whose socle $X$ is a finite simple exceptional group of Lie type. We prove a reduction theorem, severely…
Let G be an automorphism group of a nontrivial t-(k^2,k,\lambda) design. In this paper, we prove that if G is block-transitive, then the socle of G cannot be a finite simple exceptional group of Lie type.
We consider a finite, connected and simple graph $\Gamma$ that admits a vertex-transitive group of automorphisms $G$. Under the assumption that, for all $x \in V(\Gamma)$, the local action $G_x^{\Gamma(x)}$ is the action of…
Let $\mathcal{D}$ be a nontrivial $3$-$(v,k,1)$ design admitting a block-transitive group $G$ of automorphisms. A recent work of Gan and the second author asserts that $G$ is either affine or almost simple. In this paper, it is proved that…
This paper is devoted to the classification of all flag-transitive point-primitive non-trivial $2$-$(v, k, \lambda)$ designs with the alternating group $A_n$($n \le 10$) as the socle of their automorphism groups, and 87 different designs…
We develop a new framework for analysing finite connected, oriented graphs of valency 4, which admit a vertex-transitive and edge-transitive group of automorphisms preserving the edge orientation. We identify a sub-family of "basic" graphs…
Let $\mathcal{S}$ be a finite thick generalized quadrangle, and suppose that $G$ is an automorphism group of $\mathcal{S}$. If $G$ acts primitively on both the points and lines of $\mathcal{S}$, then it is known that $G$ must be almost…
We classify the dessins $\mathcal D$ for which the automorphism group $G$ acts primitively and faithfully on the points over one of the three critical values (without loss of generality the black vertices in the usual bipartite map…
We determine all finite primitive groups that are automorphism groups of edge-transitive hypergraphs. This gives an answer to a problem proposed by Babai and Cameron
The first main result of this paper is that a finite transitive nonabelian characteristically simple subgroup of a wreath product in product action must lie in the base group of the wreath product. This allows us to characterize nonabelian…
Let $G$ be a transitive permutation group on a finite set $\Omega$ and recall that a base for $G$ is a subset of $\Omega$ with trivial pointwise stabiliser. The base size of $G$, denoted $b(G)$, is the minimal size of a base. If $b(G)=2$…
This paper studies the long-standing open problem of the reduction of Steiner 3-designs admitting a block-transitive automorphism group. We prove that if G acts as a point-primitive, block-transitive automorphism group of a nontrivial…
In this paper, we completely classify the non-trivial 2-(v,k,3) designs admitting an almost simple, flag-transitive automorphism group with socle PSL(2,q).
For each finite classical group $G$, we classify the subgroups of $G$ which act transitively on a $G$-invariant set of subspaces of the natural module, where the subspaces are either totally isotropic or nondegenerate. Our proof uses the…
Ostrom and Wagner (1959) proved that if the automorphism group $G$ of a finite projective plane $\pi$ acts $2$-transitively on the points of $\pi$, then $\pi$ is isomorphic to the Desarguesian projective plane and $G$ is isomorphic to…
In this article we look into characterizing primitive groups in the following way. Given a primitive group we single out a subset of its generators such that these generators alone (the so-called primitive generators) imply the group is…
In earlier work we gave a characterisation of pregeometries which are `basic' (that is, admit no `non-degenerate' quotients) relative to two different kinds of quotient operations, namely imprimitive quotients and normal quotients. Each…
Let $\mathcal{C}$ be a conjugacy class of involutions in a group $G$. We study the graph $\Gamma(\mathcal{C})$ whose vertices are elements of $\mathcal{C}$ with $g,h\in\mathcal{C}$ connected by an edge if and only if $gh\in\mathcal{C}$. For…