Related papers: Almost simple groups with socle $L_n(q)$ acting on…

We show that if G is a group of automorphisms of a thick finite generalised quadrangle Q acting primitively on both the points and lines of Q, then G is almost simple. Moreover, if G is also flag-transitive then G is of Lie type.

Suppose we have a finite thick generalised quadrangle whose automorphism group $G$ acts primitively on both the set of points and the set of lines. Then $G$ must be almost simple. In this paper, we show that $\operatorname{soc}(G)$ cannot…

In this article, we investigate symmetric $(v,k,\lambda)$ designs $\mathcal{D}$ with $\lambda$ prime admitting flag-transitive and point-primitive automorphism groups $G$. We prove that if $G$ is an almost simple group with socle a finite…

Let $G$ be a $(2,m,n)$-group and let $x$ be the number of distinct primes dividing $\chi$, the Euler characteristic of $G$. We prove, first, that, apart from a finite number of known exceptions, a non-abelian simple composition factor $T$…

Let $L$ be one of the finite simple classical groups $L_8(q)$, $U_8(q)$, $O_{10}^+(q)$, $O_{10}^-(q)$ or $O_{12}^+(q)$, with $q$ odd. We prove that every finite group having the same set of element orders as $L$ is an almost simple group…

A generalised quadrangle is a point-line incidence geometry G such that: (i) any two points lie on at most one line, and (ii) given a line L and a point p not incident with L, there is a unique point on L collinear with p. They are a…

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 $\mathcal{S}$…

There exists just one regular polytope of rank larger than 3 whose full automorphism group is a projective general linear group PGL_2(q), for some prime-power q. This polytope is the 4-simplex and the corresponding group is PGL_2(5), which…

Let $\boldsymbol{G}$ be an algebraic group of exceptional Lie type in characteristic $p$, $G=\boldsymbol{G}^{\sigma}$ its fixed-point subgroup under the action of a Steinberg endomorphism $\sigma$, and $\overline{G}$ an almost simple group…

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…

Consider a smooth connected algebraic group $G$ acting on a normal projective variety $X$ with an open dense orbit. We show that Aut($X$) is a linear algebraic group if so is $G$; for an arbitrary $G$, the group of components of Aut($X$) is…

In this paper we present a graph theoretic construction of Steiner quadruple systems (SQS) admitting abelian groups as point-regular automorphism groups. The resulting SQS has an extra property which we call A-reversibility, where A is the…

Let $G$ be an almost simple group with socle $A_n$, the alternating group of degree $n$. We prove that there is a unit of order $pq$ in the integral group ring of $G$ if and only if there is an element of that order in $G$ provided $p$ and…

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…

Let G be a free group in a variety of groups, but G is not absolutely free. We prove that the group of automorphisms Aut(G) is linear iff G is a virtually nilpotent group.

Every Ree group $R(q)$, with $q\neq 3$ an odd power of 3, is the automorphism group of an abstract regular polytope, and any such polytope is necessarily a regular polyhedron (a map on a surface). However, an almost simple group $G$ with…

The smallest set of admissible parameters of a $q$-analog of a Steiner system is $S_2[2,3,7]$. The existence of such a Steiner system -- known as a binary $q$-analog of the Fano plane -- is still open. In this article, the automorphism…

In this paper, we utilize our previous results on mod p monodromy of cyclic coverings of the projective line to realize a large series of groups of the form PSL(n, q) and PSU(n, q) as Galois groups over Q. We achieve for the first time a…

Let X be a smooth projective variety of dimension n on which a simple Lie group G acts regularly and non trivially. Then X is not minimal in the sense of the Minimal Model Program. In the paper we work out a classification of X via the…

We prove that every finite non-abelian simple group acts as the automorphism group of a chiral polyhedron, apart from the groups $PSL_2(q)$, $PSL_3(q)$, $PSU_3(q)$ and $A_7$.