Related papers: The probability that a character value is zero for…

In this article we prove the following result: that for any two natural numbers k and j, and for all sufficiently large symmetric groups Sym(n), there are k disjoint sets of j irreducible characters of Sym(n), such that each set consists of…

Let R=(r_1, ..., r_m) and C=(c_1, ..., c_n) be positive integer vectors such that r_1 +... + r_m=c_1 +... + c_n. We consider the set Sigma(R, C) of non-negative mxn integer matrices (contingency tables) with row sums R and column sums C as…

Let $G$ be a finite group, and let $\text{Irr}(G)$ denote the set of the irreducible complex characters of $G$. An element $g\in G$ is called a vanishing element of $G$ if there exists $\chi\in\text{Irr}(G)$ such that $\chi(g)=0$ (i.e., $g$…

We represent the number of mxn non-negative integer matrices (contingency tables) with prescribed row sums and column sums as the expected value of the permanent of a non-negative random matrix with exponentially distributed entries. We…

An infinite convergent sum of independent and identically distributed random variables discounted by a multiplicative random walk is called perpetuity, because of a possible actuarial application. We give three disjoint groups of sufficient…

The commuting probability of a finite group is defined to be the probability that two randomly chosen group elements commute. Let P \subset (0,1] be the set of commuting probabilities of all finite groups. We prove that every point of P is…

A special type of conjugacy classes in symmetric groups is studied and used to answer a question about odd-degree irreducible characters

If $n>4$ and $c(\theta)$ denotes the set of irreducible constituents of a character $\theta$, then $c(\chi^k)={\rm Irr}(S_n)$ for all nonlinear $\chi\in {\rm Irr}(S_n)$ if and only if $k\geq n-1$.

Let $\chi$ be an irreducible character of a finite group $G$. A. R. Miller conjectured that the proportion of elements $g\in G$ such that $\chi(g)$ is zero or a root of unity is at least 1/2. We construct a character of a perfect group of…

We introduce and study the concept of cyclicity degree of a finite group $G$. This quantity measures the probability of a random subgroup of $G$ to be cyclic. Explicit formulas are obtained for some particular classes of finite groups. An…

In 1961, Solomon gave upper and lower bounds for the sum of all the entries in the character table of a finite group in terms of elementary properties of the group. In a different direction, we consider the ratio of the character table sum…

For the symmetric group $S_4$ we determine all the integer values taken by its group determinant when the matrix entries are integers.

Let X be an irreducible, primitive complex character of the finite solvable group G, and let X* denote the complex conjugate character. If the degree X(1) is odd, then we show how to associate to X in a unique way, a conjugacy class of…

In a network of reinforced stochastic processes, for certain values of the parameters, all the agents' inclinations synchronize and converge almost surely toward a certain random variable. The present work aims at clarifying when the agents…

We investigate a remarkable class of exponential sums which are derived from the symmetric groups and which display a diverse array of visually appealing features. Our interest in these expressions stems not only from their astounding…

For any irreducible character $\chi$ of a finite group $G$, let $\theta(\chi)$ denote the proportion of elements $g\in G$ for which $\chi(g)$ is either zero or a root of unity. Then for any $L\in[1/2,1]$ and any $\epsilon>0$, there exists…

We prove a result on the asymptotic proportion of randomly chosen pairs of permutations in the symmetric group $S_n$ which "invariably" generate a nonsolvable subgroup, i.e., whose cycle structures cannot possibly both occur in the same…

We show that the probability for a finitely generated subgroup of the modular group, of size $n$, to be almost malnormal or non-parabolic, tends to 0 as $n$ tends to infinity -- where the notion of the size of a subgroup is based on a…

Motivated by classical nontransitivity paradoxes, we call an $n$-tuple $(x_1,\dots,x_n) \in[0,1]^n$ \textit{cyclic} if there exist independent random variables $U_1,\dots, U_n$ with $P(U_i=U_j)=0$ for $i\not=j$ such that…

The commuting probability of a finite group $G$ is the probability that two randomly chosen elements commute. Let $S\subseteq(0,1]$ denote the set of all possible commuting probabilities of finite groups. We prove that $S\cup\{0\}$ is…