Related papers: On derangements in simple permutation groups
We investigate the proportion of fixed point free permutations (derangements) in finite transitive permutation groups. This article is the first in a series where we prove a conjecture of Shalev that the proportion of such elements is…
This is the fourth paper in a series. We prove a conjecture made independently by Boston et al and Shalev. The conjecture asserts that there is an absolute positive constant delta such that if G is a finite simple group acting transitively…
Let $G$ be a nontrivial permutation group of degree $n$. If $G$ is transitive, then a theorem of Jordan states that $G$ has a derangement. Equivalently, a finite group is never the union of conjugates of a proper subgroup. If $G$ is…
By a classical theorem of Jordan, every faithful transitive action of a nontrivial finite group has a derangement (an element with no fixed points). The existence of derangements with additional properties has attracted much attention,…
Problem 8.75 of the Kourovka Notebook [10], attributed to John G. Thompson, asks the following: Suppose $G$ is a finite primitive permutation group on $\Omega$, and $\alpha$, $\beta$ are distinct points of $\Omega$. Does there exist an…
Let $G$ be a nontrivial transitive permutation group on a finite set $\Omega$. An element of $G$ is said to be a derangement if it has no fixed points on $\Omega$. From the orbit counting lemma, it follows that $G$ contains a derangement,…
In recent years there has been significant progress in the study of products of subsets of finite groups and of finite simple groups in particular. In this paper we consider which families of finite simple groups $G$ have the property that…
A classical theorem of Jordan asserts that if a group $G$ acts transitively on a finite set of size at least $2$, then $G$ contains a derangement (a fixed-point free element). Generalisations of Jordan's theorem have been studied…
We construct a primitive permutation action of the Steinberg triality group $^3D_4(2)$ of degree $4064256$ and show that there are distinct points $\alpha,\beta$ such that there is no derangement $g\in{^3D_4}(2)$ with $\alpha^g=\beta$. This…
Let $G$ be a transitive permutation group on a finite set of size at least $2$. By a well known theorem of Fein, Kantor and Schacher, $G$ contains a derangement of prime power order. In this paper, we study the finite primitive permutation…
Given a finite transitive permutation group $G\leq \operatorname{Sym}(\Omega)$, with $|\Omega|\geq 2$, the derangement graph $\Gamma_G$ of $G$ is the Cayley graph $\operatorname{Cay}(G,\operatorname{Der}(G))$, where $\operatorname{Der}(G)$…
We examine the subgroup $D(G)$ of a transitive permutation group $G$ which is generated by the derangements in $G$. Our main results bound the index of this subgroup: we conjecture that, if $G$ has degree $n$ and is not a Frobenius group,…
We prove that if $G$ is a transitive permutation group of sufficiently large degree $n$, then either $G$ is primitive and Frobenius, or the proportion of derangements in $G$ is larger than $1/(2n^{1/2})$. This is sharp, generalizes…
It is known that if the derangements subgroup of a transitive non-regular permutation group is a proper subgroup, then it is a Frobenius--Wielandt kernel, and, conversely, minimal Frobenius--Wielandt kernels are proper derangements…
A transitive group $G$ of permutations of a set $\Omega$ is primitive if the only $G$-invariant equivalence relations on $\Omega$ are the trivial and universal relations. If $\alpha \in \Omega$, then the orbits of the stabiliser $G_\alpha$…
Let $G$ be a transitive permutation group acting on a finite set $\Omega$ with $|\Omega|\geqslant 2$. An element of $G$ is said to be a derangement if it has no fixed points on $\Omega$, and by a theorem of Jordan from 1872, $G$ always…
This is the third in a series of papers in which we prove a conjecture of Boston and Shalev that the proportion of derangements (fixed point free elements) is bounded away from zero for transitive actions of finite simple groups on a set of…
Let $G$ be a nontrivial transitive permutation group on a finite set $\Omega$ and recall that an element of $G$ is a derangement if it has no fixed points. Derangements always exist by a classical theorem of Jordan, but there are so-called…
Given a permutation group $G$, the derangement graph $\Gamma_G$ of $G$ is the Cayley graph with connection set the set of all derangements of $G$. We prove that, when $G$ is transitive of degree at least $3$, $\Gamma_G$ contains a triangle.…
Given a finite group $G$ acting on a set $X$ let $\delta_k(G,X)$ denote the proportion of elements in $G$ that have exactly $k$ fixed points in $X$. Let $\mathrm{S}_n$ denote the symmetric group acting on $[n]=\{1,2,\dots,n\}$. For…