Related papers: The Higman--Thompson groups $V_n$ are $(2,2,2)$-ge…

We consider a class of groups $V_n(G)$ which are supergroups of the Higman-Thompson groups $V_n$. These groups fit in a framework of Elizabeth Scott for generating infinite virtually simple groups, and the groups we study in particular are…

We show that the following groups are invariably generated; the group of piecewise projective homeomorphisms of the real line, the group of piecewise $\mathrm{PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$ homeomorphisms of the real line, Monod's group…

Let $S_g$ be the closed oriented surface of genus g and let $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ be the mapping class group. When the genus is at least 3, $\text{Mod}(S_g)$ can be generated by torsion elements. We prove the follow results. For $g \geq 4$,…

Let S = S(n) denote the infinite surface with n ends, n \in N, accumulated by genus. For n \geq 6, we show that the mapping class group of S is topologically generated by five involutions. When n \geq 3, it is topologically generated by six…

Every finite simple group can be generated by two elements, and Guralnick and Kantor proved that, moreover, every nontrivial element is contained in a generating pair. Groups with this property are said to be $\frac{3}{2}$-generated.…

In this article we consider the cycle structure of compositions of pairs of involutions in the symmetric group S_n chosen uniformly at random. These can be modeled as modified 2-regular graphs, giving rise to exponential generating…

A (2,*)-group is a group that can be generated by two elements, one of which is an involution. We describe the method we have used to produce a census of all (2,*)-groups of order at most 6 000. Various well-known combinatorial structures…

A subset $S$ of a group $G$ invariably generates $G$ if $G= \langle s^{g(s)} | s \in S\rangle$ for every choice of $g(s) \in G,s \in S$. We say that a group $G$ is invariably generated if such $S$ exists, or equivalently if $S=G$ invariably…

The Higman--Thompson groups $V_{n,r}$ consist of piecewise linear automorphisms of $r$ intervals where cut points and slopes are $n$-adic. Szymik and Wahl prove homological stability for this family of groups as $r$ increases, and compute…

For a nonorientable surface, the twist subgroup is an index 2 subgroup of the mapping class group. It is generated by Dehn twists about two-sided simple closed curves. In this paper, we study involution generators of the twist subgroup. We…

We study the algebra $\Sigma_n$ induced by the action of the symmetric group $S_n$ on $V^{\otimes n}$ when $\dim V=2$. Our main result is that the space of symmetric elements of $\Sigma_n$ is linearly spanned by the involutions of $S_n$.

An $S_k$-set in a group $\Gamma$ is a set $A\subseteq\Gamma$ such that $\alpha_1\cdots\alpha_k=\beta_1\cdots\beta_k$ with $\alpha_i,\beta_i\in A$ implies $(\alpha_1,\ldots,\alpha_k)=(\beta_1,\ldots,\beta_k)$. An $S_k'$-set is a set such…

Every finite simple group can be generated by two elements and, in fact, every nontrivial element is contained in a generating pair. Groups with this property are said to be $\frac{3}{2}$-generated, and the finite $\frac{3}{2}$-generated…

We complete the classification of the finite special linear groups $\SL_n(q)$ which are $(2,3)$-generated, i.e., which are generated by an involution and an element of order $3$. This also gives the classification of the finite simple…

In this article, we consider involutions, called togglings, on the set of independent sets of the Dynkin diagram of type A, or a path graph. We are interested in the action of the subgroup of the symmetric group of the set of independent…

We study the number of random permutations needed to invariably generate the symmetric group, $S_n$, when the distribution of cycle counts has the strong $\alpha$-logarithmic property. The canonical example is the Ewens sampling formula,…

Let $N_{g}$ denote the closed non-orientable surface of genus $g$ and let ${\mathcal M} _g$ denote the mapping class group of $N_{g}$. Let ${\mathcal T} _g$ denote the twist subgroup of ${\mathcal M} _g$ which is the subgroup of ${\mathcal…

A group $G$ is invariably generated if there exists a subset $S \subseteq G$ such that, for every choice $g_s \in G$ for $s \in S$, the group $G$ is generated by $\{ s^{g_s} \mid s \in S \}$. In [GGJ16] Gelander, Golan and Juschenko showed…

An involution on a semigroup S (or any algebra with an underlying associative binary operation) is a function f:S->S that satisfies f(xy)=f(y)f(x) and f(f(x))=x for all x,y in S. The set I(S) of all such involutions on S generates a…

Every finitely generated self-similar group naturally produces an infinite sequence of finite $d$-regular graphs $\Gamma_n$. We construct self-similar groups, whose graphs $\Gamma_n$ can be represented as an iterated zig-zag product and…