English

Finite groups can be generated by a pi-subgroup and a pi'-subgroup

Group Theory 2023-06-19 v4

Abstract

Answering a question of Dan Haran and generalizing some results of Aschbacher-Guralnick and Suzuki, we prove that given a set of primes pi, any finite group can be generated by a pi-subgroup and a pi'-subgroup. This gives a free product description of a countably generated free profinite group.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2103.17216,
  title  = {Finite groups can be generated by a pi-subgroup and a pi'-subgroup},
  author = {Thomas Breuer and Robert M. Guralnick},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.17216},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

We generalized the main result in the previous version, simplified the proof and give an application to profinite groups. In the latest version, we also proved a result about generation by Sylow subgroups. The paper will appear in the Israel Journal of Mathematics

R2 v1 2026-06-24T00:44:36.809Z