On the number of conjugacy classes of \(\pi\)-elements in a finite group (Q1271026): Difference between revisions

Let \(G\) be a finite group and let \(\pi\) be a set of primes. Let \(k(G,\pi)\) denote the number of conjugacy classes of \(\pi\)-elements in \(G\). Let \({\mathcal F}_\pi(G)\) denote the poset of all \(\pi\)-subgroups (resp. solvable \(\pi\)-subgroups) of \(G\) and set \({\mathcal F}^\#_\pi(G)={\mathcal F}_\pi(G)\setminus\{1\}\). For \(V\in{\mathcal F}_\pi(G)\), denote by \({\mathcal S}_\pi(G,V)\) the set of all chains \(\sigma\): \(V=V_0<V_1<\cdots<V_n\) of subgroups \(V_i\in{\mathcal F}_\pi(G)\) starting with \(V\). Also let \(S^\#_\pi(G,V)={\mathcal S}_\pi(G,V)\setminus\{V\}\). Any subgroup \(H\) of \(N_G(V)/V\) acts by conjugation on \({\mathcal S}_\pi(G,V)\) and for any \(\sigma\in{\mathcal S}_\pi(G,V)\) let \(H_\sigma\) denote the stabilizer of \(\sigma\) in \(H\). The first main result of this paper is: Theorem 1: \(\displaystyle{k(G,\pi)-1=\sum_{\sigma\in{\mathcal S}^\#_\pi(G,1)/G}(-1)^{|\sigma|}(k(G_\sigma,\pi)-1)}\). For \(\sigma\): \(1=V_0<V_1<\cdots<V_n\) in \({\mathcal S}^\#_\pi(G,1)\), let \(V_\sigma\) denote the first nontrivial subgroup \(V_1\) of \(\sigma\) and let \(k_{G_\sigma}(V_\sigma,\pi)\) denote the number of conjugacy classes of \(\pi\)-elements in \(G_\sigma\) that are contained in the normal subgroup \(V_\sigma\) of \(G_\sigma\). The second main result is: Theorem 2: \(\displaystyle{k(G,\pi)-1=\sum_{\sigma\in{\mathcal S}^\#_\pi(G,1)/G}(-1)^{|\sigma|}(k_{G_\sigma}(V_\sigma,\pi)-1)}\). In these results one can ask whether the set of \(\pi\)-subgroups and the set of solvable \(\pi\)-subgroups can be replaced by other sets of subgroups of \(G\). The authors observe that both Theorem 1 and 2 hold for \(\pi\)-separable subgroups of \(G\) in the last paragraph.