Group partitions of minimal size (Q2419469): Difference between revisions

A cover of a finite group \(G\) is a family of proper subgroups of \(G\) whose union is \(G,\) and a cover is called minimal if it is a cover of minimal cardinality. A partition of \(G\) is a cover such that the intersection of any two of its members is \(\{1\}.\) Partitionable groups were classified by Baer, Kegel and Suzuki in 1961. Answering to a question asked by \textit{T. Foguel} and \textit{N. Sizemore} [Adv. Group Theory Appl. 6, 55--67 (2018; Zbl 1436.20031)], the authors determine all finite groups that admit a minimal cover that is also a partition. They prove that this happens if and only if \(G\) is isomorphic to \(C_p \times C_p\) for some prime \(p\) or to a Frobenius group with Frobenius kernel being an abelian minimal normal subgroup and Frobenius complement cyclic.