On groups with isomorphic holomorphs (Q1277528)

For \(G\) an abelian group, the holomorph, \(\Gamma(G)\), of \(G\) is the natural semidirect extension of the group \(\Aut(G)\) by \(G\). Specifically, \(\Gamma(G)=G\times\Aut(G)\), with group operation \((x,f)+(y,g)=(x+fy,fg)\). Groups with isomorphic holomorphs can be non-isomorphic. For example, if \(n\geq 3\), then the holomorphs of the dihedral group and the dicyclic group of order \(4n\) are isomorphic. In section 1 of the paper, the authors construct non-isomorphic torsion-free abelian groups with isomorphic holomorphs. They also show: Theorem 1.1. In the category of abelian groups, a mixed abelian group \(G\) without elements of order 2 and with \(\Aut(G)\) a torsion group is determined by \(\Gamma(G)\). Section 2 is devoted to the question: If \(G\) and \(H\) have isomorphic holomorphs and one of \(G\) and \(H\) is abelian, must both be abelian? An abelian group \(G\) is called holomorphically abelian if every group \(H\) with \(\Gamma(G)\cong\Gamma(H)\) must also be abelian. It is shown that \(G\) is holomorphically abelian in the following cases: (1) \(G\) is non-reduced and torsion-free, (2) \(G\) is torsion-free and \(\Aut(G)\) is torsion, (3) \(G\) is torsion with no elements of order 2.