Another criterion for solvability of finite groups (Q2075924)

Let \(o(G)\) be the average order of the elements of a finite group \(G\). It was conjectured by \textit{E. I. Khukhro} et al. [J. Algebra 569, 1--11 (2021; Zbl 1462.20010)] that if \(o(G)<o(A_5)\), where \(A_5\) is the alternating group on \(5\) letters, then \(G\) is solvable. The main result of this paper shows that this conjecture holds. Furthermore, if \(o(G)=o(A_5)\), then \(G\cong A_5\). An important part of the proof is to show that if \(G\) is simple, then \(o(G)\geq o(A_5)\). This is achieved in two steps. Counting involutions, the authors show that they may assume that the primes that divide \(|G|\) do not exceed 13. The simple groups that satisfy this property are considered case by case.