Class-preserving automorphisms of finite groups (Q5946406)

An automorphism of a finite group \(G\) mapping each group element to some conjugate of it is said to be a class-preserving automorphism. The author of this paper is interested in classifying the A-groups (i.e., soluble groups whose Sylow subgroups are Abelian) which are in a certain sense ``minimal'' with respect to having class-preserving, non-inner automorphisms. He classifies the A-groups with class-preserving, non-inner automorphisms such that class-preserving automorphisms of proper subgroups and factor groups are inner automorphisms as some subgroups of affine semi-linear groups (Theorem~A). These groups are described in Theorem~A': They are Frobenius groups and the group of class-preserving automorphisms modulo the inner ones has order \(p\) (Theorem~A'). In particular, A-groups with class-preserving non-inner automorphisms have a section isomorphic to a group described in Theorem~A' (Corollary~1). Another consequence is that in the case of A-groups with elementary Abelian Sylow subgroups, all class-preserving automorphisms are inner automorphisms (Corollary~2). He also proves that for a finite group \(G\) with a nilpotent normal subgroup \(N\) such that \(G/N\) is nilpotent and \(G\) has Abelian Sylow \(p\)-subgroups for a prime \(p\), any automorphism of \(G\) of \(p\)-power order and which preserves the \(G\)-conjugacy classes of elements of \(N\) and of elements of prime power order is an inner automorphism (Theorem~B). As a consequence, class-preserving automorphisms of a metabelian A-group are inner automorphisms, and if \(G\) is a group which is an extension of an Abelian \(q\)-group by an Abelian \(q'\)-group for some prime \(q\), then any automorphism of \(G\) which preserves the conjugacy classes of elements of prime power order is an inner automorphism. Finally, in Theorem~C he proves that if \(G\) is a finite group whose Sylow subgroups of odd order are cyclic, and whose Sylow \(2\)-subgroups are either cyclic, dihedral or generalised quaternion, then each class-preserving automorphism of \(G\) is an inner automorphism. These results are used to prove some variations of the Zassenhaus conjecture and to disprove a conjecture of Mazur by showing an A-group with a Coleman automorphism \(\sigma\) of \(G\) such that \(\sigma\) is class-preserving and \(\sigma^2\) is inner but \(\sigma\) is not inner.