On groups of finite Morley rank with weakly embedded subgroups (Q1283939)

The paper deals with the problem of classification of simple groups of finite Morley rank, which is central in the area of groups of finite Morley rank (see \textit{A. Borovik} and \textit{A. Nesin} [Groups of finite Morley rank, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1994; Zbl 0816.20001)]). The Cherlin-Zil'ber conjecture states that any infinite simple group of finite Morley rank is an algebraic group over an algebraically closed field. The conjecture can be divided into three parts: (1) there exist no bad groups (a bad group is defined to be a nonsolvable connected group of finite Morley rank whose proper definable connected subgroups are nilpotent); (2) there exist no bad fields (a bad field is defined to be a structure of finite Morley rank which is an algebraically closed field with a distinguished infinite subgroup of its multiplicative group); (3) any tame simple group is an algebraic group over an algebraically closed field (a tame group is defined to be an infinite group of finite Morley rank which does not have definable bad sections and in which no bad field is interpretable). (Note, however, that nowadays some experts think that bad groups and fields well may exist, and so the conjecture may fail.) The paper is a contribution to the program of classification of tame simple groups based on ideas and concepts borrowed from finite group theory. In the earlier paper [J. Algebra 192, No. 2, 524-571 (1997; Zbl 0878.20003)] the authors proved that a minimal counterexample to (3) is either of even type, meaning that the Sylow 2-subgroups are of bounded exponent, or of odd type, meaning that the Sylow 2-subgroups are (divisible abelian)-by-finite. The paper under review deals with tame simple groups of even type having a `weakly embedded subgroup', a notion related to the notion of strongly embedded subgroup in the finite case, but having no analogs in that case. Let \(M\) be a proper definable subgroup of a group \(G\) of finite Morley rank. The subgroup \(M\) is said to be strongly embedded in \(G\) if \(M\) contains involutions, but \(M\cap M^g\) does not, for any \(g\in G\). The subgroup \(M\) is said to be weakly embedded in \(G\) if any Sylow 2-subgroup of \(M\) is infinite, but \(M\cap M^g\) has finite Sylow 2-subgroups, for any \(g\in G\). The first of the authors [J. Algebra 180, No. 3, 778-807 (1996; Zbl 0855.20029)] proved that if a tame simple \(K^*\)-group \(G\) of even type has a strongly embedded subgroup then \(G\simeq\text{PSL}_2(K)\), where \(K\) is an algebraically closed field of characteristic 2. (A \(K^*\)-group is defined to be a group whose proper infinite definable sections are isomorphic to algebraic groups over algebraically closed fields.) The main result of the paper under review: In any tame simple \(K^*\)-group \(G\) of even type weakly embedded subgroups are strongly embedded. Thus, any tame simple \(K^*\)-group of even type with a weakly embedded subgroup is isomorphic to \(\text{PSL}_2(K)\) for some algebraically closed field \(K\) of characteristic 2. The authors give a number of applications of the main result to further analysis of tame simple \(K^*\)-group of even type.